The same night,
Lance didn't want to press his mother any further—not tonight. As difficult as it was to stop there, at least now he had something. A name. A connection. A thread to pull.
He sat at his desk after she'd gone to bed, the room quiet except for the low hum of his laptop fan. The soft glow from the screen lit up the sticky notes still clinging to the corner of his monitor—half jokes, half reminders of a simpler time.
He opened a browser tab and typed:
[Dominic WSOP winner.]
He sighed. "Way too many Doms in the world."
It spat out hundreds of results. Articles. Photos. Forum posts. Profiles.
He narrowed it.
[Dominic poker WSOP bracelet winner.]
Still too many.
Scrolling through the list, he decided to add another filter—the year. The one from the photo. The year the bracelet was won.
This time, the list shrank. Five names.
Lance leaned in. "Five Dominics," he muttered. "Okay. That's manageable."
He scanned the names and snorted. "Well, I'm definitely not the son of Dominic Abiola."
A gold-chain wearing high-roller who won the Super High Roller event. Not exactly his mum's type.
Dominic Rothstein. German-American. Precise. Cold. Notorious for having never smiled once in his career. Made final tables like clockwork.
Lance squinted. "Nah, no resemblance at all."
Dominic Fox.
He paused. Dominic Fox looked familiar.
But when he clicked on the profile, he realized it was just the kind of familiarity that came from someone who had been used in memes for years. Fox was the guy who lost with quads to a straight flush and flipped a table on live TV.
Dominic Graves.
There wasn't much to go with. The profile was bare compared to the others. A few news clippings. One black-and-white photo taken during a game.
Lance leaned closer, whispering, "That's him."
He knew. It's impossible not to make the connection when Lance and his father shared many physical features.
Then he saw the article link at the bottom of the profile. One he hadn't noticed at first. It was half-buried. Outdated formatting. A digital fossil.
[WSOP Champion Dominic Graves Has Titles Revoked After Fraud Conviction]
Lance quickly read through the article.
[... officially revoked all titles and earnings awarded to Dominic Graves, following a months-long investigation into allegations of tournament manipulation.]
[...once hailed as one of the game's most brilliant minds and a fan favorite for his ice-cold bluffs and improbable comebacks, is now at the center of a scandal…]
[The WSOP announced the decision early Monday morning after what it called "substantial evidence" surfaced suggesting that Graves had been involved in a coordinated effort to influence the outcomes of multiple events…]
["There were too many coincidences," said a fellow pro, who requested anonymity. "Hands that didn't make sense, folds that came too easily, and players that seemed to just give up their chips when he was short-stacked."]
[While no criminal charges have been filed, the WSOP concluded that the integrity of multiple events had been "significantly compromised."
[... a decision was made to suspend the current Suits and Jokers selection cycle, poker's equivalent of an all-star team. All qualifying points earned from the start of the cycle will be erased, and the next selection won't occur for another three years, according to a joint statement from the WSOP, GPI, and the International Poker Federation.
[All of Graves' titles, bracelets, and earnings—estimated at over $12 million—have been vacated. Sponsors have terminated their partnerships with him, and online platforms have already begun removing his past performances from highlight reels.
[Graves initially responded to the investigation by denying all allegations, calling the process "deeply flawed" and accusing fellow players of professional jealousy. But in recent weeks, the once-vocal champion has gone completely silent—no public statements, no legal filings, and no social media activity…
[Among those publicly distancing themselves from Graves are the Nakamura twins, Kazuo and Yazuo, rising stars and heavy contenders for the next Suits & Jokers team. Just months ago, both brothers defended Graves, calling the accusations "speculative noise" and crediting his performance to "unmatched game sense and psychological mastery.
[But in a statement posted Sunday night to social media, the twins admitted they were wrong. "We can no longer support Dominic Graves or stand behind his achievements. The integrity of the game comes first."]
[...]
He quickly searched for and read a few more articles. With each article, he started to regret his decision.
As the light from the screen cast sharp shadows across his room, he felt as if the air had gotten heavier now—like even the walls were holding their breath.
Dominic Graves.
The name pulsed at the top of the article, bold and unrelenting. Underneath it, line after line etched itself into his mind like scars being carved in real time.
WSOP Champion. Titles revoked.
He leaned back in his chair, the plastic creaking softly under his weight. His eyes stayed on the screen, but he wasn't reading anymore. The words had turned into static. A white noise hum that droned somewhere between disbelief and fury.
His father.
All his life, he'd imagined… nothing. He had nothing to imagine. Just vague silhouettes of a man who left too early, who never called, never wrote. And now, finally, when he did have something, it came with baggage the size of a casino vault.
The Suits & Jokers cycle suspended.
Millions erased.
A legacy blacked out like a censored document.
He should be furious. He was. But it wasn't just rage—it was confusion. Curiosity. A strange ache.
Lance slowly closed the browser tab. The glow of the desktop faded, leaving the room dim again.
He stood up and walked to the window, pulling the curtain aside. The street below was quiet, except for the occasional sounds made by the wild cats and drunken passersby.
Why didn't she tell me?
She must have known. And she didn't just hide the name—she buried the entire past. Not just for his sake, but maybe to protect him from this moment. From the weight of someone else's sins.
But it was too late now. He couldn't pretend he hadn't seen the truth.
"Is that man really my father?"
He knew nothing about his father–but he knew his mother. She wouldn't have loved a scheming man. Even if Lance couldn't trust his father, he could trust his mother. If he had indeed been such a person, she wouldn't have cried for him or waited for him all these years.
Did he really run away? Because he can't handle this scandal?
A million questions raced through Lance's mind at the moment. Questions with no answers to them.
Suddenly,
PAP!
He had slapped himself to clear his head. Rubbing his reddened cheeks, he mumbled, "There's no use overthinking this."
Lance took his phone and quickly sent a text. He then tossed his phone on the bed, thinking that the reply wouldn't arrive so quickly. But he was wrong. Just as the phone landed on the bed, a loud "Ding!" sounded.
Lance quickly picked up the phone and looked at the message.
[Send me your bank acc info.]
After Lance sent back what was needed, he glanced at the small mirror behind the door. Looking at his reflection, Lance thought, "I'm going to find out the truth."
####