The smile on Adam's face vanished. It was replaced by a cold hard expression. "That's not my problem" Adam said his voice low and firm. "If you don't have the money then you can get out of this shop. From today this shop is mine."
The owner was completely shocked by this. He could not believe what he was hearing. He had thought the kid was naive. He expected the boy to get scared and leave. But this boy was not leaving. Instead he was trying to take his shop.
"You have to understand kid" the owner pleaded. "Things don't work like this. I can't just give you a million dollars."
Adam slammed his hand hard on the counter. The loud sound made the owner jump. "Either give me my money" Adam said his voice now louder and more demanding "or get out of my shop."
The owner started to panic. His face turned pale. He was truly afraid of this strange boy.
"Okay okay" he said holding his hands up in surrender. "Not yours not mine. Let's make a deal. I will give you half the prize right now. That is all the money I have. It's not a million dollars but I have half a million dollars here. It is the money I have saved for my shop."
Adam's cold expression did not change. He just smiled a little. It was not a friendly smile. "Did I ask you for anything? Did I say I wanted half the money? I want one million dollars. If you can give it to me then give it. If not then empty this shop. I am sure your shop is valuable enough to pay my debt."
Seeing Adam's stubbornness the shop owner finally understood. This was not a normal kid. This was not someone he could easily fool or scare away.
Adam was not going to back down. The man realized he was trapped. He had no choice. He had completely misjudged the person standing in front of him.
The shop owner let out a long heavy sigh. The fight went out of his eyes. He looked down at the floor unable to meet Adam's cold gaze. "Fine" he said his voice barely a whisper. "I will bring it now."
He turned and slowly walked toward a door at the back of his shop. Adam watched him go without saying a word.
'I knew it' Adam thought to himself. A bitter smile touched his lips. 'It is impossible for someone like him not to have a million dollars.' He had seen this kind of person countless times in his past life. They always had money hidden away. Money they had cheated from others or money they kept for illegal deals.
'It does not matter if this money is from loans or from some dirty business. I don't care. My past life taught me one important thing. People like him who prey on the weak always have a secret stash. The old Adam would have been fooled by his lies. He would have felt guilty. But I am not that person anymore.'
Adam heard some noise from the back room. There was the faint sound of a heavy safe door creaking open. Then he heard the rustling sound of a lot of paper money. It took a few minutes. The man seemed to be struggling with something heavy.
Finally the owner came back out. He was carrying two large duffel bags. They looked very heavy. He was sweating and breathing hard from the effort. He dropped the two bags on the counter with a loud thud. The bags fell open a little. Adam could see thick stacks of bills packed inside.
The owner wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. He looked exhausted and defeated.
"Normally" the owner said his voice shaky "the lottery company is supposed to handle these things. They send a check in the mail. But I am giving you all this cash from my own side."
He looked at the bags of money and then back at Adam his eyes full of regret. "I am giving you this money from my own pocket."
Adam looked at the man. "I don't care where you are giving it from" he said coldly. "I wanted my money. You gave it to me. The matter is finished here."
Adam looked at the two heavy duffel bags on the counter. The bags he had brought from the back room. He reached out and grabbed the handles of both bags. Then he turned and started walking out of the shop without looking back.
As he walked down the street the heavy bags bumping against his legs he thought about what had just happened.
'The shop owner was actually telling a small truth' Adam thought to himself. 'Normally in a situation like this the winner only gets about half the prize money from the shop owner. The rest is handled by the company.'
But Adam knew a secret rule. It was a detail that almost no one knew unless they had won a big prize before.
'But that shop owner doesn't know that the lottery company that makes the tickets is responsible for all the taxes. The company pays a 30% tax directly to the government on every major prize.
The tax is already paid before the winner even shows up to claim the money. This means the winner is actually supposed to get a little more than half the amount from the shop owner upfront. The rest comes in a check later.'
A small smile played on Adam's lips as he walked. He was completely certain of one thing. No one had ever won a big prize at that man's shop before. The owner was completely ignorant of the real process.
He was just a small-time operator who thought he knew how things worked. He tried to use the common rumors to scare Adam away or cheat him out of his winnings.
The owner had no idea that he was legally supposed to pay a large portion of the prize and then get reimbursed by the company. He just thought Adam was taking all his life savings.
So Adam had made a full one million dollars. He had received the entire amount without any tax deduction. And he had earned it all in less than an hour.
Thinking about this Adam walked away from the lottery shop with a happy smile on his face. The weight of the money in his hands felt good as he disappeared into the city streets.