Meet Me Where the Oak Tree Grows novel Chapter 33

After a week in the hospital, I headed home, and Aunt Marie moved in to look after me, squeezing into my bed for a whole month. She was there for everything—helping me shower, brushing my hair, applying ointments. She handled every little thing with care.

A gentle hand can be the most lethal weapon.

I promised her over and over that I'd never do anything like that again, and only then did she finally relax.

Life has a funny way of throwing curveballs, leading us down unexpected paths. Just when I thought my hands were tied with my dad's situation, something happened.

One night, Officer Cooper and Jonah were chatting about a new cheating trick at casinos that had left many families in ruins. Suddenly, I remembered that afternoon when I went home to grab my piggy bank and spotted a deck of cards on the table with something that looked like glasses beside it. Odd, since my dad didn’t wear glasses.

I asked Officer Cooper about this cheating method. He explained that some cheaters used a special deck of cards that looked normal at first glance. But when they wore special contacts, they could see fluorescent numbers and symbols on the back of the cards.

It all clicked with what I'd seen.

Around that time, my dad suddenly hit a winning streak and scored a bunch of cash. I shared this with Jonah and Officer Cooper.

In less than a week, my dad got caught cheating at a casino owned by an out-of-town boss. The real mastermind behind his tools was Julian, the casino mogul who had indirectly caused my mom's death.

The tension between the two casinos was about to blow up, and someone tipped off the cops. Julian’s place was found guilty of repeated cheating for huge profits.

But this afternoon, I was finally freed from dietary constraints!

Staring at a big bowl of spicy stewed chicken, my mouth watered just from the smell. Aunt Marie can't handle the spice, and Jonah thinks it's too ugly to eat. So today, it was all for me.

“Lana, dig into the shrimp while you wait. Jonah’s still sleeping, and the other dishes aren’t ready yet.”

Jonah had taken on a big job last night and, in a rare turn, didn’t hit the sack until ten in the morning, so he was still out cold by afternoon.