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.