as a result of her excessive time spent in the bathroom, the store manager confronted her numerous times. She knew the woman would be in for upwards of 2 hours, which meant she would be left unattended at her post. After the lottery company announced the first winner, the manager didn’t pay much attention. The fact that it happened twice on the same day felt too convenient to her. However, when it happened 12 times in one month, she knew something was terribly wrong.
However, Melissa Harding never imagined she’d end her day unlocking her ex-employee’s Lottery secret. Christy Ford, the mom, only wanted to make ends meet and care for her family. Despite her work issues to keep food on the table, Melissa never imagined she would go to this extent. However, Christy had made more than enough money to feed herself for a night. Her happiness should have made Melissa happy. Christy deserved it more than anyone else.
But after winning the lottery 14 times, the manager knew she had to find out what was going on. Melissa had already spent 2 years as the manager of a local convenience store in Geneva, Illinois, when she met Christy. The woman had been the quiet, ever-tired single mom with two boys in elementary school. After a nasty divorce, she’d found herself at the mercy of the world, needing to find a way to care for her kids. One look at her had convinced Melissa to hire the woman. She realized that the mom was a quick study and loved teaching her how systems around the store worked.
Christy’s first month at the shop was perfect. She showed up on time, worked as intended, and left in the late afternoon so she could pick her sons up from school. She was a hard worker who didn’t mind odd shifts or coming to work on holidays or weekends. Melissa thought she only wanted to make as much money as she could, but the truth would be much more heartbreaking.
Melissa learned that everything Christy was doing was for her kids. Her second month followed the first down to every detail. She never missed a day and even started smiling more, instead of sulking alone in the breakroom, as was her habit. But just as things were starting to improve, everything turned on its head. Christy’s behavior had taken a sudden dip that worried everyone in the store.
Working as a shelf stocker, she was supposed to ensure the shelves were filled with goods. But of late, she’d started visiting the bathroom for what felt like hours. At first, she told Melissa the frequent bathroom visits were because of a bladder surgery she had a few months back. Melissa didn’t mind the bathroom visits at first. Christy had been taking long shifts at first, but when she started leaving empty shelves and sitting in the bathroom for long periods, Melissa became concerned.
As the months passed, Christy’s behavior went from bad to worse. What had started as 15 to 1-hour bathroom breaks soon turned into two to 5 hours spent in the bathroom, with her post going unattended. Christy was setting herself up for failure with her stunts, but with how big the pay would be, she saw this as worth it.
Melissa watched in silence as every day Christy would disappear into the bathroom for hours on end. She’d warned her enough times, saying she’d fire her if her behavior didn’t change. Melissa was deciding whether to keep Christy when she got a call from her superiors. One of the locals had just won the lottery from a ticket sold at their shop. The winner had requested her identity to remain anonymous, and since the prize money was $250,000, the Illinois Lottery had agreed to their request.
Melissa picked up her phone, and her lips parted in disbelief as she learned that the second runner-up winner also came from a ticket sold at their store. Melissa swelled with excitement. It wasn’t every day that two cards from her store won the lottery. When Melissa talked to Christy about her bathroom behavior, the mom only laughed and thanked her for understanding.
“I won’t forget what you did for me,” Christy came out of the bathroom earlier than usual, beaming and greeting everyone. This was the first time in almost 9 months that people were seeing her smile. Melissa had been studying Christy the moment she came out of the bathroom. She feared that her friend and employee had gotten herself into some trouble and was using some illicit substances to cope.
Melissa watched as Christy hurried to the counter and handed the cashier Robbie a thick stack of dollar bills. She held a seemingly delightful conversation with the man, her innocent smile still holding fast. Christy talking to the cashier was the oddest part of what Melissa witnessed. It turns out Christy had borrowed $5,000 from Robbie and wanted to pay it back with interest. She was in such a good mood that she was tripling the cash Robbie loaned her.
Wondering where the mom who worked only one job that barely covered her rent and utility bills was getting all this money, her superiors called her again, claiming someone had cashed in another winning ticket like the first and second. This also came from Melissa’s store. By now, she’d noticed Christy wore new, more expensive clothes and drove a sleek sports car. Melissa hated that she was starting to obsess over this issue.
Meanwhile, more winning tickets were coming from stores all over the state, totaling 11. That’s when a pattern appeared. Melissa realized that each time someone won the lottery, their name would be kept a secret. Christy would go missing for a few days and then show up decked in the most expensive clothing and jewelry.
Melissa confronted her with tears in her eyes and a heart pumping crippling pain through her veins. Melissa fired Christy, but the mom was nonchalant throughout the exchange, saying she would never forget what the manager had done to her when no one else wanted to help.
Melissa walked into the stall, finding an ordinary room filled with the door’s splinters. Her sight landed on the toilet tank. Her eyes broadened at what she saw. Taped to one side of the tank was a small log book wrapped in plastic. She opened it, her furrowed brows rising. The book contained pages of math equations surrounding lotto numbers. The equations had narrowed to a few thousand tickets that could be the winning ticket in each lottery ruffle.
A chill climbed up Melissa’s spine as she came to a staggering theory. Christy had been the one winning the lotteries across the state.
