On the day I graduated from college, I bought a scratch-off lottery ticket on a whim and unexpectedly won a 20-million-dollar prize. My mom, Darla Moran, warned me to keep the money hidden, but she quickly told my brother, Wilbur Moran, about it. Wilbur, along with my dad, Fletcher Moran, locked me in the basement, demanding I hand over all the winnings. My mom pretended to be innocent, claiming she had remarried my dad and that the money should be shared with the family. They let me starve to death, cruelly dismembered my body, and flushed it down the toilet. When I opened my eyes again, I saw my mom holding my lottery ticket, comparing it to the winning numbers. Seeing her greedy expression, I couldn’t help but smile coldly. “Buying lottery tickets is a waste of money! You could have bought Wilbur two pounds of chicken wings with that! What a waste!” My mom nagged, and her words made my head buzz. Before I could even react, the lottery store owner placed the scratch-off in my hand, letting me choose. I stared at that familiar ticket, not hesitating for a moment before ripping it open. My mom continued to complain beside me. “Twenty bucks for a card! It is too expensive. We can barely pay the rent, and you waste money like this!” I ran my fingers over the scratch-off, my heart racing. I knew this was 20 million dollars! In this life, I had finally grabbed fate by the reins again. I came from a broken home. My parents divorced when I was young. I lived with my mom, while my brother Wilbur lived with my dad. My mom’s health wasn’t good, and she had no income, so she relied on me to work part-time and pay for household expenses and my tuition. However, instead of thanking me, she felt indebted to Wilbur. She would often take the money I gave her and secretly pass it on to Wilbur. In my previous life, when I won the lottery, I immediately shared the good news with my mom. She warned me never to tell anyone about my win because it was unsafe. I thought she was protecting me, so I promised, reminding her not to slip and mention it to Wilbur lest my gambling-addicted father get wind of it. But after Wilbur took the SATs and asked my mom for money, she “accidentally” betrayed me. “Alisha won 20 million dollars in the lottery. That’s enough to buy you a fancy car for a joyride.” When Wilbur asked me about that, I refused to admit it, but my mom came into my room and pulled out the proof of the winning ticket. Wilbur quickly told my dad and my dad stormed into my house with Wilbur in tow, demanding I pay for his retirement and for Wilbur’s support. I refused, and they started beating and insulting me. My mom stood by, watching, not intervening. She even pretended to be generous, advising me, “They’re your father and brother. You should help them out. It’s only right.” My heart shattered. When I was in middle school, my dad had gambled away money and used my mom and me as collateral to settle his debts. The casino almost sold us into a brothel. It was because I fought tooth and nail to protect my mom that she wasn’t hurt. This was also why my grandpa forced my mom to divorce him. Yet now, my mom was willing to watch me get beaten for the sake of her ex-husband and son. I ran away, determined to escape this parasitic family. But my dad and Wilbur took to livestreaming, publicly accusing me of stealing money and fleeing the country. My mom, using her identity as the long-suffering single mother who raised me, appeared on camera to confirm that I was an ungrateful daughter. The online abuse flooded in, drowning me. They even tricked me back, claiming my mom was critically ill. They captured me, locking me in a dark basement and demanding my account passwords. Once they had the money, my mom feared my dad and Wilbur’s actions might be exposed, so she suggested locking me up. They let me starve to death, dismembered my body, and flushed it down the toilet to cover their tracks. Only at the moment of my death did I realize that my mom had intentionally betrayed me to Wilbur. She always wanted to reunite with my dad and Wilbur, and I had merely been a tool for her to use. It was a bitter truth, one I only understood when it was too late. After I died, my spirit followed my mom. I watched as she remarried my dad, using my money to buy Wilbur luxury cars and mansions. When relatives asked about my whereabouts, my mom claimed I had abandoned her and run off overseas to live a carefree life. My life was buried in their hands. But my ghost couldn’t rest, haunting them relentlessly. Then, one day, a mysterious white light sucked me in. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day I won the scratch-off. In this life, I wouldn’t be the obedient daughter anymore. With 20 million dollars in hand, I was going to change my fate completely!
Although my heart was racing, I knew now wasn’t the time to let my guard down. I took a deep breath, calming myself. While my mom was distracted with her phone, I hid the original scratch-off ticket in my bag, then grabbed another one, slipping the store clerk money for it. I kept my head down as I scratched off the numbers, pretending to compare them to the winning ones. My mom leaned over, asking, “Did you win?” Seeing her calculating expression, I remained calm. “No, it’s such a rare chance to win, I never expected it to be me.” She looked at me suspiciously as if trying to find a flaw in my face. “Then why did you look at it for so long? Let me see.” My mom snatched the scratch-off from my hands. In my previous life, she had done the same thing, taking the ticket from me and checking the numbers. At that time, when she confirmed I had won the big prize, she hugged and kissed me happily. “Good thing I listened to you and bought this ticket. Our family is finally rich!” But this time, even though she was my mother, I wouldn’t trust her blindly anymore. My mom carefully compared the numbers, confirming I hadn’t won. She angrily threw the ticket in the trash. “I told you not to waste that twenty. Now look, it’s just a worthless piece of paper.” She couldn’t stop complaining, dragging me out of the store. I ignored her, following quietly behind her as we went home. Once we were back, my mom put on a long face and started crying about our financial struggles. She sobbed, saying that the landlord had suddenly raised the rent and we had to pay up in two days, or we’d have to move out. She even asked me for the money I had saved from my part-time job to cover the rent. Azuria City was a big city, and rent wasn’t cheap. The money I made from working part-time barely covered anything. I had to support both myself and my mom, and it was never enough. In my previous life, my mom had even pressured me to borrow money online to pay the rent. Luckily, I had won the lottery, or she would’ve insisted on that. Back then, I had suggested buying a house for us to live in, but my mom said buying a house was a big decision, and in the end, she chose to rent a pricey apartment in the city center. That place was very close to where my dad and Wilbur lived. I suspected that was when my mom started to feel affection for my dad again, forgetting all about the sacrifices I had made for her. Now, facing the same problem with rent, I decided I wouldn’t give her any more money. “Mom, the rent’s too high in the city. I really can’t afford it. Didn’t Grandpa leave you that house in the countryside before he passed? You can move back there. After all, you don’t need to work.” My mom seemed to sense something off. She stared at me, her voice taking on a deeper tone. “Alisha, are you hiding something from me?” My heart skipped a beat.
