The Draw

_{Image by Lukasz Neiscioruk}

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"And finally, the third and final prize for the evening." The MC of the gala said into the microphone. He took out a hanky and wiped sweat off his brow. He had been doing this for over three hours and he was looking forward to the end.

Jace could tell all that just by looking at him.

Jace, along with other members of his community, was having a good time in a gala organized by one of the local churches in the area. The gate fee had been pretty steep, but everyone could agree that it was all worth it. Especially as the side attraction for the gala was a raffle draw. It would gift three people a bicycle, a bike, and an SUV. All brand new.

And it was going to be the highpoint of the gala because the organizers knew that it would be the main thing that would keep the guests until the end.

The gala had started on a good note, Jace had taken a lot of pictures on the red carpet. There had been a thrilling entertainer in the form of music, drama, and even dance. Jace was wowed by the show of creativity by the performers.

Good as the time was, it flew so fast and soon they were listening to the MC calling out the winner of the first prize which was the bicycle.

Everyone clapped. It was a middle-aged man who worked as a security guard in a high-end store.

"Now, I don't have to trek to work anymore." He said aloud so everyone could hear him.

The second prize was the motorcycle, and after the tickets were reshuffled, the MC picked and called out the second winning number.

This time it was a woman in her mid-twenties, after taking the keys she handed them over to her husband, "unfortunately, I'm not a fan of bikes. But my husband is. Thank you very much for this gift."

And now, for the third and final gift, everyone paid attention to every word that dropped out of the MC's mouth.

"It's a 2021 Lexus RC 350, one of the latest SUVs in the market. And guess what, anyone of you could be the lucky winner."

A tense silence fell over the reception hall as everyone double and triple checked their tickets so they would know at once if theirs was called.

"And now, the lucky winner is..." He sucked in a deep breath, deliberately drawing out the suspense.

"Eight." He began to call out the five-digit ticket number.

"Two."

Some people were already throwing their tickets away. Jace held on tight though, he was still in the game.

"Four."

There was a loud exclamation from everyone as more people threw their cards away.

"Six."

"Ahh..." Jace let out an audible gasp, his heart thumping in his chest as he gripped his ticket fiercely. Only one number remained for him. "Please God..."

"And the lucky winner is..."

As the MC dawdled, prolonging the suspense, some were on their feet ready to jump.

"Two."

Jace erupted in a loud whoop!

"That's me! That's my ticket number!! I now have a car!!!"

He jumped from his seat and ran to the stage where the MC made sure that the ticket number indeed matched the one that had been called out.

"Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of this beautiful Lexus---"

"Hold on! I think there has been a mistake." A man called out from the crowd as he hurried to the stage.

The MC's hand hung in the air, the key still in it but Jace reached out and snatched it. No way was he going to let the SUV go.

"A mistake?" The MC asked the man.

"I think you missed the last digit."

"Uhm... I don't think that is correct, sir."

"No!" The man cried furiously, "this cannot be! I was supposed to win that vehicle! Who the hell hired you? I want to speak to him."

A hushed murmur filtered through the guests. Something weird was going on at the moment, and it was confusing. But Jace was not interested in finding out what it was. With the key in his hand, he turned and walked out of the reception hall straight to where the car had been parked.

As he got closer, he unlocked it, and just before he could pull the door open he was grabbed from behind and his face was shoved hard against the window. Almost cracking the glass.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on my car!" The angry man was back again, he had followed Jace out of the church. He was trying to twist his hand behind him.

"What the..." Jace stomped hard on the man's toes and wrestled out of his grip, then he uses his elbow to knock him off. "What the hell is wrong with you man? I won this car fair and square!"

When the man flew towards his throat, Jace pushed him away so he fell to the ground.

"Don't be a sore loser, okay? Just let it go!" Jace said and pulled the door open.

"A million dollars." The man cried, a desperate man clutching at straws. "I will give you a million dollars for the car."

Jace stopped, realizing then that the car meant a lot to the man for him to be willing to give such an amount. But then, it also meant that for him to easily part with a million dollars, then the car was worth more than that. Now Jace had even more reason to hang on to it.

"Well," he shook his head at the man. "Now you are a rich loser. With that kind of money, you can go and get yourself one of these."

And before the man could say something else, Jace slipped into the car and started it. And with a flick of the gear stick, he sped out of the venue. As far as he was concerned, the gala was over.

After driving for over fifteen minutes, he pulled over by an open field to really study the car. That was when he noticed the boxes stacked in the backseat.

"What the..."

They were stacked neatly so that they occupied all the space. It was a wonder he had missed it when he entered. He opened the boot and went to the back of the car to see even more boxes. This had to be the reason the man wanted the car so badly.

Jace felt an urgent need to know the contents of the box.

He took out his nail cutter and used it to break through the seal. Then he opened the boxes.

"Oh my God!" He gasped out loud, staggering backward.

The boxes were filled with hundred-dollar bills. He did a quick math, each box should hold at least two million and with over forty million boxes in the car, that amounted to a whopping eighty million dollars. At least.

"Oh, sweet Jesus..." His legs felt weak, he had never seen so much money in his life. No wonder the man had been willing to give him a million dollars. It seemed like a cup of water compared to the vast ocean in the car.

From how Jace could figure it, the man had smuggled those notes into the country under the guise of shipping the car. He was supposed to come into ownership of the car through the saddle draw that was supposed to have been rigged in his favor. This only meant that the church had been involved in this as well, seeing as they had been the ones to import the car.

Too bad, the MC must have made a mistake. If everything had gone according to plan, the man would have converted it into the local currency and he would have become a multi-billionaire overnight.

"Too bad," Jace muttered as he shut the boot. "I am the multi-billionaire now."

He got into the car and began to drive, hard and fast. Trying to put as much distance between himself and the community. He now had enough money to build himself a brand new life. One in which he would know no suffering.

And he would be damned if he would refuse it.

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_{The End.}