“Go on,” said Cade.
“She asked one of our dealers to show her how to play roulette, then it was poker. She was in quite a bit. A few weeks ago, she came in with almost five grand to play with. Bobby over there,” he said nodding at one of the other men, “he even asked her if she was sure. Told her it might be better if she went home.”
“I felt bad for her. She looked scared and excited. That’s never a good combination. She lost that money within an hour. Broke my heart for her.”
“So, the chips. Where does that come in?” asked Bogey.
“One of our cashiers turned for just a few minutes. The chips were on a cart and somehow, all things being perfect, Clementine walked out with an entire tray of chips. High dollar chips. I don’t know what she was thinking. All we wanted to do was get the chips back.”
“Where is the father? Mario?” asked Griff.
“He’s fine. He’s at the casino trying to work out a repayment plan. He said he called a neighbor to check on the kids, left them a message.”
“That must have been the ones on vacation,” said Griff.
“We didn’t mean to scare the kids. It’s why we left,” said the man.
“Why’d you trash the shed? Why throw everything in the yard?” The three men looked at one another, a bright blush filling their cheeks.
“We were just looking for the chips but when we started digging in there, it was full snakes and spiders.”
“We didn’t encounter any snakes,” smirked Milo.
“Then you were lucky. I know what a snake looks like. We don’t want any trouble, we just want the chips back.” Griff nodded at the others, all of them nodding at him.
“They belong to you. Let the father go. His kids are worried,” said Remy.
They zipped the suitcase, handing it to the men. Locking up the house, they headed back out to Belle Fleur to get the kids and bring them home. When Luke called, they were pretty sure what it was about.
“I’m going to assume you’ve figured this out,” said Luke.
“How’d you know?” asked Bodhi.
“Because Clementine told us.”
Luke just stared at the pained image of Clementine Pucci. She stood on the dock, looking out over the bayou. Suddenly, without warning, she gasped, gripping her chest and leaned forward.
“Clementine? Clementine, can you hear me?” asked Luke. Joseph was standing beside him with Nathan.
“Wh-what have I done? What did I do?” she cried in pain and horror.
“Do you remember what you did, Clementine?” asked Nathan. She turned to stare at the three men, nodding.
“I thought I could do something big for my family. I could contribute in some way.”
“You were contributing, Clementine. You were a wife, mother, partner, friend, and so much more. There’s nothing more important than those roles.”
“My poor children. My poor husband,” she cried.
“It’s alright now. My men found the chips,” said Luke. “We’ve returned them to the casino.” She wailed a disturbing sound echoing across the bayou.
“I didn’t mean to hurt them. When I realized what I’d done, I was so ashamed and then I couldn’t find a way to get it back to those men. My family must hate me.”
“They don’t hate you,” said Joseph. “They miss you. Don’t worry, your children will never know why this happened. We won’t tell them.”
“I’m so sorry and so embarrassed,” she sobbed. “I did the one thing I swore I would never do. I turned into my father.”
“You aren’t your father, Clementine. It’s alright now. Your family is safe and the children will be alright, we promise.”
