Game Of Chance

Victoria Burgess wouldn't call her gambling habit an 'addiction' because addictions were for people like her stepfather, people who were consumed by the activity or substance. Gambling to her was more like a job, and it was a job that she was very, very good at.

Money she won gambling helped to pay the bills, it helped to buy food, it helped to pay her sister Liz's tuition, and the surplus went to said stepfather Joel's addiction. But tonight? Tonight, gambling would be her downfall, and now she owed a debt to a man that is tall, dark, handsome, and wrapped up in things she had no desire to be involved in.

The man's name was Vince Scozzari, the Los Angeles Outfit's deadliest capos and most eligible bachelors, and he claimed to have known of her mother.

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Despite her circumstances, sixteen-year-old Liz Burgess's life was sheltered. Yes, she knew about Joel's drinking problem and yes, she knew that things had gone downhill since her and Vic's mom passed away two years ago, but now her sister's gone and no lack of knowledge of how the streets work would keep her from finding her.

But a mysterious boy with open arms to strangers might, and it's up to Liz to figure out what Adrian Scozzari knows about her sister's disappearance.

(Cover creds to @MissEllaUmbrella)