Chapter 7: Monday

Tim

I decided I could ditch school one day to become a quarter billionaire; Jane went with us. Beth drove, since she would have to claim the prize. We drove to Springfield, where the Lottery Headquarters was located. I gave her the ticket, and we walked in. After the officials verified that the ticket was real they congratulated us, and cut us our first annual installment check for just under ten million dollars after taxes. We left on cloud nine.

Beth had contacted her attorney about the viability of the project, and he felt that it was the most unselfish thing he'd ever heard of someone doing. Beth started the ball rolling by buying the hotel from Jim; I spoke with Tom and Helen, and they were on board. As soon as Jim heard the agreement from Beth, he said to go ahead and start moving; that way we would have the room if needed.

Epilogue

Eight years have passed, and Jane and I have graduated college with Master's Degrees. I have assumed the Presidency of the corporation, and have opened three additional homes in cities having similar problems. With what the states pay for abused youth care, and interest on my investments, I'm now worth well over half a billion dollars. The money, however, isn't the important thing; the importance is on protecting abused kids, treating their physical and emotional injuries, and raising awareness of child abuse.

Oh, yeah, Jane and I are married, and are expecting our first child. We both have sworn to never, ever, raise a hand to our kids.