Jackpot Heist: Tearing Down the Thieves Who Raised Me

"This is your lottery ticket. Hold onto it. Maybe you'll win big."

I stared at the lottery ticket in my hand, and my mind spun.

I had been reborn. I had actually returned to the day I bought this lottery ticket.

In my last life, I had bought the same lottery ticket. However, my brother, Vincent Becker, had rushed into my room and stolen it.

I never had good luck and never believed that I could win anything, so I forgot all about the lottery ticket.

Soon after, my family's business started booming, and we moved into a huge house.

My family became one of the rising wealthy in Uskax, while Vincent was sent off to study in Basmar.

I once asked if I could study abroad, too, but Mom shut me down right away. "You're a lady. You're supposed to get married in the future, so what's the point of studying abroad? It's just window dressing."

I was ranked first in my entire grade. But the moment I bought that lottery ticket, it seemed that I had entirely run out of luck.

On the day of the college entrance exam, I had stomach cramps so bad that I fainted in the room, which led me to fail the exam.

My parents married me off to a lonely man in a rural town. His family locked me in a basement and beat me every day.

I finally escaped and made it back home.

But when I stood at the door covered in bruises, all I heard were my parents' cold voices.

"Look at you—you look like a beggar. You've completely embarrassed our family. Why didn't you just die in that village back then?"

Vincent's wife, Chloe Webb, stood there in designer clothes, covering her nose and frowning at him. "Is that really your sister? Even a beggar looks better than her."

Only Vincent held me tight, saying, "Mikaela, you've suffered so much."

He took me out for a walk to clear my head. Then, in a spot with no security cameras, he shoved me in front of a speeding truck.

I was rushed to the ICU with almost every bone in my body broken.

Right before I died, Vincent leaned close in a fancy suit and whispered in my ear, "Let me tell you the truth before you die. Our family didn't get rich from business. We got rich because of the hundred-million-dollar lottery ticket you bought.

"That's what allowed us to start the company, and that's how I got to study in Basmar. If you think about it, we really should be thanking you.”

He paused, then let out a cold laugh as he added, "But as long as you're alive, there's always a chance you might figure things out. What if one day you lose your mind and cause trouble?

"That's why Mom and Dad deliberately dumped you in that village and told the villagers to make your life a living hell. We didn't expect you to survive and escape, though. But this time, you're done for. Just die peacefully. We will be grateful to you."

I was filled with hate and rage as I drew my last breath. Right after I died, my family even sold my organs.

My chest tightened as I remembered everything from my previous life.

I clenched the lottery ticket in my hand and made a silent vow, "This time, I won't let them steal that 100 million dollars from me again!"

"Mikaela, you really are here!"

I spun around in shock. Vincent was suddenly standing right behind me.

His eyes lit up when he saw my clenched hand, and he reached straight for me.