I hit play on the recording curiously. The sharp, grating voice of Sylvia immediately blared from the phone, scaring me into quickly turning down the volume.
Disgusting remarks filtered through in fragmented sentences.
"She acts so high and mighty. Look at her, acting like she's a queen.
"If it weren't for her wealthy family, who would ever bow and scrape before her?
"Just wait. This is only temporary. Once her parents are dead, won't all the inheritance go to my son?
"When her family's gone, she'll be at our mercy. I'll make her kneel every day to serve me."
I didn't even finish the recording before my blood was boiling.
How could this old woman be so vile and shameless?
She had always presented herself as gentle and kind, but it turned out she was plotting to rob me of everything. And worse, she was cursing my parents to die.
No wonder she had been so resistant to giving a dowry earlier, only to suddenly change her mind.
She must have learned about my family's wealth and was trying to get more than she bargained for.
She was indeed cunning, but if she wasn't careful, she'd be the one to end up with nothing.
My mom handed me the card Sylvia had given me that morning.
"I was suspicious, so I asked your cousin to check it out. There isn't a single penny in this card!
"They're trying to cheat us and make fools of us!"
My mom was shaking with anger. I quickly went over to soothe her, patting her back to calm her down.
I was having trouble accepting it myself, but I still clung to a sliver of hope.
Maybe this was just Sylvia's doing? Maybe Marco Galvan wasn't involved?
Fighting back my rage, I called Marco and his mom into a lounge, intending to get to the bottom of things as soon as possible.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Marco asked with a smile, looking like the perfect doting boyfriend.
"Whitney, what's going on? It's a big day, and we already gave you the dowry, didn't we? There are so many relatives and friends outside waiting. Why did you call us in here?"
As if a sudden thought struck her, Sylvia widened her eyes and pointed accusingly at me.
"Let me tell you something! All those guests outside are watching! Don't even think about raising the price at this point, or I'll call everyone in here to settle this!"
Hearing the contempt in her voice, I saw no reason to hold back anymore. I hurled the bank card at Marco.
"Why is there no money in this card? Where's the money? Didn't you say you'd already transferred it?
"What? You can't even afford 80 thousand dollars as dowry these days? You thought you could cheat us?"
Marco froze for a second, and then quickly tried to comfort me.
"It must be a misunderstanding, sweetheart. We transferred the money long ago. Maybe it just hasn't gone through yet. Let's not argue over this today, okay? Let's get engaged first, and I'm sure the money will show up by tonight."
As he spoke, Marco glanced at his mom and tried to pull me out of the room.
I yanked my hand away. "Fine, then. I'll call the bank and find out why the transfer hasn't gone through. If it's their mistake, I'll file a complaint."
Marco's eyes began to dart around nervously, and my heart sank.
Hearing that, Sylvia suddenly became agitated.
She snatched the bank card from me and jabbed her finger in my face while shouting.
"Well, well, Whitney Frye, you and your mother sure know how to be thorough, don't you? How calculating! You even went to check the balance. Let me tell you, there's no money in it.
"So what? Are you not going to marry my son just because there is no money in the card?
"I'll tell you this. You're no longer a virgin and are so filthy. Who else would want you besides my son? I suggest you stop causing trouble today and just go through with the engagement. As your future mother-in-law, I will overlook this little tantrum of yours."
Marco joined in, half coaxing and half threatening, "Whitney, the guests are already here. Let's just get through the banquet. Your family is in business, and you know how important reputation is. If you keep causing a scene, it won't be good for anyone. Isn't it?"
I was furious. They'd tried to deceive me with an empty card, plotting to rob my family, even cursing my parents. And now they dared to act like they were doing me a favor? Forgiving me?
Moral blackmail, really?
How dare they? I just wanted to slap this old woman across the face.
Marco was just a poor guy from a rural village, while I was a pampered, well-off young lady.
Ever since we started dating, I had hidden most of my family's wealth to protect his fragile ego, only showing him a small portion of it.
Even with that, his family had been plotting to take everything from me. I didn't even want to imagine what would have happened if, in a moment of foolishness, I had revealed my family's full financial situation. Who knows what dirty tricks they might have used, just like you read about online.
Considering his family's circumstances, my parents had only asked for a symbolic dowry of 80 thousand dollars, a gesture of good fortune. But they had prepared a dowry worth millions of dollars for me.
Originally, I had planned to surprise Marco with the dowry during the engagement ceremony. Little did I expect that before I could give him that surprise, I would be shocked myself.
Fine.
Did you want to threaten me into going through with the engagement? Just as you wished.
I handed my phone, with the recording, to my cousin Shane Warner, instructing him to make sure everything was arranged properly.
