Chapter 3: A twist of fate

Joe sat on the edge of his worn-out couch, staring at his phone, still stunned by the unexpected money in his bank account.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

How could there suddenly be a huge sum of money in his account?

His hand shook as he dialed his bank’s customer service number.

The automated voice guided him through the menu, and finally, after what felt like an eternity, a representative picked up.

“Good evening. This is Sarah from Bank Services. How can I assist you today?” a voice said.

Joe swallowed hard, trying to find the words. “Yeah, um, I—I have a question about my account. I just checked my balance, and there’s more money in there than there should be. I don’t know where it came from.”

The line went silent for a moment as the representative likely pulled up his account details.

“Okay, Mr. Turner,” Sarah said after a moment. “I see what you’re referring to. It looks like a deposit was made into your account earlier today.”

“But who made the deposit? I didn’t expect any money, and I don’t know who would send me that kind of cash.”

“According to our records, the deposit came from your account. The transfer seems to have originated from a linked account under your name.” Sarah said.

“What? That’s impossible,” Joe stammered. “I didn’t move any money. I don’t even have another account like that!”

“I understand this is confusing, Mr. Turner,” Sarah replied, “but the transaction was flagged as legitimate. If you believe there’s been some kind of mistake or fraud, I can transfer you to our investigations department—”

Before she could finish, Joe’s phone buzzed with an incoming call.

The screen displayed an unknown number.

“Uh, I’ll need to call you back,” Joe said abruptly, cutting off Sarah before hanging up.

His hands fumbled as he answered the unknown call.

“Hello?” Joe’s voice wavered.

A deep voice responded on the other end. “Joe Turner?”

Joe froze. “Yeah, this is Joe. Who’s this?”

“Mr. Turner, I’ve been trying to reach you. I’m calling to inform you that you’ve recently received a huge inheritance, " the man said.

“Inheritance? What are you talking about? I don’t have anyone who’d leave me money like that.” Joe sounded confused.

The man on the phone chuckled lightly as though he’d expected Joe’s confusion.

“I understand this is sudden, Mr. Turner, but everything is legitimate. You’ve inherited a large sum from someone who, let’s say, had their eye on you for a while,” he said.

Joe’s rubbed his forehead, trying to make sense of it all.

“That… doesn’t make any sense. Who would leave me anything? I don’t have rich relatives. I barely knew my parents and didn’t know anyone with money.”

“I’m aware this is difficult to understand, but I assure you, the details will be explained soon.“ The man replied.

“We’ll need you to come to a specific location to discuss the inheritance and finalize some paperwork.” The man continued.

Joe’s eyes darted around his small apartment as if looking for answers.

His whole life had been one struggle after another, and now someone was telling him that he’d inherited a fortune from an unknown benefactor. It didn’t feel real.

“Who are you? How do I know this isn’t some kind of scam?” Joe asked.

The man let out a slow sigh, sounding neither insulted nor surprised by the question.

“I understand your caution. However, this is far from a scam. I represent an entity that manages specific inheritances.” The man said in a firm voice.

“We’ve been trying to reach you for some time. The details can’t be discussed over the phone, but you’ll find everything is above board once we meet. I’ll send you an address. You’ll be expected there tomorrow.”

Joe’s head was spinning. “But… how do I know you’re telling the truth? Who left me this money?”

There was a brief pause as if the man were considering how much to say.

“The full identity of the benefactor will be revealed in time. For now, let’s just say that this individual had an interest in you for reasons you’ll understand soon. You’ll need to come to the address I’m sending to your phone. All of your questions will be answered there.”

Before Joe could respond, the line went dead.

A second later, his phone buzzed again. A text had come through.

Joe stared at the message:

‘Meet at this address tomorrow at noon. 547 East West Drop Avenue. All will be explained.’

His mind raced with questions, but there was no one to answer them.

Joe sat there in silence for a few moments, trying to process everything.

Should he go? Could this really be some kind of miracle? Or was it just another cruel twist in his life?

Tomorrow at noon, Joe would find out.