diff --git a/src/utils.ts b/src/utils.ts
index 081ad7b..03d7780 100644
--- a/src/utils.ts
+++ b/src/utils.ts
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ export function findNamedChild(
     let obj = variables
 
     // if we have a global matching the exact name of the reference, this is probably what we want
-    if (obj[reference]) {
+    if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(obj, reference)) {
         return obj[reference]
     }
 
diff --git a/tests/handleEvent.data.json b/tests/handleEvent.data.json
index c487d41..8f1b349 100644
--- a/tests/handleEvent.data.json
+++ b/tests/handleEvent.data.json
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@
                     "ContractStarted": {
                         "Condition": {
                             "$eq": [
-                                "$ContractId",
+                                "$.ContractId",
                                 "abc123"
                             ]
                         },