Ming stood at the counter, clutching the two betting tickets tightly in her sweaty palm.
Her heart exploded in her chest as she slid them across to the clerk.
The first ticket earned her a polite nod and a small payout, just a few thousand pounds. Enough to draw some glances from curious onlookers, but not enough to raise alarm.
The second ticket… changed everything.
The man behind the counter scanned it, paused, shook his head. Then he looked at it again.
"One moment." He said, already reaching for the phone. "I need to call upstairs."
A tingling surge swept over Ming, like a thousand tiny pins stabbing along her skin.
The minutes dragged. People around her kept moving, betting, talking, living normal lives.
She felt like she was trapped inside a slow-motion film.
Finally, a door behind the counter opened, and a man a button-down shirt stepped out.
"Miss? Can you come upstairs with me, please?"
Ming hesitated. "Can't we just do it here?"
"I'm afraid not." He said, holding open a side door. "You need to come upstairs."
"I'd rather not…" Ming replied quietly.
He smiled wider. "I'm afraid I must insist."
She followed reluctantly, her instincts screaming that this felt wrong. But turning back might look suspicious.
Upstairs was quieter. The office was stark and clean, with a leather chair and a desk too big for the man sitting behind it.
He was middle-aged, wearing a grey suit and an expensive watch that caught the light with every gesture.
His smile reminded her of sharks on television.
"You're quite young."
"I'm old enough." Ming forced her voice to sound steady as she sat stiffly in the chair across from him.
"Of course you are." He chuckled, like they were sharing a joke.
"I'm Garrison, but please call me Gary." He said smoothly, though she could tell that wasn't his real name. He waited for her name in return.
Ming didn't offer it. "I'm here for my winnings."
He chuckled. "Straight to business. I like that. Kids these days always in a rush."
"I'm not a kid." Ming replied. "And I'd like my money, please."
Gary picked up the ticket and gave it a little wave. "You're remarkably lucky, you know that?"
"Most people never even win a tenth of what you just did. I'd be dancing on tables if I won this much."
Ming didn't smile. "So… is there a problem?"
Gary placed the ticket back on the desk. "Not a problem, per se. Just… bureaucracy."
A long pause.
Gary sighed, as if burdened by some unseen weight. "Here's the thing… you can't walk out of here with the full amount."
Her shoulders stiffened. "Why not? I won. The ticket's real."
"You won fair and square, yes." Gary confirmed.
"But when it comes to large sums like this—" He tapped the side of the ticket. "—we can't just hand it over. There are… rules."
"What kind of rules?" Ming tensed further.
"Well." He said, straightening in his chair, "This amount, especially going to someone who, let's be honest, still looks like she should be studying for her A-levels, raises some flags."
"We'll need to process a withholding. Tax. It's standard for payouts over certain amounts."
Ming bit her lip. "I didn't see anything about that when I placed the bet."
He smiled again. "Fine print, kid. It's always there. You wouldn't believe how many people skip over it."
She leaned forward slightly. "I bet you wouldn't say that if I were some guy in his forties."
Gary raised his eyebrows. "Now, let's not make this personal."
"It is personal." She shot back. "It's my ticket. My money."
He held up his hands. "You'll still get a nice chunk, I assure you. But rules are rules. You can take it up with the tax office if you like."
"Or I could walk out and talk to your manager." She stared at him.
Gary gave her an amused smile. "I am the manager, kid."
Gary leaned back in his chair, a smug smirk dancing on his lips.
"Well, let's cut to it, shall we?" He said casually.
"I'll be keeping the eighteen grand from this ticket," He tapped it "And you can walk away with the smaller one. Still a nice payday for someone your age."
Ming's eyes widened. "You're just taking it?" Her voice tinged with disbelief. "That's theft."
Gary shrugged. "Maybe. But this is the real world, kid. In the real world, people with power take their cut. Call it tax. Call it handling. Call it me doing you a favour by not making this worse."
Ming stiffened, she could see it in his eyes… he didn't only want the money. He wanted her to know. To know he could take it from her and she'd have no way to stop him.
He continued smiling. "Let's call it a processing fee. I'm offering you a generous way out."
Generous. The word made her want to throw the chair across the room.
She'd won that money, well, not her, exactly. The crazy girl who made the bet. But still.
If it were only her stake, she might've walked away and taken the loss. But she couldn't imagine what would happen if she showed up without that money.
Tanya was all smiles in front of everyone… but Ming had an idea what lay hidden… she didn't want to find out.
Her pulse hammered. She needed to flip this. She couldn't out-muscle him, but maybe she didn't need to…
A eureka moment struck.
"You're right." Ming said suddenly.
Gary raised a brow. "Am I?"
"I'm too young to be walking around with that kind of money."
She forced her shoulders to relax and leaned back in the chair, feigning indifference.
"Here's the thing," She said. "The money? It's not mine."
That caught his attention.
"Really now?" Gary tried to discern the truth.
Ming shrugged. "You think a kid like me places a bet that size alone? I've got a… friend. Connected. And he's not going to like hearing his money got taken by some mid-level clerk trying to look important."
The air in the room strained.
"You're bluffing." He said after a pause. "And even if you're not, I could make you disappear. No one would know."
Ming let out a laugh, louder than she felt inside. "Seriously? You think I'd walk in here without telling my boss where I was going? You really think I'm that dumb?"
In truth, she prayed the others were watching.
His lip twitched, silence filled the space.
Finally, with a sigh heavy enough to move paper on the desk, Gary pushed back his chair.
"Take the damn money." He muttered. "And get out of my office."
Ming didn't need to be told twice.
She grabbed the envelope, her hands steady despite the adrenaline surging through her.
As she was exiting, she saw a small blue cloth across the edge of the window.
She spotted Mary standing behind a pillar, seemingly examining a brochure.
When Ming looked over, Mary caught her gaze and then vanished around the corner as Gary's eyes followed Ming from the office.
He scowled, now visibly annoyed.
Ming didn't bother to look back.
Her bluff had worked.