Jackpot Heist: Tearing Down the Thieves Who Raised Me

"Mikaela, what are you holding? Is that a lottery ticket? Let me see," Vincent asked, grabbing my hand hard. His eyes flashed with pure greed.

When he couldn't pry my fingers open, he kicked my leg.

Pain shot up my body, and my hand slipped open.

He sneered. "I knew you were hiding a lottery ticket!"

He lowered his head, then froze. There was nothing in my palm.

"Where's the lottery ticket? Where did you hide it?" Vincent looked stunned. He sized me up like I was some criminal.

I rubbed my aching legs, pretending to look wronged as I said, "What lottery ticket? I just passed by the grocery store. I didn't buy anything at all."

He didn't believe a single word of it. He searched every pocket and every fold of my clothes. When he found nothing, panic flickered in his eyes.

He ignored me and stormed into the grocery store and grabbed the lottery office manager by the collar. "Who bought a lottery ticket just now?"

The manager had seen plenty of unhinged customers in his life. He shoved Vincent's hand away and said, "People come and go all day. How would I remember?"

Vincent wanted to buy the winning lottery ticket himself, but too much time had passed since his last life. His memory was blurry, and he could only remember the first few numbers.

He forced himself to calm down. His eyes sharpened, and a cruel new idea crossed his mind.

He yanked me toward the counter and stared at me with a cold, sinister look. "You buy it. You'd better choose the right one. Otherwise, I won't let you off!"

A cold tremor ran through my heart when I heard those words. At that moment, I finally understood the reason behind Vincent's bizarre behavior.

He had been reborn, too.

Determined to guarantee the winning ticket without making a single mistake in this lifetime, he had actually followed me all the way to the grocery store and even forced me to buy the ticket myself.

I chose a lottery ticket using the numbers he gave me.

Clutching the ticket, he still looked unconvinced. His eyes kept sweeping over me, searching for any sign of a hidden mistake.

He clearly still suspected that I had bought another lottery ticket and hidden it away.

Later that night at dinner, Vincent tapped his fork against his bowl, annoyed.

Mom hurried to pile food into his plate, her tone overly attentive. "Vincent, what's wrong? Did someone at school upset you? I'll stand up for you."

Dad set his plate down, his expression solemn. "Yeah, Vincent. Did a classmate look down on you again?"

Vincent waited until they were hanging on his every word. Then, he lifted his head and pointed at me. "She bought a lottery ticket and won't show it to me."

My parents exchanged a look.

Dad frowned and barked at me, "What is wrong with you? You're the older sister. You should give in to your younger brother! What did you do to upset him this time? Apologize to him right now!"

Mom sighed and placed her slightly rough hand over mine, speaking in a gentle tone. "Mikaela, don't blame me for saying this, but Vincent is the only son in our family. As his older sister, you need to learn to take care of him."

The moment her hand touched mine, a shiver ran through me.