From Jackpot to Accusation: The Clerk Said I Didn’t Pay
Chapter 1
I enjoyed playing scratch-off tickets. I felt restless if I did not scratch one for a single day.
After becoming familiar with the shop owner, I always scratched first and paid later.
One day, the scratch-off ticket I took revealed a million-dollar prize.
The shop attendant, Chloe Byrne, snatched the ticket from my hand.
“You never paid for this scratch-off ticket! Taking it without asking makes you a thief! But look, I’m in a good mood right now, so I can’t be bothered to argue with you. Just get out of here.”
Her straight-up robbery act nearly made me laugh.
“I scratched this ticket! You saw the big prize and decided to claim it as your own. That makes you the real thief.”
Chloe was shameless and would not back down.
“I don’t care who’s a thief or not. This ticket is mine, and nobody’s taking it from me!”
Seeing her like that, I made a call.
“Lucky Mart on Spring Street has been stealing customers’ winning tickets and refusing to pay. Revoke their license effective today.”
After hanging up, I looked at the shop attendant, Chloe Byrne, and warned her again.
“If you don’t give me that ticket right now, not only will you lose the prize, but your shop will also get shut down over this.”
Chloe firmly held the ticket in her hand and said dismissively, “Honey, I wasn’t born yesterday. We’ve been reported a dozen times. Guess what? We’re still open!
“Now, get lost! Don’t even think about taking my ticket.”
I wanted to tell her that my call was not an ordinary complaint. That call was to revoke their shop’s license to sell scratch-off tickets.
But seeing how she refused to listen to a word I said, I stopped wasting my breath on her. Some people just need to learn the hard way.
“Let me ask you one last time. Are you giving me back my scratch-off or not?”
Chloe thought I had run out of options. She became even more arrogant.
“What are you going to do if I don’t? You didn’t pay for it. That makes it the shop’s property.”
I had always been the kind of person who responded to kindness but dug in my heels against threats.
To be honest, I did not really need one million dollars. I played scratch-offs just for the fun of it.
She could have just asked me nicely. I might have even split the prize with her. But since she wanted to play rough, I wanted to see who had the last laugh.
I walked straight out of the shop and bought a megaphone. Then, I started shouting outside her shop.
“Lucky Mart on Spring Street is stealing winning tickets and refusing to pay out prizes!
“I just scratched a million-dollar winner. Now, the shop attendant is trying to keep my ticket for herself. That’s straight-up robbery!”
After a while, a crowd of passersby quickly gathered at the shop entrance.
“I’ve only ever seen this happen on the news. I can’t believe someone’d actually steal a customer’s scratch-off ticket!”
“Of course! It’s one million dollars. Who wouldn’t be tempted?”
“I’m with the customer on this one. You need to get back what’s yours!”
Seeing the growing crowd at the door, Chloe realized that making a big scene would not work in her favor.
But giving up on that million-dollar scratch-off ticket was also impossible for her.
She pushed me toward the exit and tried to close the shop door.
I saw what she was trying to do. I forcefully blocked the doorway to stop her.
Just when the two of us were pulling and shoving, a police car arrived with sirens blaring.
Chloe glared at me.
“How dare you call the cops?!”
I glared back at her.
“I was the one who was wronged here. Why wouldn’t I call the cops?”
Two officers got out of the car. Chloe rushed to file a false complaint against me first.
“She came into my shop and stole a scratch-off ticket. Then, she grabbed a megaphone and started yelling all kinds of lies. She’s slandering my business!
“Arrest her now!”
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