Hashwini did as she was told just so she could keep herself busy and not be drawn into the conversation. The two China croupiers were gossiping about the Beast’s newest girlfriend, whose boobs looked as if they had expanded by one cup size since the last time she was here. How much did such an operation cost? Was it safe? Should they consider it?

After a while, Hashwini noticed that the conversation had died down and both the croupiers wore a look of mild distress. The one seated opposite Jingxuan hopped up from the sofa and made a dash for the toilet. Jingxuan herself turned to Hashwini and winced, “Do you feel any stomach ache? I think it’s the chendol.”

“I don’t feel anything…yet.”

“I don’t care. I’m next,” Jingxuan declared, pointing at the only toilet available.

Sure enough, by the time the first croupier emerged from the toilet, Hashwini was bent over in agony. There was no way she could endure till Gao Jingxuan was done. Hashwini made a snap decision. There was a VIP guest toilet sandwiched between the Emerald and Sapphire rooms. As a rule, croupiers were not allowed to use it but this was an extraordinary situation.

Hashwini reached the VIP guest toilet just as the occupant inside activated the flush. She pressed herself against the wall and watched as the door opened and the guest inside headed straight for the reception lobby. The back profile was unmistakable; it was Teddy Toy Boy leaving earlier than usual.

Hashwini quietly locked the door and settled down to conduct her business. The diarrhoea was fierce and furious. Whatever the kitchen staff had dropped into the pot of chendol by mistake was a killer!

And then she spotted it—the iPhone leaning against the toilet paper dispenser.

Picking it up, Hashwini noticed that it was protected by a nine-digit PIN. The phone’s wallpaper was a photo of Teddy sporting his signature dazzle of a smile. Had Hashwini not overheard the phone conversation earlier, she would have continued to regard Teddy as one of the sweetest men she had ever encountered. But armed with her new insight, the smile appeared contrived and deceitful. Hashwini hated it. She also hated the invisible woman she had been dealing blackjack for. Hashwini wondered what the woman looked like.

That was when it struck her. She could try the swipe code. The first guess was obvious. She did a figure “5”, Teddy Toy Boy’s favourite number.

And it worked.

Hashwini tapped her way into the gallery and browsed through the albums until one particular album stopped her cold. There was a collection of photos where Teddy was in intimate poses with the woman—except that it was not a woman. It was a man, who looked majestic and stately with a head of white hair.