Chapter 4

When I told him about the lottery win, Alex's eyes sparkled with excitement and asked "Really, baby?"

I nodded, then pulled up the lottery results on my phone, "Look, every number matches."

Even if I didn't told him, I could take the money myself.

But every time I remember what happened in my previous life, it drives me crazy if I don't get him to trade ten years of his life.

And if he decided to delay the deal with the mystery man, then I'd lose my advantage.

Most importantly, even if he cashed in the prize, I had a way to make sure he could only get one cent for the deal.

Alex grabbed my phone, his eyes darting back and forth between the screen and the lottery ticket.

I grinned and said, "The jackpot's over fifteen million dollars."

Alex's smile was so big, it looked like he might burst from excitement.

He reached for the ticket, but I quickly tucked it away, "This ticket's way too important. I'm keeping it with me to avoid losing it."

As long as the deal could go through, Alex didn't care who had the ticket. All he cared about was when we'd cash it in.

"Can we go to the lottery center first thing tomorrow, baby?" Alex asked.

I smiled, and said, "Sure."

He was practically bouncing with excitement.

Even in the middle of the night, I heard him sneaking out to call Emily, "Emily, Rachel actually hit the jackpot. We're about to hit the big time."

The house was so quiet, I could even make out Emily's voice through the phone, "So the deal's still tomorrow, right? Wait, it's already past midnight. It's today now."

Alex nodded eagerly, then realized Emily couldn't see him, so he said, "Yeah, first thing in the morning. Once we collect the prize, we'll go meet Mr. Secret.

"You wouldn't believe it that I almost wanted to postpone the whole thing because Rachel put every penny she had into the hospital. I even double-checked, her dad's heart surgery isn't happening anytime soon.

"Now there's one cent left, and I'm supposed to trade ten years of my life for that? Seriously, it's not even enough to buy your medicine, let alone pay for your treatment.

"Honestly, even trading a few hundred thousand dollars felt like a total rip-off. But fifteen million? Hell, I'd trade ten years for that in a heartbeat.

"With that kind of cash, your illness won't be a problem at all. Once you're cured, we'll be free to work."

Alex was still on the phone, gushing to Emily about their future of wealth and freedom.

Meanwhile, I'd already recorded the whole thing.

When the time came, I'd gather all the evidence and hand it over to the authorities.

So they're into all that supernatural stuff, huh?

I bet the government would be dying to get their hands on something like this.