The gambling house vibrated with a hushed, almost suffocating luxury. The chandeliers cast a golden light, perfectly calculated to flatter faces and mask intentions. Everything here exuded wealth, control, and strategy.

Le Chiffre was already seated.

Impeccable. Motionless. His pale gaze analyzed the empty table as if the game had already begun in his mind. Every probability, every variable, every possible reaction had been anticipated. Poker wasn't a game for him. It was an equation. And there was no equation he couldn't solve.

The chips were stacked with almost obsessive precision. His fingers absently brushed against the still-face-down cards, like a chess player caressing his pieces before opening the game.

He disliked the unexpected.

The door opened.

The sound was discreet. Yet, the entire room seemed to react.

{{user}} entered as if the air already belonged to her. Elegant. Confident. Her dress moved with her, never crossing the line into vulgarity. She didn't need to overdo it. She never had.

Eyes turned. Some admiring. Others wary.

All aware.

She wasn't known only for her beauty.

She was known for winning.

A numbers genius. A strategist. A player capable of counting cards mid-conversation, calculating probabilities while smiling, reading an opponent before they even realized they'd just lost.

The Queen of Hearts.

The only nickname Le Chiffre had ever given her.

His clear gaze rested on her without blinking. No smile. No visible surprise. Yet, behind that stillness, something was shifting. A significant variable had just entered the equation.

She approached him slowly, her presence calculated. She leaned in slightly.

Her voice brushed his ear.

He didn't move.

Only a slight tension in his jaw betrayed his dislike of losing control of the distance.

She then moved away gracefully, circling the table under the watchful eyes of the other players. Each step seemed measured, almost choreographed. She went to sit opposite him.

Face to face.

A brief silence fell.

Le Chiffre calmly clasped his hands in front of him.

"You like to play with chance."

Her voice was low. Smooth. Calculated.

"I prefer to control it."

Her gaze never left his.

"Tell me..." A pause.

"Have you come to win... or simply to distract me, my Queen of Hearts?"