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One month before the wedding, I went to move the eight hundred thousand dollars of dowry I'd been saving for three years into my own account.
But the teller told me, apologetically, “Ma'am, there's only two thousand dollars left on this primary card.”
I pulled up the transaction history. Exactly seven hundred ninety-eight thousand had been transferred, just yesterday, into an account belonging to a Rowena Cox.
Rowena Cox. Mark Sanchez's first love, the one who'd come crying to him every single day since her business went under.
When I pushed open the door to Mark's office, he was helping Rowena pick out a new address for her shop.
I held the transaction slip out in front of him. He only waved for Rowena to step out first, then looked at me, his eyes gentle.
“Rowena's online store ran out of cash. If she can't cover the shortfall, her suppliers are going to sue her.”
“Come on. That money was just sitting there earning interest anyway. Think of it as a loan. Once she's through this rough patch, she'll pay us back.”
“That's my dowry! That's the security my parents left me!” I was shaking with rage.
Mark came over and pulled me into his arms, his voice carrying a firmness that left no room for argument.
“You're about to marry me. Isn't my money your money? You think I'd ever let you go short?”
“Camille Turner, you're already the future Mrs. Sanchez, locked in. Why be so cruel to a woman with nowhere left to turn?”
Looking at that hypocritical face of his, I felt sick enough to throw up.
“The money's already been transferred. There's no getting it back. Be a good girl. I'll give you a beautiful wedding next month.”
I shoved him away hard, slid the engagement ring off my finger and set it on the desk, then turned and walked out.
If he couldn't let her go, then fine. I'd let the two of them have each other.
......
I had just pressed the down button when Mark came after me.
He draped his suit jacket over my shoulders, grabbed my hand, and slid the diamond ring back onto my ring finger.
“Are you done throwing your tantrum? You can't just fling a ring around like that.”
He sighed and reached up to wipe the tears from the corner of my eye.
“That eight hundred thousand is only a loan to tide Rowena over.”
“After we're married, I'll hand you my whole paycheck. Buy anything you want.”
“That's eight hundred thousand dollars!” I threw his hand off, my voice shaking.
“That's the settlement money my parents paid for with their lives in that car crash!”
Mark's eyes darkened. He pressed me back against his chest.
“Camille, the dead don't come back. Use dead money to save a living person's life. Think of it as building good karma for your parents. All right?”
Leaning against his warm chest, I only felt cold all over.
In his logic, his first love's mess would always matter more than I did.
The day he proposed, he knelt on one knee and swore he'd protect the last bit of security my parents had left me with his life.
And now, for another woman, he'd moved that money away like it was nothing.
I shoved him off hard and stared straight into his eyes.
“Call finance right now. Send the money back the way it came.”
Mark's gentle face stiffened for a moment, and his eyes went cold fast.
“The money's already in an overseas corporate account. It can't be pulled back.”
“Camille, this is a company hallway. Don't act like some shrew and make a spectacle for everyone.”
He reached out to smooth my messed-up hair, his tone turning to reproach.
“You're about to be Mrs. Sanchez, the woman this whole city envies. Why drive a single mother with nowhere to turn to her death over a little money?”
Before I could react, his phone rang.
Rowena's miserable sobbing came through.
“Mark, the suppliers came to my door with collectors…… I'd rather jump than drag you two down with me……”
Mark went white in an instant, soothing her softly into the phone.
“Rowena, don't be scared. I'm here. No one would dare touch you.”
He turned his head and looked at me with disappointed eyes, and sighed, “Camille, you're being so unreasonable.”
Then a violent crash of things being smashed and a woman's scream tore out of the phone.
Mark's face went hard at once. He didn't spare me another glance, just bolted like a madman toward the CEO's private elevator.
“Mark!” I screamed at his back. “If it were me being cornered by loan sharks today, would you go or not?”
The elevator doors slid slowly shut. He didn't look back.
“You're smart. You'd call the police yourself. Rowena's timid. I have to go.”
The hallway was empty. The lights overhead were cold and glaring.
I remembered last winter, when I spiked a fever close to a hundred and four in the middle of the night and begged him to take me to the hospital.
He'd stroked my head just as gently, comforting me the same way.
“Be a good girl. Take a cab yourself. Rowena's depression is flaring up. I have to go stay with her.”
I took out my phone and looked at the two thousand dollars left in my account.
This time, I didn't cry.
Calmly, I dialed 911 and spoke to the operator, every word clear.
“I want to file a report under my real name. Rowena Cox, for large-scale contract fraud.”
