Chapter Ten: Face To Face With My Past

“This is my outfit for the night.” My voice was cool as I stared him down. “For poker.”

"Are you going in to play?" He asked me, looking shocked.

"Yes, my sister started a game and I am here to end it." I replied.

“Oh.” His round, friendly face looked confused. “Well. Okay. Go in, then.”

“Thanks.” Forcing the ice in my voice to fully infuse my heart, I pushed open the door. There was no going back, and I knew it.

I walked into the room and exhaled. The private room for the villa residents had a cavernous ceiling and no windows. Everything was built with security and privacy in mind. The walls were soundproofed with thick red fabric that swooped from a center point on the ceiling.

The effect made the room glamorous and cozy, and claustrophobic all at once. It felt all too dark and unhealthy for me. I wondered how Lyra was brought to a place like this and didn't freak out. To me, it felt like entering the tent of a sheik’s harem.

But as I approached the wealthy men who were playing