Chapter 2

Early the next morning, Linda dragged me out of bed.

She had big dark circles and bloodshot eyes. Obviously, she hadn't slept a wink all night. "Sophie, read the future for me, will you? See if you can spot any good fortune heading the family's way today."

'That hen yesterday must've been a fluke. Today, she's bound to see something actually worthwhile,' she thought.

I rubbed my eyes, still groggy, yawned, and mumbled sleepily, "Mom, I think I had another dream again."

Linda's eyes instantly lit up. "What did you dream about? Come on, tell me."

I acted like I was really trying to remember, tilting my head. "I dreamed that the butcher, Tom, the guy who lives by the village gate, is going to drop some cash today, right outside his place."

Linda was momentarily stunned and thought, 'Wait, he's dropping money? That means I can snatch it.'

Her greedy intentions were practically plastered across her face.

Linda hurriedly pushed me back onto the bed and wrapped me up in the blanket. "Good girl, go ahead and sleep a bit longer. I'll handle breakfast."

With that, she rushed out like a whirlwind, not even realizing she had the wrong shoe on one foot.

I lay in bed, listening to her hurried footsteps fade away, a cold, mocking smile tugging at my lips.

Tom was definitely going to lose some money today. It was 15 bucks, the money meant to save his wife's life, buying her medicine.

In my previous life, Mom found that cash and spent it on snacks for my brother. She strutted around, showing off her "good luck."

Tom's wife didn't get her medicine in time, her condition got worse, and she didn't make it much longer. He completely lost his spirit after that.

No way was I letting her have her way this time. I quietly got out of bed, slipped out the back door, and snuck around to the area near Tom's house.

I hid in the shadows, watching Linda sneak around outside Tom's place, pacing back and forth like she was casing the joint. Her eyes were locked on the ground. She even eyed a crawling earthworm twice, in case it was cash.

Soon enough, Tom hurried out of his house, the cash stuffed in his pocket.

He was moving so fast that as soon as he stepped outside, 15 dollars slipped out of his shabby pocket and drifted down to the ground.

Linda's eyes instantly sparkled with greed.

She almost dove for it, slamming her foot down on the bill and, pretending nothing happened, glanced up at the sky, waiting for him to walk away.

'Holy crap, it really is 15 dollars. That's a jackpot,' she thought.

As she was about to snatch up the cash, I darted out from behind the corner and shouted, "Tom, you dropped your money."

Tom paused, turned around, and spotted the cash lying on the ground, along with Linda's hand, caught awkwardly in mid-grab.

Linda's face instantly darkened with embarrassment, almost turning ashen. She hissed at me, "You damn brat, what's with all the yelling?"

Tom hurried back, picked up the money, and looked at me, nearly in tears with gratitude. "Oh, Sophie, thank goodness for you. This is the money I need to buy medicine for my wife."

I shook my head sweetly. "No worries, Tom. My mom saw it, too. She was about to call you over."

As I said that, I shot Linda my most wide-eyed, innocent look.

Linda's face went from red to pale, and she forced out a bitter smile. "Yeah, Tom, I was about to tell you."

'This little brat, always messing up my luck. Wait till we get home. I'll show her who's boss,' she thought.

Tom walked off, still showering me with thanks.

Linda grabbed my arm, her grip so tight that it felt like she was trying to crush my bones.

"Did you do that on purpose?" she hissed through clenched teeth.

Tears streamed down my face from the pain, and I looked up at her, scared. "Mom, what did I do wrong? Isn't it the right thing to give the money back?"

She stared at my innocent eyes, so furious that she could barely speak.

Seriously, I did nothing wrong. I was a good kid who returned what I found.

She couldn't exactly call me out for standing in her way of getting rich in front of outsiders.

When we got home, she vented all her rage on the kitchenware, banging and clattering dishes loudly.

During dinner, Lucy, the biggest gossip in the village, showed up.

"Hey, Linda, heard you helped Tom out and found 15 bucks for him today? Sophie's such a sweet, honest child who returns lost things, not like some people with sticky fingers," she said.

Lucy gave a sly, meaningful glance toward the house next door.

Linda's face turned dark with embarrassment, but she had to force herself to nod and go along.

'Good my ass, Tom took the 15 bucks. It's all that brat's fault,' she thought.

I eat with my head down, sneering inside. This was the appetizer.

Making Linda lose more than she gained and leaving her too miserable to speak out was satisfying.