“Stella, are you out of your mind? Stop spouting nonsense!”
“Hurry up and come home with us. Don’t embarrass yourself in front of everyone!”
Before they even finished yelling, my father and brother lunged forward and tried to drag me away without another word.
Seeing this, Grandma Amy quickly stepped in front of me.
“Don’t be so rough with her! How can you treat your child like that? You’re scaring her!”
But Dad’s bloodshot eyes glared at her as he roared, “She’s my daughter! This isn’t your business!”
Grandma Amy was old, frail—she couldn’t possibly hold off someone as young and strong as my brother.
I felt his fingers clamp around my wrist.
***
In the next moment, I was being yanked across the ground. My knees scraped along the rough pavement—hot, raw pain radiating with every inch.
Even though the neighbors watching were sympathetic, none of them dared intervene physically. No one was going to wrestle with my parents over me.
Then suddenly, a strong pair of arms blocked my brother’s path.
“Who gave you the right to drag a young girl like that?!”
The voice was sharp, authoritative. My brother immediately let go. The police had arrived—someone in the crowd must have called them.
My mother rushed forward to smooth things over.
“Officer, this is our daughter. It’s getting late and she refused to come home. We were just worried about her safety, so we tried to bring her back.”
The officer turned to me.
“That’s not true!” I said loudly, tears and anger boiling in my throat. “I won the jackpot and they’re trying to drag me home and lock me up!”
Behind me, the three of them froze, their expressions warped with panic and disbelief.
“If you don’t believe me,” I said quickly, “ask the neighbors how strangely my family acted when they found out I won.”
The police turned to the onlookers and began asking questions. One after another, the neighbors confirmed it—my parents' and brother’s reactions had been far from normal.
With that, the officer’s tone darkened.
“Why did you stop your child from redeeming her winnings? Are you afraid she won’t share the money? She already said she wants to use the money for the entire family.”
But my parents just snorted, full of contempt.
“We don’t care about the money. We just want to bring our daughter home.”
The officer’s voice dropped into a warning growl.
“Unlawfully restricting someone’s freedom is against the law.”
But they still looked completely indifferent, as if none of this mattered.
I tugged at the officer’s sleeve, trembling.
“Then why? Why are they willing to break the law just to stop me from redeeming the prize?
Why do they need to lock me up?”
The officer gave my father a hard look. Under pressure, Dad finally caved—reluctantly pulling out his phone and handing it over, his movements filled with resistance.
When I looked down at the screen, everything suddenly made sense.
