She stepped closer, her presence suffocating.
"Whoever loses… vanishes."
There was nothing to bet on.
I already knew the outcome.
I was destined to lose.
"I bet Dominic will deconstruct you himself," she said with a soft, cruel laugh. "Don't worry. Once it's done, I'll have the clinic declare you dead."
Her voice dropped lower, almost a whisper.
"Then you can disappear forever. Never show your face to us again."
"Alright," I said.
Without hesitation.
The word came out effortlessly, calm and steady.
Celeste paused. Clearly surprised.
For a split second, her smile appeared half a beat too quickly, then vanished just as fast when she remembered she was supposed to look stricken. Something like confusion flickered across her face, as if she hadn't expected me to agree so easily.
But it vanished just as quickly.
Her grip tightened suddenly.
Before I could react, she grabbed my hand and forced it up, pressing it hard against her throat.
In the same instant, she swallowed the pills hidden in her palm.
Everything happened too fast.
Her body convulsed almost immediately. Foam bubbled at the corners of her lips, white and thick, spilling down as her knees buckled beneath her.