My mom stared at me suspiciously and asked, “Did you win the lottery and want to keep it all to yourself without telling me?” I quickly regained my composure, deliberately emptied my wallet from the drawer, and showed it to her. “You know exactly how much money I have, don’t you? It’s all right here. If you don’t believe me, I’ll give you twenty bucks. Go buy a lottery ticket and try your luck. If you win, we can both enjoy the prize.” My mom laughed awkwardly and put the money back into my wallet, her tone softening. “I’m not saying I don’t believe you, it’s just that I feel that is strange. Why suddenly don’t you want to live with me? Are you starting to dislike me?” I couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. I understood what she was worried about. She was worried that if I really won, she wouldn’t get her share. She had spent years molding me into someone she could rely on, someone she could always take from. She would never let me go easily. Taking a deep breath, I gently suggested, “Mom, it’s not that I dislike you. I’m just thinking about our financial situation. I heard Dad bought a small apartment for Wilbur, and it’s empty. If things get tough, maybe you could try talking to him.” The moment I mentioned Wilbur’s apartment, her face immediately darkened. She shut me down harshly. “That apartment is your dad’s gift to Wilbur. Don’t even think about it. As for the rent, you need to figure it out fast, or we’ll be homeless.” With that, she turned on her heels and went out to play with her friends. As always, he pushed the problem onto me. I didn’t care. I just called Wilbur. “Wilbur, before Grandpa passed, he left Mom an inheritance. If you behave well, she plans to leave it all to you. I won’t fight you for it. Don’t ask Mom about it. You should use your actions to win her over.” Before he could ask more, I hung up the phone. With my mom off having fun with her friends, I quickly disguised myself and made sure no one would recognize me before heading to the lottery office to claim my prize. This time, I was extra careful. I split the winnings into three parts and deposited them in different banks. To finally escape the nightmare of my original family, I started preparing my study-abroad documents. But the next day, my mom noticed something was off. “Alisha, why haven’t you gone to work these past couple of days?” My mom asked me. I pointed to the computer screen. “I picked up a few freelance jobs online, and I’m planning to continue preparing for grad school.” “Grad school?” My mom’s reaction was explosive. “Look at our situation, and you still want to go to grad school? The money you’re earning won’t even cover your tuition! I’m relying on you in the future!” I fell silent, staring at her without responding. She seemed to realize she’d overreacted and tried to soften her tone. “Alisha, it’s not that I don’t want you to study. It’s just that I’ve never been able to earn enough money. You see, Wilbur just finished his SATs. His college expenses and future wedding costs can’t all come from your dad. You’ll have to chip in too, don’t you think?” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Wilbur isn’t my son. I’m not obligated to save money for him. Besides, I’m grown now. I have the right to decide my own future.” My mom choked on her words, a flash of anger and disgust passing through her eyes. But in the next moment, she started wiping away fake tears, acting pitiful. “Alisha, are you just trying to hurt my feelings? Wilbur has never had a mother’s love. How poor is he? Today, he even told me he wants to invite us to stay in his apartment…” I smirked. “Well, isn’t that great? You can move in with him and finally reunite with your son. Maybe you can even remarry Dad. Didn’t you say the other day that he’s changed?” In my past life, my mom had teamed up with my dad and Wilbur to betray me. For years, she had relied on me working to keep us afloat, but after I won the lottery, she pushed me into hell. This time, I would make them feel the same suffering I once did. I showed my mom a picture from my phone. “Mom, I saw Dad getting close to a woman from the same neighborhood recently. He even bought her a designer bag. If you don’t act fast, Wilbur might start calling someone else ‘Mom’…” My mom froze, her face turning pale as she took in the picture. Then she erupted in fury. “That bag costs twenty or thirty thousand dollars! How dare your dad spend that much money on another woman! Wilbur will need money in the future!” I was pleased to see her bite, ready to fuel her anger even more. But then she suddenly changed the topic. Her eyes narrowed, and she stared at me intently. “Alisha, tell me the truth. Are you planning to go abroad?” My heart skipped a beat. I tried to cover it up by typing on the keyboard. “Mom, I wish I could, but do I even have the money for it?” But my mom suddenly grabbed my hand, her voice laden with meaning. “Alisha, do you know what news I came across today? Just yesterday, someone from your school’s neighborhood won twenty million dollars at that lottery store! “Who do you think it was?” My heart sank, and I tried to stay calm. “There are so many people who buy lottery tickets. How would I know? Besides, didn’t you check it already?” She smiled faintly, her eyes glinting with suspicion. “I already went to the lottery store. Guess what the owner said?” Her gaze felt like a snake’s, coiling tighter with each passing second. My heart raced. “Could it be… she already knows?” I thought.
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