Chapter 2

I had 3 million in my pocket. I never even dared to dream about having that kind of money before.

I rubbed my flat belly, grinning as I scrolled through my favorite shopping apps.

I bought everything I liked. Clearing out my cart only cost 30 thousand.

It felt amazing. I was afraid to sleep, terrified that I'd wake up and realize it had all been a dream.

I did nothing but enjoy my fun, over and over.

After drifting through nearly a week, Simon suddenly said, 'Hurry. It's Christmas Eve. Dad is making a move.'

I rode the electric bike to the address Simon gave me.

I decided that I had to get my driver's license and buy a car.

Otherwise, I'd have to figure out how to haul all my scavenged stuff home. A sack might work a few times, but sooner or later, I'd get noticed.

A car was the safest option.

I bought some snacks and hunkered down across the street, munching away while keeping my eyes glued to the swanky restaurant.

I muttered, "No wonder it's a five-star hotel. Even the entrance looks so extravagant. Is that a real diamond? I kinda want to pry it off."

Simon said, 'Mom, chill out. Dad is inside. When the girl comes out, follow her. As soon as she tosses something, you snatch it up.'

I said, "Simon, maybe I should just grab a sack and hit every trash can on the block. It's Christmas Eve, so there's probably some valuable stuff people are throwing away."

Simon said, 'No. None of that is worth much. What Dad is giving away are jewelry pieces worth tens of millions. Even secondhand, one piece sells for millions.

'All those phones and bits of jewelry combined don't come close to one piece of what he bought.'

It made sense, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Soon enough, the girl showed up.

There was no man with her, so I followed at a distance, like Simon told me to.

I saw her toss something into the trash can, and I darted over, rummaging through the trash right away.

As I fished the gift box out of the trash, another hand suddenly reached in, trying to snatch it away from me.

I protectively jerked my hand back, but the man grabbed on anyway, refusing to let go.

He frowned and tried to yank it away. I glared at him and snapped, "Let go. I saw it first. It's mine."

It was getting dark, and there was hardly anyone around.

I'd heard before that some people would stake out Christmas Eve and Christmas, hoping to score something valuable from the trash.

They'd go around digging through trash cans, trying to make a quick buck off whatever they could find.

Most of the trash was just junk, but this was a necklace worth tens of millions.

I didn't hesitate. I bit his arm before he could even say a word.

He cried out and let go, and I immediately dashed the other way, jumped on my bike, and took off at full speed.

"Do you think you can snatch it from me? Not a chance." I bragged. "Did you see that, Simon? Your mom is badass."

Simon chimed in, 'Yeah.'

For some reason, Simon seemed kinda spaced out.

Soon, my attention was caught by all the couples carrying bouquets.

I'd heard about people scoring phones or even diamonds from the trash before.

Maybe I should try my luck.

I pulled on my mask and playfully threatened Simon, making him tell me which trash cans had the good stuff.

I snagged three of the latest phones, a handful of rings, diamond, gold, platinum, and even a fake one, which I angrily tossed back into the trash.

"What kind of asshole uses a fake ring to propose?" I grumbled.

I grabbed a ton of other random junk, too.

I ended up hugging them to sleep, my dreams filled with nothing but getting rich.

The next morning, however, when the police knocked on my door, it hit me hard why Simon had warned me not to go after those things.

I spent hours at the police station giving statements and handing over everything from last night.

I even apologized, promising that anything I found in the future would go straight to the lost and found.

Of course, I kept the necklace.

The more I thought about it, the more pissed off I got. I kicked the rock on the road, hard.

Pain exploded in my foot, and I grabbed it, howling.

I squatted there, completely miserable. "I worked my ass off collecting all that. Why do I have to return it?"

For once, Simon didn't snap at me. He tried to comfort me. 'Mom, don't mess with stuff that belongs to folks who aren't rich. What do you think it means when a gift gets thrown away?'

I sniffled. "What does it mean?"

He said, 'It means the woman didn't want the guy's gift, but he insisted on giving it to her anyway. When he finds out she dumped it, he'll want it back for sure.

'If the security cameras catch you picking it up, you'll get in trouble.

'Dad is different. He's loaded and doesn't care about money. When he gives gifts worth millions, he doesn't care if they get thrown away.'

I was still feeling down.

He kept trying to cheer me up. 'Seriously, Mom, all the stuff you lost together isn't even worth 15 thousand, but that necklace you grabbed from my dad last night? That thing is worth several millions.'

I wiped away my tears and instantly felt confident again.

Simon was right.

I rushed home and googled the price of that necklace right away.

When I saw it was 4 million, my jaw dropped. I hugged the necklace box and did a happy dance for ages.

Simon yelled, 'Mom, careful. I'm feeling dizzy.'

I forced myself to chill out.

All the stress from the police station this morning melted away. I was riding high.

I threw on my mask and headed to a luxury resale shop.