I had bought it with my own money at the corner gas station that afternoon. I had left it on the kitchen table, signed on the back with my name: María Delgado. She had snatched it up without a glance, never realizing that the name printed on the check one day wouldn’t be hers.
Ezoic
Forgotten by the One I Raised
As the days passed, she became impossible to reach. Her old phone number disconnected. Her children left behind with their father, ignored while she lived in luxury. The girl I once rocked to sleep had become a stranger.
Not a daughter. Not even family. Just a woman hollowed out by greed.
I stayed silent.
Ezoic
The Call That Changed Everything
A week later, the phone rang. The voice on the other end was calm, professional, unmistakable.
“Ms. Delgado, we’ve confirmed the winning ticket is in your name. We’ll need you to come in for verification.”
My breath caught. For a moment, I thought it was a cruel joke. But it wasn’t. This was real.
Ezoic
The following morning, rain fell again—fitting, almost poetic. I wore my old brown coat, the one my daughter mocked for being “too old-fashioned.” And I walked into the state office with the dignity she had tried to strip from me.
Inside, the oversized check was waiting. My name gleamed in gold letters: $10,000,000.
For the first time in years, I felt seen. Not as a burden. Not as an “old hag.” But as a woman who still mattered.
The Fall of Pride
