While the Ambrose family were still wondering what had happened, Alex left Baltimore and went to Atlantic City.
At eleven o'clock that evening, Alex met with Debbie. The following day, they were going to board the Paradise cruise ship at Atlantic City wharf.
They were planning to spend some time on the cruise to rest and recuperate after everything that had happened. When they met, Debbie told him that they both needed new clothes to wear on the cruise and told him about a boutique on board the ship that sold beautiful clothes. When she told Alex that the clothes cost around a thousand dollars per item, he had tried to change her mind.
He thought, She fell in love with a man who is just a security guard and a teacher. How can she want to buy such expensive clothes?
Although Debbie and Alex were now the leaders of the Black Orchid Cult sect and the Appalachian alliance, neither of them had asked for any money from either organization.
Alex frowned. Although he and Debbie didn't care too much about money, he accepted that they still needed some to make the most of their time on the cruise ship.
As he was thinking, he overheard other people near them chatting.
"Hey, man. Where did you get to last night? It's good to see you're still alive," one man was saying to his friend.
"Tell me about it! I had a lot of trouble on the cruise ship last night. I lost everything—over five million dollars. Now, I have to sell my house to pay off the debt," his friend replied.
The man who had lost all money wanted to cry. He had nothing left to his name.
"The Paradise? The casino cruise ship in Atlantic City boardwalk? Buddy, that's a devil's cave that eats people and spits out their bones. Their games are designed to cheat visitors out of their hard-earned money. Why did you go there? To gamble?"
"Well, I'd heard that the Paradise was a good place to have a bit of fun. I never thought I'd lose everything." The man looked extremely agitated. He was probably thinking about how to pay the money back. He didn't want to think about the consequences if he didn't.
The man didn't realize that Alex had been listening to their conversation.
He was very interested to find out more about the casino cruise ship, the Paradise, and how harmful it was to its clients. When he heard what the man said he started to wonder if the casino was either cheating or that it could be run by gangsters.
After Debbie had gone to bed in their hotel room, Alex called and asked Rufus if he could lend him five million dollars and Rufus was very happy to be able to help. He told Alex that it was a gift and that he didn't need to pay it back.
Alex wouldn't accept it as a gift, however, and he made a note of how much he borrowed and how much interest he would pay back on the loan. He was determined not to take advantage of Rufus.
If the owners of the boutique on the Paradise were aware a member of the great Ambrose family was going there to buy clothes for his girlfriend, they would have been overjoyed.
However, the security guards had no idea who Alex was when he tried to board the ship. "Please show me your identification, sir," one of two security guards demanded as he tried to board the cruise ship. Their eyes were polite but firm.
"Identification?" Only then did Alex consider that he would have to show proof of his age to board the casino.
Alex smiled at the two guards and looked into their eyes. They instantly felt a little dizzy, and by the time they recovered their senses, Alex had passed them and boarded the ship.
It was extremely luxurious inside cruise ship and also very busy with clients. Business was clearly thriving.
The decadent scene of wine, beautiful people, extravagant outfits, and money made Alex feel uncomfortable. Everyone there was clearly very wealthy.
Before seeing it for himself, Alex would never have imagined that such a hedonistic place existed.
"Hey, buddy, is this your first time?" asked a portly smiling man holding a glass of red wine.
Alex didn't respond so the portly man continued, "Buddy, you're here to make your dreams come true like the rest of us. Gambling is the most fun a man can have, and if you're lucky, you can win a couple million!"
"Really?" Alex smiled. The amount of money the man was hinting at was nothing to him.
When he saw Alex's disappointment, the portly man took a mouthful of red wine. He said "Oh, really? So a few million isn't enough for you. Buddy, if you want to play for higher stakes, you can definitely do that here too. The turnover of this place is at least one hundred fifty million a day. Between you and me, this is the place where members of the Chamber of Commerce launders money."
"Really?" Alex's interest was piqued.
"Oh, I can see that this is your first visit. My friend, really you should know that—" The man paused as he checked around him to make sure that no one else was listening to him. Then, he lowered his voice and whispered, "The Chamber of Commerce is practically a black-market organization itself! The Paradise is the economic lifeline for local chamber members and the owner is one of the senior directors. You must be very careful when you come here to gamble. They're vigilant and ruthless. Last night, a man from Philadelphia cheated and was thrown straight into the sea to feed the fish."
Alex laughed. He found the whole concept of the casino amusing. The owner was happy to swindle his clients, but he wouldn't let the gamblers cheat themselves. What a conman!
Now that he had a better understanding of the situation, Alex nodded to the man and walked into the casino. The lights were bright, and the atmosphere was welcoming. There were piles of chips on the gambling tables in front of many rich clients who were happy throwing them onto the tables without much care.
"Welcome," a beautiful woman addressed Alex warmly. She led him to the cashier to buy chips.
"Sir, how many chips do you want to buy?" the cashier asked.
Alex took out his cash and placed it on the counter. "Whatever I can get for five million dollars," he told her.
The cashier didn't seem at all surprised. She was used to dealing with very large sums of money. Smiling, she gave Alex his set of chips for the evening.
Alex took the chips and walked casually to a roulette table. The rules were very simple, and he bet three hundred thousand dollars on black to start the game.
The eight gamblers already at the table were well dressed, and they noticed immediately that Alex's clothes were cheap. They couldn't believe that he had started with such a large bet.
To bet so much on a roulette table was unusual. The other gamblers were reluctant to match Alex's bet. They were all rich, but they didn't want to throw their money away.
The croupier smiled and called, "All bets in now please."
The wheel stopped on red, and Alex's chips were gone in a flash.
"Bad luck," the croupier said. Alex's expression didn't change as he bet another three hundred thousand dollars, this time on red.
The croupier stared at Alex for a moment and then spun the wheel.
All the spectators who were watching were astonished.
Even the other gamblers on nearby tables were surprised. Many of them stopped what they were doing to watch Alex's table.