Chapter 2

The moment Sophie heard me, she lit up with joy and jumped in place.

"Adrian, I knew you loved me the most!

"Just wait. I'll prove myself. I'll show you I'm a born lucky charm."

Her chin lifted, bright and triumphant, every inch of her body radiating certainty.

I looked at the greed in her eyes without the slightest ripple in mine.

"Sure. I'll wait and see."

But in the next second, another voice cut in.

"No. I don't agree."

My father's brow furrowed, his tone already carrying blame.

"Your sister doesn't understand and is making a childish fuss. Why are you making trouble with her?

"This isn't a game for children. It concerns the life and death of the family business."

Being denied in front of everyone made Sophie's eyes go red again.

"Dad, why won't you believe me?"

She clutched my father's sleeve, looking pitiful and wronged.

Then she sniffed, her voice trembling.

"How about this?"

"If I call three matches in a row correctly, you'll give me the World Cup book."

Marissa immediately helped her along.

"Honey, just give the child a chance. It's only three matches. Calling all three correctly can't be that easy. If she loses, there won't be much damage."

My father looked into Sophie's wet eyes and gave in with indulgent affection.

"All right, all right. We'll do what Sophie wants.

"If you really call three matches in a row, I'll hand you the full World Cup book."

I knew my father too well.

His mouth agreed, but he didn't take it seriously at all.

Sophie was an outsider who barely understood the sport. Relying on intuition to hit three correct scores in a row was a fantasy.

He was only humoring his daughter.

Everyone was waiting for her to hit a wall and abandon her ridiculous idea.

Only Sophie's eyes blazed with complete confidence.

Before anyone could say more, the giant television in the living room switched to the World Cup broadcast.

The match began under the eyes of the whole world.

The field shifted rapidly, attacks and counters changing by the second.

Sophie glanced at me thoughtfully.

It looked as though she was watching the match. In truth, she was listening to my thoughts the entire time.

Then she raised a confident smile and said firmly, "This one ends 2-4."

Everyone in the living room froze.

The two teams were nearly equal in strength. Most professionals expected a low-scoring game.

A 2-4 upset was something almost no one favored.

My father raised a brow, surprised and unconvinced.

"You decided that quickly?

"The match has only just started. The situation isn't clear yet. Don't you want to watch a little longer?"

Sophie shook her head hard.

"Dad, just trust me once. Buy in now. It's guaranteed profit."

In the end, my father couldn't resist her insistence.

"Fine, fine. Dad trusts you. I'll have the secretary enter a position."

He picked up his phone and casually told his secretary to take a small position.

It was purely to make her happy. He didn't expect her to be right.

Time passed minute by minute.

No one expected that the evenly matched game would suddenly change in the second half.

One team launched a series of brilliant attacks and scored again and again, blowing up every expert prediction.

When the final whistle sounded, the room went silent.

The final score was locked on the television screen.

2-4.

Exactly right.