Chapter 1
I bought a lottery ticket for my husband's parents and mistyped two numbers.
They called me a troublemaker, accusing me of ruining the family's chance at sudden wealth.
My husband sided with them. In a moment of rage, he shoved me down the stairs, shattering my leg.
The next day, the results were announced. The wrong ticket I bought hit the jackpot, worth millions.
They took the prize without a shred of guilt.
Then they locked me, disabled and helpless, in a basement, left to fend for myself.
However, a brutal ice apocalypse descended overnight.
For three months, the planet froze solid. Trapped underground, I froze to death alone.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment of buying the ticket.
This time, I would sit by the fire, grill my food, and watch them lose heat, slowly and painfully, until the cold claimed them all.
*****
"Sorry, miss, but I messed up one of the numbers on your lottery ticket," the shop owner said apologetically.
I clutched the ticket, and a shiver of disbelief shot through me.
The owner added, "I mixed up the order of the numbers you wanted."
Hearing that familiar voice, I instinctively hugged myself tighter.
Even though it was blazing hot outside, I still felt that icy chill. The pain from my previous life was carved deep into my bones.
No way, I couldn't believe I actually time-traveled.
In the family group chat, my husband, Julian Anderson, and his parents, Nathan Anderson and Vera Anderson, were blowing up my phone, all nagging me to hurry up and buy the lottery ticket.
Nathan was getting impatient. [Iris, you can't even pop out a grandson for us. Get the ticket now and don't screw up my shot at the jackpot.]
Julian's tone was even harsher. [What took you so long? Don't tell me you're out messing around with someone else.]
Vera was scolding me, too. [Iris, don't forget the groceries when you come back. You want us all to go hungry?]
Scrolling through the family group chat, I could feel my blood start to boil.
The Anderson family was lottery junkies, constantly fantasizing about striking it rich with every ticket they bought.
Back when I was stuck in my previous life, they handed me a bunch of numbers and sent me out to buy a ticket.
I passed the numbers along to the shop owner, but he got a couple of them wrong by accident.
Trying to save a few bucks, I didn't bother having him print another one. I just shrugged it off, grabbed the messed-up ticket, and headed home.
But when Nathan saw I'd messed up the ticket, he blew up at me, calling me useless and blaming me for costing them their chance to get rich.
Julian called me a troublemaker and beat me so hard that blood was streaming down my face.
Terrified they might actually kill me, I bolted and hid out in the stairwell.
But Vera stormed after me and sent me tumbling down the stairs, snapping my leg.
Never in a million years did I expect that the very next day, when the winning numbers were announced, the messed-up ticket I bought by mistake actually hit the jackpot.
It hit 8 million bucks.
The Anderson family was over the moon. They didn't waste a second before rushing out to claim their jackpot.
But after they won the grand prize and their whole family struck it rich, they felt not the slightest bit of guilt about crippling me.
Instead, because my legs were broken and they didn't want to spend money treating me, they dumped me in the apartment complex's basement and left me to fend for myself.
Every day, they'd just throw me a bowl of cold leftovers, like I was nothing but a stray dog.
I was planning to divorce Julian as soon as my leg was better, but then the end of the world came out of nowhere.
Temperatures crashed in just a few days, from scorching hot to barely above freezing, then zero, and finally plummeted to -22℉.
It was like the whole planet got flash-frozen overnight, buried in ice and snow.
They stopped bringing me food. Abandoned in that basement, shivering and starving, I finally died a miserable death.
But maybe God finally took pity on me. I actually time-traveled back.
Now, there was less than a week left before the frozen apocalypse would descend on the world.
Rage burned inside me.
This time, I was going to get my revenge. I'd make sure they died a horrible death.