Short Mystery/Thriller Stories & Novels

My husband's lottery ticket hit the 30-million-dollar jackpot, and our whole family was over the moon. Our daughter had been diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure, and the medical bills had already buried us under millions in high-interest debt. That 30 million dollars would not only save her life but also finally give our family the comfortable future we had always dreamed of. However, the day before we were supposed to claim the prize, I sold the ticket for one dollar. Our daughter died at home because we could not afford her treatment. My husband, shattered by the loss, jumped from the 30th floor and killed himself. The entire internet called me a monster. Countless people reported me to the police, demanding my arrest. Five years later, my son won the jackpot for 30 million dollars. Yet once again, I sold the lottery ticket for a dollar.

At 2:00 am, after a passionate night with my girlfriend, I casually drop a selfie into a WhatsApp group chat with my buddies. The chat blows up instantly. Mack Slater: "Damn, Harv. Those hickeys on your neck are kinda artistic." Keith Oldman: "Ivory's back for Embercoil Solstice, huh? I bet you two went wild tonight." I stare at the screen, feeling smug. Then Will Anderson, who hasn't said anything so far, suddenly tags me in the group and sends a creepy message. "You're in trouble. Those aren't hickeys on your neck. They're marks left by a drowned wraith looking for a substitute!" My hands are trembling as I clutch my phone.

I went viral, all for the wrong reasons. The world came down hard on me, all because I refused to approve my employee, Cassandra’s, maternity leave. Cassandra tore me apart online. “Why won’t you grant me maternity leave? “The government wants the birth rate to go up. Even if you’re the CEO, you can’t go against the law. “I get it. The low birth rate exists because heartless capitalists like you treat employees like nothing. “Fam, back me up here. Am I wrong to protect my unborn child? “I have a legal right to maternity leave.” With her words striking a chord with the young generation, the livestream became a viral sensation. Many spammed the company’s social media to criticise me. There were memes of me as a funeral portrait everywhere. Some even mailed wreaths to the office. The board ordered me to apologize live. I plugged into Cassandra’s stream and looked at her calmly. “I’m sorry, but I still can’t approve your leave.”