Chapter 3 - The Marble Table
The heavy, toxic silence in the smoke-filled penthouse was absolutely deafening as the deadly game began. Adrian Marchetti leaned forward, resting his strong forearms against the cool edge of the massive marble table. He smirked, a cruel, incredibly arrogant smile twisting his handsome features.
The thirty-something mafia boss had intentionally scattered the glossy memory cards face-down in a completely chaotic, highly complex pattern. There were over sixty individual cards spread across the table, an overwhelming, impossible number for any adult to track, let alone a tiny, five-year-old girl sitting in a torn sea-blue dress.
The stern, imposing bodyguards standing in the dark shadows of the warm, ambient lighting let out low, mocking chuckles. They genuinely believed their untouchable boss was putting a pathetic, crying child in her place before delivering the final, fatal blow to her innocent family.
"You dare me?" Adrian chuckled coldly, taking a slow, deliberate drag from his expensive cigar and blowing a thick cloud of heavy smoke toward the stunning night view of the St. Louis Cathedral. "Little girls shouldn't make dares they can't possibly win. This isn't a bedtime fairy tale, kid. In my world, when you lose, you lose absolutely everything."
Poppy didn't shrink back from the aggressive, toxic physical intimidation. Her bright blonde pigtails shifted slightly as she tilted her head, her fair face completely empty of fear or hesitation. She reached out her small, steady hand toward the chaotic sea of face-down cards on the table.
She didn't hesitate. She didn't second-guess her choices. With robotic, absolute, and terrifying precision, Poppy flipped over a glossy card displaying a golden lion. Without pausing for even a fraction of a second, her tiny hand darted to the exact opposite corner of the expansive marble table, flipping the exact matching golden lion.
Adrian’s cruel smirk faltered slightly. He mentally attributed the first perfect match to sheer, dumb luck. But then she flawlessly flipped a silver eagle. And instantly matched it with the silver eagle buried deeply in the center of the board. Then a red diamond. Matched perfectly. A blue shield. Matched perfectly. A green serpent. Matched perfectly.
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The cinematic realism of the moment completely electrified the warm room. The rhythmic, sharp click, click, click of the heavy glossy cards turning over echoed incredibly loudly in the dead silence of the penthouse. Poppy was moving with terrifying, unrelenting speed, completely dismantling the board without making a single error. The stern men in suits completely stopped chuckling. They physically stiffened, staring at the little girl in sheer, breathtaking disbelief.
👉 Read Part 4 to see the arrogant mafia boss's absolute composure completely shatter in front of his own elite men.
