Chapter 2

Now that I knew the secret, I made my move. I had my men buy me a huge stack of lottery tickets, and every time I scratched one off, I hit a million-dollar jackpot.

After scratching off four or five winning tickets in a row, I finally stopped, satisfied.

Then, I posted a quick update on my feed. "A blessing in disguise."

It didn't take long for the office group chat to blow up with question marks. Apparently, Yelena had accidentally tumbled down a flight of stairs, which left her bruised and swollen.

I chuckled gleefully, knowing that this was just the start of her payback.

Once I was healed and back at the office, Yelena was still wrapped in a blood-stained gauze.

She had the audacity to sidle up to me and say, "Hey, Evie, I heard you've had some pretty good luck lately."

I swallowed my disgust and showed her a lottery ticket. "That's right. I hit the million-dollar jackpot every time I scratch one of these lately."

When my colleagues heard that, they shot me with looks of pure envy and disbelief.

"No way! If you're going to lie, at least make it believable!"

"You didn't even have the guts to sign that betting agreement, and now you're pretending to be some rich heiress. Have you no shame?"

I ignored their snide remarks and kept my eyes locked on Yelena's expression. When she noticed the ticket in my hand, her face contorted for a split second before she forced a strained smile.

"Oh, really? Speaking of which, I've had such rotten luck lately, so I was thinking of scratching a few tickets myself to turn things around. Evie, could you give me that one?"

With that, she actually reached over to snatch it.

I knew that I'd watch another million dollars fly out the window if she got her hands on the ticket, so I quickly dodged her, put some distance between us, and scratched it in a few quick strokes.

A second later, my phone chimed with the notification of another million dollars deposited into my account.

"Oh, wow!" I exaggeratedly exclaimed. "I hit the jackpot again!"

The colleagues who'd just been mocking me went dead silent.

Yelena's face was twisted in fury over the lost cash. Still, she forced a smile and congratulated me. "You're so lucky, Evie. Unlike me…"

Her eyes glinted, and tears immediately streamed down her cheeks before she could even finish her sentence.

"Evie! Why are you picking on Yelena again?"

Nate appeared out of nowhere and glared at me, looking displeased like I'd committed an unforgivable sin.

"Apologize to her!"

The colleagues snapped out of their shock and maliciously piled on.

"Yeah, apologize! If you gave that ticket to Yelena, she might've won more than a million dollars!"

"You should just give her that one million dollars as compensation!"

I tilted my head and snapped back, "What hospital charges a million dollars for medical bills? Or is she terminally ill and dying?"

Yelena clenched her fists, her face alternating between a dozen shades of fury. She was clearly livid.

Nate wrapped an arm around her shoulder and frowned. "Don't you dare jinx her, Evie. Hand over the money now!"

The sheer entitlement in his voice… Honestly, how was this any different from a daylight robbery?

I was about to shut him down when Yelena wiped her tears, looking stubborn and prideful.

"It's fine," she said. "It doesn't matter if Evie doesn't want to share. It's just a million dollars. My dad will give it to me anyway."

She pulled out her phone and made a call. A moment later, I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey there, sweetie. Are you short on cash again?"

Yelena shot me a triumphant look and smirked as she started wheedling Dad. "Send me some money, Dad. I'm hurt, so I need a new bag to feel better!"

The next second, a million dollars hit her account.

As I watched her beam with joy, my head started spinning. Wasn't I supposed to be Dad's only daughter?