"Jim. Tell us. How do you want to resolve this?"
Jim was silent for a few seconds. Then, in a small voice, he said, "Dad, this is the first time my mom has ever been this good to me. I don't want to let her down."
"I'll write you an IOU. After my mom leaves, I'll pay back every cent, with interest."
My father stared at him for a long moment, then let out a heavy sigh and waved his hand.
"Fine. We'll scrape it together."
"But this is the last time, Jim. There won't be a next time."
My parents started wiring money, transfer after transfer into his account.
At eight hundred thousand, the system flagged a daily limit.
My father tried to reason with Amelia.
"It's not that we won't pay. The bank has a transfer cap. First thing tomorrow morning, I'll send the rest."
Amelia's face twisted instantly. "Transfer cap? Why don't you just bring cash? This is nothing but an excuse!"
Before anyone could react, she snatched the baby from the bassinet and clutched the infant to her chest.
"How do I know you're not taking advantage of my son's good nature? The second I leave, you'll pretend the money never existed!"
"If you don't pay up, I'm taking this baby home with me tonight! You can see your grandchild again when the money's in my hands!"
My mother went white as a sheet.
"The baby can't leave the incubator! Put the child back, now!"
Amelia dug in. "Then pay up! No money, no baby!"
When she saw security rushing toward her, she scrambled onto the windowsill and screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Stay back! One more step and I jump with the baby!"
My mother panicked. She started talking fast—
"Don't do anything rash! We'll go borrow the rest right now! We'll get you the full million, okay?!"
Mom choked the words out through tears, then urged Dad to start making calls.
Dad's face was grim. Phone in hand, he dialed one number after another—relatives, friends, business partners—working through every contact he had.
After a full hour of scraping together every dollar they could, they managed to come up with just over a hundred thousand more.
Dad dropped the case of cash in front of Amelia.
"We're only short by a few tens of thousands! You can put the baby back now!"
"I guarantee the rest will be wired tomorrow. The second the clock strikes midnight, it's done!"
Amelia sneered.