Thelma turned to look at Josie, surprised that she would help her out.
“What are you? Why should it be you to give her a way out?” Norah said with undisguised disdain in her tone.
Being publicly humiliated, Josie smiled awkwardly, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Ruth’s expression also darkened, and she coldly reminded, “Watch your words.”
“Isn’t it the same as before? What difference does it make if I don’t pay attention this time?”
Ruth’s expression became even worse, but she didn’t say anything further.
Thelma didn’t expect that even Ruth couldn’t do anything about Norah. She was just a stepdaughter, and her father was gone, yet she could act so arrogantly in the Sam family. Thelma found it hard to understand.
Norah raised an eyebrow and looked over, “What’s wrong? Didn’t you say you would accept the outcome?”
Thelma was fiddling with the remaining cards that hadn’t been drawn yet and didn’t respond. Tyler, who had been watching cartoons nearby, sensed that his mom might be bullied and ran over with his little legs, saying to the adults, “I just learned a set of martial arts. Can I show you?”
Ruth smiled lovingly, “Good, good, good, Grandma wants to see.”
Norah crossed her arms and sneered, “Is it that pathetic? You need your son to save you?”
Thelma pulled Tyler into her arms, knowing her good son wanted to help his mom.
Sam Noah was discussing business with the liquor factory people when he heard something was happening downstairs and came out to check. However, he didn’t go downstairs; in the multi-level house, he could see what was happening from the upstairs corridor.
After listening for a while, he roughly understood the situation.
Fernando and Marco, who were standing beside him, were a bit flustered at this scene. Marco even planned to rush downstairs to stop his sister. However, Sam Noah remained calm, his expression unchanged, even taking out a cigarette from his bag and lighting it, smoking leisurely.
Downstairs, Thelma had almost finished playing her cards. At this moment, she threw her cards on the table and pulled out two twos from the pile. She deliberately made a confused expression and said to Norah, “How strange, you clearly had three twos in your hand, so why are there still two twos among the cards that weren’t drawn?”
Norah’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but she quickly put on a nonchalant face and said, “How would I know? You should ask the person who drew the cards how a two got mixed in without them knowing.”
The one who drew the cards was the butler, and upon hearing this, he immediately said, “I drew a brand new deck, and we checked it; this kind of situation won’t occur.”
After the butler spoke, Josie suddenly seemed to remember something and said, “I remember Uncle was a Boss at cheating…” After saying this, she seemed to realize she had said something wrong and quickly covered her mouth.
However, this statement was enough to be insinuating, and Norah’s expression immediately soured as she angrily said, “Shut up and mind your own business!”
Thelma finally understood that Josie and Norah didn’t have a good relationship, and Josie’s sudden friendliness towards her was probably just to deal with Norah.
Thelma said, “What a coincidence, you were the only one with three twos, and no one else had even one. If you say that the extra two has nothing to do with you, I really don’t believe it. Your father was a Boss at cheating; I suppose you inherited the true skills, and this simple sleight of hand shouldn’t be difficult for you, right?” Thelma deliberately provoked her.
Norah snorted coldly, “If you want to play, you have to be able to lose. Since you lost, you have to accept the outcome! Stop talking nonsense.”
“You won, that’s true, but does winning by cheating count as winning? Since the rules state that the winner can ask the loser for any bet, I wonder if there are rules about whether others can ask the cheater for a bet?”
Josie immediately chimed in, “There is such a rule. If someone wins by cheating, the rules can be reversed, and the person being asked for a bet can ask the cheater for a bet.”
Norah said, “Which of you saw me cheat? Just because there was an extra card, it must mean I cheated?”
Josie muttered softly, “With so many people, you’re the only one who could do it.”
Norah was displeased. She had always been able to hit or scold Josie whenever she wanted, and Josie’s repeated interruptions were clearly challenging her authority, especially in front of Thelma.
