Chapter One
9-27-42-43-58-6
George Carver swallowed tightly then glanced between the lottery ticket in his hand and the numbers displayed on the TV screen.
It wasn't possible.
It just wasn't possible.
He got up and walked over to his desk. He leaned the ticket against the screen then booted up his ancient laptop. His hands shook as he typed in the website for the Mega Money Lottery contest. The website seemed to take forever to load.
It was probably just a few seconds.
He had good internet.
Once again, he glanced at the numbers on the ticket he'd purchased on a whim down at the local corner grocery store and double-checked them with the ones on his screen.
They were the same.
All of them.
He'd gotten all six numbers.
Holy fuck!
George just sat there and stared. It really had been a whim. He'd been standing in line at the grocery store when he saw the flashing numbers on the lottery machine. One point six billion dollars.
He couldn't even conceive of that amount of money.
After paying for his purchases, he'd had two dollars left. He briefly thought about grabbing a coke, but then decided, why the hell not? He knew he'd never win, but it was nice to dream, so he'd bought a lottery ticket. He'd hit the random number generator, not wanting to try and choose numbers himself.
9-27-42-43-58-6
The winning lottery numbers.
Holy fuck!
George clicked the button directing lottery winners on what to do next. It took him a moment to figure out exactly what he was reading. The directions weren't that user-friendly. He grabbed the ticket and signed his name across the back of it then picked up his cell phone and took a picture of the signed ticket.
Now, he just needed a place to hide it until he could figure out what to do.
George started looking around his room. He spotted several different places he could put the ticket, but none of them seemed that secure. It wasn't likely that his house was suddenly going to be robbed, but he wasn't taking any chances.
He also didn't want to hold on to the ticket until he was ready to go to the lottery headquarters and claim his prize. He was too afraid he'd be mugged on his way down to the office. Or kidnapped. Hit by a bus. Crushed by a falling meteor. Abducted by aliens.
The list was endless.
According to the lottery website, he needed to make several copies of the signed ticket then place it in a safety deposit box for safe keeping. He then needed to get a lawyer, a financial planner, and an accountant.
That list was endless, as well.
What was a trust or limited liability company?
Family limited partnership?
George squinted as he stared at the screen. He was supposed to check the records for attorneys, accountants, and financial planners to see whether there had been any complaints filed with state disciplinary authorities.
That couldn't be that hard, could it?
