Mystery of the Half-Scratched Lottery Ticket

I clutched the lottery ticket and forced a smile at Harry."Harry, Mom must be mistaken. How could I possibly get lucky enough to win?"He wasn't a fool. Offering twenty thousand for a twenty-dollar ticket had to be a trap. I could take the money—but if he regretted it later, who knew what he might do? No, this ticket wasn't going to him."Not a winner?" Harry's voice was sharp, disbelief flashing in his eyes. He reached for the ticket. "Let me see it."My heart pounded, but I kept my composure and handed it over.He inspected it carefully, turning it this way and that. When he saw it hadn't won, his anger exploded. He swore, then stomped on the ticket repeatedly, grinding it into the floor.Glancing at my mother, he hissed, teeth bared. "Aunt Maddie, your eyes are really failing—should've checked properly."My mom froze. The other relatives bent down, picking up the ticket, their collective "what a shame" echoing through the room.I exhaled quietly, relieved. Thank goodness I

Why was everyone willing to try to kill me over a twenty-dollar lottery ticket?Once the coast was clear outside, I pulled on my clothes and left Owen's apartment. I quickly blocked his number on my phone.I wandered back near my own neighborhood, hoping to get my ID while my parents were not home.But as soon as I stepped into the supermarket, they were waiting for me.My father grabbed my hair, cursing me. "You ungrateful little brat! I knew you had a rotten heart. You just can't stand us getting that ticket, can you? Wait until we get home—I'll show you what happens to ungrateful brats like you!"I begged the shop owner for help, but he spat on me instead."Ungrateful wretch! Hiding a twenty-dollar ticket, are you?! Don't ever step foot in my store again. Get out!"Before I could react, they tied me up and dragged me home."Hand over the ticket," my mother said, sneering."I've already told you, I don't have it! Didn't you search everywhere?" I shot back, refusing to bend.

The police station was packed, and the scene teetered on chaos. My parents and cousin jumped in front of everyone, spewing accusations and curses."Officer! Arrest Cathy immediately!" they shouted.The police held up a hand. "Calm down. Let's go one step at a time. Tell me exactly what happened."My parents launched into a tirade, dredging up every trivial misdeed from my childhood and exaggerating them a hundredfold. According to them, I had done everything imaginable—including murder. The officer listened for a while, then realized their words were mostly fluff. He walked over to my cousin, who looked every bit the cultured gentleman—slick suit, glasses perched neatly on his nose, exuding a deceptive air of sophistication."Here's the situation," Harry began. "My cousin—Cathy—left home because of family conflicts. She was scared of being alone, so she brought her friend along. They argued on the road, and just then a car passed. My cousin… in a moment of panic, pushed her frien

But what they hadn't expected was that I actually won the prize.To ingratiate himself with the wealthy, beautiful supervisor, Harry had been willing to spend 200,000 dollars to buy my 20-dollar lottery ticket.And every relative around us knew it. Even my childhood friend Owen and my best friend Wendy were fully aware—and willing to play along.They went from threats and bribery to conspiring with Wendy to fake my death and send me abroad. Once overseas, I would become an undocumented person, completely at their mercy. Even if I refused to hand over the lottery ticket, I would be forced to comply. My cousin could control me entirely.Why didn't they just tell me the truth?I realized it was probably because my cousin despised me too much to involve me. Despite being the only male heir in the family, he couldn't match me academically. While he had been praised for getting into a good university, I had been admitted to the top university globally, and even had sponsors ready to sen