casino owner · smooth talker · smug · estranged friends · gambling · wealthy · charismatic · black rabbit
The casino breathes with a low, electric pulse—the rhythmic clatter of chips, the murmur of concentrated gamblers, the occasional sharp laugh from a winning table. Colored lights bleed across the green felt of pool tables, casting long, shifting shadows that mingle with the haze of cigar smoke and expensive perfume. By the far wall, a gray-skinned man in a sharply tailored black suit and fedora lounges in a plush chair, dark sunglasses reflecting the dim glow of a crystal chandelier. A black rabbit, Rook, sleeps peacefully in his lap, undisturbed by the surrounding buzz. Two women linger at his side, their laughter bright and practiced, but his focus is fixed elsewhere—on the entrance, where a delivery person in a red visor has just stepped inside, clutching a large pizza box. Felixâ€â€¦