The Moment of Truth

James sat on the couch, his expression carefully controlled as the television screen flickered, displaying the live lottery draw. His mother sat beside him, absentmindedly nibbling on her fingernails, watching with only mild interest. To her, this was just a small indulgence—a harmless little fantasy that never amounted to anything.

But for James, this was the first domino in along, car efully planned sequence.

The host on the screen reached into the spinning machine and pulled out the first number. James already knew what it would be before the ball even settled into place. He had watched these numbers years ago in his past life.

"First number… 7!"

James glanced at his mother, who showed no reaction. It wasn't until the third number matched that she leaned forward slightly, eyebrows raised.

"That's funny," she murmured. "We've got those."

The fourth number came, then the fifth. James could feel her body tense beside him. When the sixth and final number was revealed, his mother gasped, clutching the ticket in her hands.

"James… James, we won!" Her voice was barely above a whisper, as if speaking the words too loudly would make the moment vanish. "Oh my God, we actually won!"

James feigned wide-eyed shock. "Really? No way!"

His mother stood up abruptly, her breathing erratic. "I—I need to check this again!" She dashed across the room, fumbling with the telephone as she prepared to call the lottery hotline to confirm. James remained seated, a pleased smile playing at his lips.

Everything was going exactly as planned.

The next few hours were a blur. His mother called the lottery office, confirmed the numbers twice, then collapsed onto the couch in stunned disbelief. Tears welled up in her eyes as she laughed in a mixture of joy and sheer overwhelm. The realization of winning twenty million dollars after taxes was too much to process at once.

"I… I don't even know what to do first," she admitted, covering her mouth with her hands.

James leaned back, keeping his tone casual. "Well, maybe we should go see a financial advisor or something? Make sure we don't waste it."

His mother nodded rapidly, still too overwhelmed to think straight. "Yes, yes, that's smart. I don't want to make stupid decisions. This is life-changing money."

Exactly what he wanted to hear.

The next day, the world changed. By morning, their phone was ringing nonstop. Relatives they hadn't spoken to in years suddenly wanted to reconnect. Reporters swarmed the neighborhood, eager to get a statement from the "lucky winners." His mother was completely overwhelmed, barely keeping up with the attention. Internally, he cursed the fact that lottery winners couldn't remain anonymous in this country.

James played his part perfectly—acting like a regular, bewildered kid caught up in a whirlwind of luck. But behind the scenes, he was already planning his next moves.

The money wouldn't sit idle. The moment the funds were transferred into their bank account, he would push his mother to make her first investments. He had already mapped out exactly where to put their money—technology stocks, early investments in companies like Apple, Microsoft, and IBM. They would buy real estate in areas that would skyrocket in value. He would set the foundation for a financial empire before he even reached adulthood.

By the time the reporters left and the chaos settled, James sat with his mother at the dining table, a serious expression on his face.

"Mom," he said gently. "You always wanted to do something more for yourself, right? Maybe go back to school? Maybe start something big?"

She hesitated, still processing everything. "I… I don't know, sweetheart. I never really thought about it seriously."

"Well, maybe you should think about it now. We have money. You don't have to work two jobs anymore. You could do something you love."

His mother looked at him, emotions swirling in her eyes. The idea had never been possible before. But now? Now, she could afford to dream bigger.

And James would make sure she did.