Chapter 2

Hearing the faint complaint in Mom’s voice, I blinked and tossed out a casual lie.

"Mom, I meant I won an air fryer at the office party. I was asking if you wanted it."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, an air fryer? The way you sounded, I thought you’d won the lottery."

My chest tightened. "As if. If I had that kind of luck, I’d be thrilled."

"Still, since you won something, maybe I’ll ride your good fortune and buy a ticket later. Who knows, maybe I’ll win too. If we really did win, your dad would have money and wouldn’t hit me anymore.

"Alright, alright. Where’s the fryer? Bring it out. I’ll take it home and make him fried chicken."

I almost laughed at the irony. Even after being beaten, she still rushed back to him like a lovesick fool. In my past life, I must have been out of my mind to tell her about the jackpot.

Back then, when I told her, she had grabbed my hands and smiled so brightly.

What I hadn’t realized was that she wasn’t happy for me—she was happy for him.

Dad would always come first in her heart. Despite being her daughter, I was nothing more than a cash machine. She probably decided to tell him the moment she learned I’d won. She just couldn’t show it in front of me.

As soon as Dad got home, she had told him everything. I was packing when someone knocked on my door. I thought it was Mom coming back. Instead, Dad had come to rob me.

The memory made me take a deep breath. I quickly handed her the air fryer.

I’d bought it a couple of days earlier, planning to bring it home eventually. I never expected it to come in handy like this.

The moment she left, I started packing to get out of here.

I had already claimed the $30 million. After taxes, $24 million remained.

All of it was still in my account. Remembering what happened in my previous life, I decided to open several new bank accounts and split the money up, just in case.

That afternoon, I finished setting everything up.

I was just thinking about where to travel in a few days when I suddenly got a call from my cousin, Kellan Nightfall.

"Zara, did you win the lottery? $30 million?"

My grip on the phone nearly slipped.

This time, I hadn’t told anyone. How did he know?

Wait.

He was back in our hometown, Graves Hollow, and not even here in Blackridge City. How could he possibly know? Had he seen me at the claims center?

My palms grew slick with sweat, but I forced myself to sound calm.

"How could that be? You know me. My luck’s always terrible. No way I’d win anything, let alone $30 million. Stop messing with me."

I laughed it off and tried to hang up, but his tone turned firm. "Zara, it was definitely you. I saw it."

He saw me?

I nearly cried out, quickly digging my nails into my palm to steady myself. "I’ve been home these past couple of days. I haven’t gone anywhere. Maybe you mistook someone else for me?"

Kellan chuckled. "If it wasn’t you, why are you so nervous? Look at the photo I just sent. Isn’t that you?"

My phone buzzed as the message came through.

I opened it, and instantly, all the warmth drained from my body.