Chapter 2

“Hey, sweetheart, there’s no food left in the house. Do you think you could ask your boss for an advance? Or maybe borrow some money from a friend?”

I jolted back to reality, snapping out of my daze. My mom was sitting in the living room, her face full of worry, glancing at me expectantly.

The scene felt eerily familiar—exactly how it had played out in my previous life.

Without thinking, I shoved my hand into my pocket, gripping tightly onto the lottery ticket that was about to change my life. I opened my mouth, but instead of saying what I had before, I chose a new approach.

“Mom, didn’t I just send you $500 a few days ago?”

Her expression stiffened for a moment, but she quickly covered it up with a sigh. “Oh, well, your cousin said he wanted a new phone, but he didn’t have enough money, so I helped him out a bit.”

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly on the inside. I was still using my cousin’s old hand-me-down phone, one so slow that it took a full minute just to open an app. Meanwhile, my cousin, decked out in designer clothes, always seemed to be living far better than us. But none of that mattered to my mom—she lived to serve her family, always ready to hand over money.

I feigned a troubled expression and walked into the kitchen. Opening the rice bin, I found it almost completely empty—just a few stray grains rattling around at the bottom.

“Mom, the money I sent you was everything I had. Last month, you said Uncle’s family had an emergency, so I gave you my entire $1,000 savings to help them. I don’t have anything left.”

At that moment, my mom’s stomach growled audibly, and her face clouded over with even more worry.

I glanced at the clock, then grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the door. “Why don’t you go have dinner at Uncle’s house? It’s almost dinnertime anyway, and you can help Auntie cook while you’re there.”

I rolled her electric scooter out of the garage and handed it to her. “I have to head to work—my boss just called me in to cover a shift.”

She hesitated, looking back at me. “You really think it’s okay for me to go over there uninvited? Your aunt doesn’t exactly like me, you know.”

I almost laughed out loud at the irony of her words. She *knew* Auntie didn’t like her, but that had never stopped her from bending over backward for them—sending them money, groceries, and even doing their housework.

“It’s fine. Didn’t my cousin say the other day that he was craving your sweet and sour ribs?”

Her face lit up just as I’d expected. “You’re right! I should go buy some ribs. I’ll get extra—little Mikey eats a lot.”

She paused, realizing she’d said too much, then quickly hopped on her scooter and sped off. “I’ll head over now. Oh, and you should think about picking up a part-time job to earn a little extra cash!”

I stood there, watching her ride away, her words still ringing in my ears. She cried poor to me, but all her money went to my uncle’s family. She didn’t even bother to ask if *I* had enough to eat or pay my bills.

I worked late nights, often until 1 or 2 a.m., but it was never enough for her.

Shaking my head, I went back inside, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and grabbed my hat and sunglasses. It was time to cash in my winning lottery ticket.

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