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"Terry Wright? ", asked the voice at the end of the telephone. Before I had a chance to answer, the excited-sounding disembodied voice announced: "Congratulations, Mr Wright. I'm Matthew Pratt from the 'Daily Pride'"

"Congratulations on wh...", I began. But before I could complete the sentence: "We're prepared to offer you half a million for your story if you can grant us exclusive rights."

"Well that sounds amazing, but I need to kno...."

"I'll explain it all face-to-face. I'm just round the corner from your house. Hold on Mr Wright."

"Look, you'd better tell me what this is all ab..." The line went dead. Clearly some joker was playing a weird game with me.

The doorbell rang, and I opened the door. There was a strange 'buzzing' of conversation from the roadway outside my gate. Lining the pavement outside and the pathway to my front door were what seemed like hundreds of journalists. Flashlights went off, taking my photograph as I opened the front door. Television cameras and microphones had been set up outside my house. The telephone started ringing again.

A man in a rather scruffy coat pushed his way past me into the house. "Leave the 'phone, Mr Wright." He slammed the door closed behind him. Immediately the doorbell sounded again. "And the door. Leave it!"

I was curious, frightened, disbelieving and very angry all at the same time. I grabbed the scruffy man's coat lapels and drew him toward me: "Just who the hell do you think you are!" I screamed into his face.

For a moment my fear seemed contagious and the man looked scared. Then he said quite calmly: "I'm Matthew Pratt. I want the same as the others out there. Your story. The difference is that I work for the biggest daily in the land and we will pay you half a million up front."

I walked over to the television and tuned to one of the 24 hour news channels. The message 'Breaking News' was flashing on the screen below a live picture of the front of my house! A newsreader standing on the pavement outside my house was talking to camera, explaining how the 'Daily Pride' had uncovered the whereabouts of a man who had won several millions on the lottery but was too devoted to his work and neighbourhood to quit his job and move home.

I smiled to myself. Whoever thought he had uncovered a millionaire had made one enormous mistake. I was barely managing to keep up the mortgage payments on my humble little terraced house. I would love to give up work, but needed

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