PRAISE FOR FORTUNE
“The unique premise of a DNA lottery had me hooked from the very first pages! Ellen Won Steil’s Fortune is an emotionally written tale demonstrating what happens when the power of a woman with the wealth and drive to find out the truth is pitted against three friends from high school with secrets to hide. The suspense culminates with the inevitable countdown to the DNA lottery.”
—Georgina Cross, author of Nanny Needed, One Night, and The Stepdaughter
“With an irresistible premise that gets more unsettling by the page, Fortune is so much more than a random game of chance. Every ticket is a potential clue; every character has a fiercely guarded secret. You won’t be able to look away until the final name is drawn.”
—Jessica Strawser, author of A Million Reasons Why
“This emotional and tense debut held me locked in its grip through each roller-coaster twist! Steil’s confident prose immerses the reader in a small town’s past—and the lives of four formidable women—using the modern premise of blood for money in a way I did not see coming. Clear your weekend; then prepare to be sucked into the heart-stopping secrets of Fortune.”
—Elle Marr, Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Family Bones
ALSO BY ELLEN WON STEIL
Fortune
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Otherwise, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2024 by Ellen Won Steil
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Lake Union Publishing, Seattle
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Lake Union Publishing are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
ISBN-13: 9781662512124 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781662512131 (digital)
Cover design by Kathleen Lynch/Black Kat Design
Cover images: © Cunfek / Getty; © Windhi Hermanto / 500px / Getty; © Hayden Verry / Arcangel
For my parents, Jung and Kyung Won
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 ISLA 1995
CHAPTER 2 THE INTERVIEW 2021
CHAPTER 3 ISLA 1995
CHAPTER 4 ISLA Labor Day: September 7, 2020
CHAPTER 5 ISLA 1995
CHAPTER 6 WREN Minneapolis, 1980s
CHAPTER 7 THE INTERVIEW 2021
CHAPTER 8 ISLA 1995
CHAPTER 9 ISLA 1995
CHAPTER 10 ISLA 1996
CHAPTER 11 THE INTERVIEW 2021
CHAPTER 12 ISLA 1996
CHAPTER 13 ISLA 1996
CHAPTER 14 WREN 1980s
CHAPTER 15 ISLA 1996
CHAPTER 16 ISLA 1996
