Chapter 401: It’s All Your Fault

Chapter 401: Chapter 401: It’s All Your Fault

Elara Morgan’s face turned pale. ’Has a criminal gang targeted me?’

’What am I going to do?’

’Should I not claim the prize?’

’No! My family is waiting for this money to pay off debts, and Rina is waiting for this money for her surgery.’

"Don’t worry, we’re not asking you to give up the lottery ticket." Seeing Elara Morgan’s pleading gaze, Sean Hughes patted the back of her hand and said, "We just need to do this in a safer way.

We’ll go with you when you claim the prize. You have to keep the fact that you won a complete secret from everyone. As long as there are no large transactions in your accounts, you’re less likely to be targeted.

Some winners can’t wait to share the news with their families and ask them to keep it confidential. But with such incredible news, someone always loses control and accidentally leaks it, which is how they get targeted by criminals."

It was a pretext, but not a complete lie.

Sean Hughes and Evan Keller had genuinely handled many such cases before, and they had just adapted the details for this situation.

As for why they didn’t explain the truth from the beginning...

Making baseless claims about something that hadn’t happened yet wouldn’t have been very convincing to someone who depended on her family and, as far as she knew, was on good terms with them.

Elara Morgan wasn’t completely naive. After listening to their lengthy explanation, her mind, which had been overexcited from winning the lottery, began to cool down.

"I understand. What should I do, then? You know there’s a sick child in my family. I can’t just take the money and live a carefree life while she continues to suffer." Elara Morgan rubbed her face, her tone growing calm.

Without her needing to say anything more, Evan Keller and Sean Hughes knew Elara Morgan had understood. They breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"If you trust us, we have a secure channel we can connect you through. We also have a cover story ready."

"Of course, you’ll be responsible for the full cost of the treatment," Evan Keller said.

It would be a bit more work, but to save a child’s life, Evan Keller felt it was well worth the effort.

Elara Morgan stared at her hands, her fingers twisting together anxiously.

Although she was reluctant to admit it, now that the initial thrill had faded, she started connecting some dots she had previously missed.

Elara Morgan couldn’t help but consider the worst-case scenario.

’If I really tell my family I won the lottery, what will happen next?’

’Will they be happy for me? Or will they try to take it from me?’

’With my eldest brother—the one who doted on me most—gone, I’m more alone. My sister-in-law is kind to me, but when it comes to a choice between her own son and her husband’s sister, there’s no question who she’d pick.’

’And then there was Rina.’

Elara Morgan recalled a conversation she’d accidentally overheard a few months ago when she got up in the middle of the night.

Julian and his wife wanted a child of their own, but they had a sickly younger sister dragging them down.

Although they never showed it openly, Rina was clearly not as happy after that day. Instead, she became strangely reserved and much more mature.

But she had been so busy with work afterward that she had forgotten all about it.

If it weren’t for winning the lottery and the police showing up with their subtle and not-so-subtle hints, she didn’t know how long it would have taken her to remember.

What made Elara Morgan believe them so quickly, aside from the fact that Evan Keller and the others were police officers, was that they knew she had won the lottery.

’If a criminal gang hadn’t really targeted me, how else would the police have known about my situation?’

Based on this series of fortuitous misunderstandings and their official identities, Elara Morgan ultimately chose to trust them.

"Okay! I trust you! What should I do next?"

Elara Morgan asked, rubbing her face.

With her on board, the rest was much simpler.

"Leave the rest to us. As for claiming the prize, we’ve contacted the staff. You’ll go directly in through the side door of the finance office so no one else will see you."

"We’ll have them wire it directly to your private bank card. You won’t have to go to the public counter, so the money will be safe. No one can steal it," Evan Keller said, tapping the table.

This was all information they had looked up before coming.

Beside him, Sean Hughes put down his phone. He had just contacted Officer Lee and had a form prepared for Elara’s situation, which she would need to fill out.

Officer Lee would then do some work on the backend of the system, change the dates, and forge a page showing that Elara Morgan’s application for medical assistance had been approved.

With all the evidence in place, it would be much more convincing to the rest of the Morgan family.

After hearing Evan Keller’s plan, Elara Morgan agreed without hesitation.

She wasn’t an idiot. Once the initial excitement wore off and her reason returned, she naturally knew what was best for her.

As for the family’s debts, since she was now paying for Rina’s illness, it was only reasonable to leave the rest for Julian to handle.

With Elara Morgan’s cooperation, claiming the prize, the wire transfer, and forging the paperwork were all taken care of within an hour.

"So, what do I do now?" After everything was settled, Elara Morgan asked, looking at Evan Keller and the others.

After confirming there were no loose ends, Sean Hughes looked up at her and said, "Go home. Tell them your application was approved. You know what to say after that, right?"

Elara Morgan nodded to show she understood.

Given how concerned she was about Rina’s condition, if something this good had really happened, she would have rushed home to share the news at the first opportunity.

Following the plan, Elara Morgan first called her family, told them she had wonderful news to announce, and asked them to come home right away.

Then, Sean Hughes followed alongside Elara Morgan, carrying the printed documents.

Just as they reached her front door, Elara Morgan took a deep breath. As she was about to open it, she heard Julian’s voice from inside.

"Why the hell did Auntie call us back for no reason? Doesn’t she know we get docked pay for taking time off?" Julian’s voice was full of impatience and complaint.

He knew how bad the family’s finances were, so what was she thinking, making them take leave to come home!

Mrs. Morgan’s comforting voice drifted out. "Now, now. Maybe it really is some wonderful news. Later, just make up an excuse. Tell her your sister’s medicine has been expensive and the family’s a bit short on cash. Won’t she just hand the money right over?"

Perhaps hearing his mother’s suggestion, Julian’s irritated tone softened. "It’s all your fault, and Dad’s, and Grandma and Grandpa’s. They were so old, but they just had to have another daughter. Otherwise, I would’ve been the only child in the family, and all the resources would’ve been mine. I wouldn’t have to slave away at a job every day just to make money."

"Those two are just dead weight! Especially Elara! I can’t even count how many of my things she took when we were kids. As long as she was around, all of Grandpa’s money went to her. There was never any for me!"

Hearing this, Elara Morgan’s heart sank.

She never knew that Julian held such deep resentment toward her.