Contracted to the Ruthless Billionaire

CHAPTER3

The Den of Cards casino’s neon lights flashed a sinister red across the velvet-carpeted entryway, illuminating the grandeur of the building and casting long shadows that twisted against the walls. Inside, the air was thick with cigarette smoke perfumed with the unmistakable scent of aged whiskey and lost dreams. Glittering chandeliers hung from the high ceilings, reflecting lights off polished tables where players hunched over cards, chips, and dice, entranced by the gamble, each hoping for a win that seemed forever just out of reach. The moment Nikolas strode through the VVIP entrance, flanked by his two most trusted men, the energy shifted. Conversations hushed. The upbeat music faded to nervous silence as dealers stilled mid-shuffle, and patrons froze mid-bet. His presence was a force that radiated authority and menace, an aura that made people instinctively shrink away, afraid to catch his gaze. Nikolas was dressed in a custom black suit that fit his tall, lean frame like a second skin, his dark hair perfectly slicked back, his face calm and unreadable save for a sharp, glinting coldness in his eyes.

Ahead of him, by the bar, sat Mudis—a heavyset man with beady eyes and a slick sheen of sweat was already forming on his brow. He seemed oblivious to the shift in the room until Nikolas’s right-hand man, Bane, a hulking figure with biceps like a tree trunk and a hardened look moved purposefully toward him. Bane reached out, grabbed Mudis by the collar, and hauled him up with a single, practiced motion, the other hand was gripping a handgun that glinted in the dim light. Mudis’s drink slipped from his hand, shattering against the polished marble floor. “Nikolas!” Mudis’s voice cracked as he found himself face-to-face with the man he

had feared would one day catch him in his lies. “H-Hey, my friend… What’s going on?” “Friend?” Nikolas’s tone was smooth, almost amused, though his eyes held no warmth. He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a deadly murmur as he stared Mudis down. “Funny, Mudis. I was under the impression that friends don’t steal from each other.”Mudis’s face paled, his lips trembling as he shook his head. “Nikolas, you’re mistaken,” he stammered, his eyes darting nervously from Bane to the crowd that had gathered, watching in terrified silence. “I swear, I’d never do that to you!” Nikolas raised an eyebrow, the faintest hint of a smirk curling at the corner of his mouth. “Is that so? Because from where I stand, you’ve been dipping your fat fingers

into my shipments, cutting your deals on my turf.” His voice turned colder with each word until it was sharp enough to cut glass. “Tell me, Mudis, do you take me for a fool?” Mudis’s face flushed, his breath coming in short gasps as he clutched at Bane’s arm,

trying to steady himself. “Nikolas, please,” he whimpered, eyes wide with desperation. “I… I didn’t mean any disrespect. I was just trying to… to—” “To line your own pockets?” Nikolas cut him off, his voice soft but edged with venom. “I let you operate here out of my generosity, and this is how you repay me? By taking what belongs to me?” “No! Nikolas, I swear! I didn’t… I never took more than what was agreed!” Mudis sputtered, but the words sounded weak even to his own ears. Nikolas glanced at Bane, giving him the slightest nod. Bane’s grip on Mudis tightened as he pulled his gun up, pressing it to Mudis’s temple. Mudis’s face went

slack, his knees buckling beneath him as he stammered, “No, please, Nikolas. You don’t need to do this. I… I’ll pay you back. Just give me a chance.”Nikolas chuckled darkly, a humorless sound that sent a chill through the room. “Oh, you’ll pay, Mudis. But not in the way you think.”He snapped his fingers, and his other henchman, Wren—a slender, wiry man with keen, calculating eyes—stepped forward, pulling a document from his jacket. He spread it out on the bar in front of Mudis, pressing it flat with deliberate precision. Nikolas leaned in close, his voice dropping to a barely audible whisper, though every word hit like a blade. “Here’s how this works. You’re going to sign over the Den of Cards and two other businesses of my choosing. Right here, right now.”Mudis’s eyes widened in horror, darting from the document to Nikolas’s icy gaze. “Nikolas, you can’t… Please, these are my businesses! I built them up from nothing!” Nikolas’s gaze hardened, his patience evaporating. “Built them? You built them

because I allowed it. You’ve profited off my generosity, and now you’ll pay for abusing it.” He gestured to the document. “Sign it.”

Mudis’s lips quivered as he opened his mouth to protest, but before he could speak, Bane cut him off, jamming the barrel of his gun into Mudis’s knee and pulling the trigger.

A deafening bang echoed through the casino, and Mudis collapsed to the ground, screaming as blood poured from his shattered knee. The crowd gasped, recoiling further, some looking away while others stood frozen, unable to tear their eyes from

the brutal scene. “Ahh! Nikolas, please!” Mudis sobbed, clutching his knee as agony twisted his face.

“I’ll… I’ll sign, I’ll sign… Just don’t… don’t…”Nikolas’s gaze was unyielding as he watched the man writhe, showing not the

slightest hint of mercy. “Good,” he said quietly. “Then do it.”Wren held out the pen, but Mudis’s hand shook too violently to grip it. Wren sighed, then reached into his own jacket, pulling out a thin blade. Without a word, he sliced a small cut along Mudis’s thumb, then pressed it down on the signature line, leaving a smeared, crimson imprint.“Sign it in blood, Mudis,” Nikolas murmured, watching as Mudis grimaced and pressed his bloodied thumb against the document. Once the signature was complete, Wren inspected it, and then handed it back to Nikolas. He folded it neatly, slipping it into his inside pocket, his face as impassive as ever.

Nikolas turned to leave, but Mudis’s shaky voice croaked out, “Please… Nikolas…have mercy…”Nikolas paused, glancing back with a look of cold indifference. “Mercy is a privilege, Mudis. Once you lost the moment you tried to cross me.”

He gave a slight nod to Bane, who understood immediately, pulling the trigger once more, this time aimed at Mudis’s shoulder. Mudis’s scream turned guttural, his voice a broken, desperate wail as he slumped against the bar, his blood pooling around him. The crowd watched in horrified silence, some shivering, others turning away with pale faces.Without another word, Nikolas turned and strode toward the exit, Wren close on his heels. The heavy double doors swung shut behind them, muffling the fading sound

of Mudis’s cries, his agony swallowed by the cold indifference of the casino. In the silence that followed, the patrons exchanged uneasy glances, a chilling reminder settling over them: in this world, power was ruthless, and crossing a man like Nikolas meant paying the ultimate price.