Reborn To Ruin Her Rivals - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

"Alright, deal." Arielle made her decision.
Agreeing to Samson's proposal, she wanted to wrap up the bet ASAP.
No more chit-chat, they dove right in.
A waiter brought a fresh deck and plopped it on the table.
Samson made a "ladies first" gesture. "You go first. Start by shuffling."
Arielle wasn't about to stand on ceremony—who shuffled didn't matter. This bet? She was locking it down.
She grabbed the cards. Her fingers zipped through them like a pro.
Smooth moves, no sweat, like she had this in the bag.
Her fingertips danced on the cards, each touch packing a little punch.
Her movements were flowing, captivating all the VIP audience.
A young chick with shuffling skills like that? No wonder she was calling out Samson.
Samson felt a tinge of surprise when he witnessed her deft shuffling.
She came prepared.
Nevertheless, Samson remained confident that no one could beat him.
Cards shuffled, first deal on.
Arielle didn't peek—she knew her first was a King of Spades.
Samson didn't look at his card, either. His eyes were glued to the girl's face.
It was not until the third card was dealt that the two picked up the face-down cards from the table.
Arielle had a trio of Kings, while Samson got a trio of Queens.
As soon as the third card was out, no one noticed Samson's face flickered between a shadow of doubt and a flash of surprise.
Sierra suddenly shouted out, "Congrats, Miss Bradford, you won the first round!"
The crowd burst into cheers, too.
No one beat Samson.
With the first round done, everyone was hyped for the next two rounds.
They finally relaxed a bit—they all thought Samson must've let Arielle win on purpose in round one.
Lucas was cursing "WTF" in his head like crazy.
This was the real showdown between gambling kings. Lucky, he got hyped and came to Cloud Nine today. And also, he didn't leave early, or he'd miss this epic match.
Arielle was the first to make Samson step back and offer terms.
Next up was round two shuffle, done by Samson himself.
Bright lights shone on the neat table.
Soft light showed every detail on the cards. In just seconds, those new cards already told a new story.
Everyone's eyes were glued to his hands.
His moves were serious, like some kind of ritual going down.
Everyone was hooked by Samson's moves—time seemed to freeze for a second there.
All wanted to witness the Lord of Gambling's charm live.
If it wasn't for Cloud Nine banning photos, people would've been snapping pics and vids nonstop by now, and posting flex shots on social media about this epic moment.
Samson pulled the cards apart with both hands into a line, then clapped them back together into a pile again.
He tossed them up, and they still fell straight down stacked perfectly, then interlaced them over and over until neat as could be when closed up again.
Arielle thought to herself, 'No wonder he's called Lord of Gambling. This shuffle ain't something just anyone can learn.'
Next came dealing cards.
Three cards were dropped on each side. Both players skipped any tricks and flipped their three cards right away—Arielle had a pair of Queens plus a 9, while Samson had a pair of Kings plus a 9.
With Desmond and Sierra's exclamation, the whole room exploded with excitement.
The game was so intense. Right now, the two were tied up.
Samson barely edged it but then looked at the girl opposite him with real confusion—never before had he met an opponent like her.
The third round of shuffling started.
The dealer was freaking out inside.
Never thought after all these years standing here, he'd get to shuffle for Lord of Gambling.
When the third card dropped, Samson couldn't hold back, flipping his cards instantly.
Lights and music were all set.
He was grinning like he had already won, proudly showing three Aces.
Everyone thought it was game over.
Then the camera cut to the girl opposite him suddenly.
On the big screen, one could see every tiny facial expression clearly.
But when Arielle saw Samson's three Aces, her emotions remained completely unmoved.
Downstairs, Vanna was completely scared.
'Three Aces from Mr. Lowery? Game over for sure!' She was already ready to call emergency services to save Arielle's life. 'She hadn't even told me about my daughter yet.'
Lucas was gripping his chair tightly, teeth clenched hard.
'No way?! Three Aces?' He silently mourned for that unknown but badass little girl.
But the next second, Arielle shook her head with regret at first, then smirked a little and flipped her hand over—straight flush!
Amidst exploding applause and cheers, Arielle stood up, calm as ever.
To everyone's surprise, Arielle actually won—she beat Samson!
"Mr. Lowery, well played," she started.
Samson felt like he was on a rollercoaster—ups and downs nonstop.
'I lost? Just like that? To a little girl?' He wanted to find that person ASAP, but didn't expect Arielle to just ask him to exchange chips and remind him to keep his promise quickly.
Samson was straightforward. Coming to his senses, he accepted his loss with good grace and laughed heartily. "Miss Bradford, good for you. Please rest assured. I, too, hope to find that person as soon as possible."
In the room, Samson sat quietly on the sofa, but his mind was far from calm.
Today's two events hit him hard.
His name as Lord of Gambling was shattered today.
That scumbag had surfaced.
And both of the two things were brought to him by Arielle.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He flipped through her file—daughter of the Bradford family, lost at age three, adopted at four, foster parents died in an accident at five, full of misfortune.
The girl described in the file was weak and gentle, obedient and sensible.
Samson slammed the file onto the table, cursing inwardly, 'What a load of crap. She called that weak? Less than half an hour later, she took 100 million and a piece of land from me.'
'This woman is not only mysterious but also... bloodthirsty. Even more ruthless than I am.'
After the gambling session ended, it was already late at night.
Red and green lights danced on the road.
Arielle stood on the chilly street, watching as the car got smaller and smaller in the distance.
She pulled out her phone and called Ethan to take her home.
On the following night, Arielle was preparing some files when a knock came on the door.
She quickly put away her files and sat down with her back to the door.
"Come in," she said.
The door opened. Meredith walked into what used to be her room—the beautiful floor-to-ceiling window, the expensive sofa, all the furniture belonged to her once upon a time.
At that moment, Arielle was lounging in a recliner by the floor-to-ceiling window, utterly at ease.
The chair was specially custom-made by Sharon for Meredith, and it was her favorite spot in the past.
But now, everything had been taken over by Arielle.
The scene filled Meredith with pain. She vowed inwardly that she would soon reclaim everything that belonged to her.
Taking a deep breath, she hid all emotions behind a sweet smile as she approached Arielle. "Arielle, my friend has a birthday tomorrow. She wants to meet you.
"You can make some new friends while you're there. How about it?"