"Gold prices have skyrocketed. That necklace is worth at least two hundred thousand dollars."
"You've obviously hidden it somewhere safe, then handed me some empty bag to search through like I'm stupid. You think that little act is going to fool me?"
Had she never seen real gold in her life?
I had to admire the audacity. The cosmetics she'd dumped out of my bag and scattered across the floor were worth enough to buy ten gold necklaces.
She lunged at me, dirty claws outstretched, trying to pat me down.
Her nails raked across my arm, drawing blood. I hissed at the sting and shoved her back.
She stumbled on her own feet, staggered a few steps, and crashed into the wall. Immediately, the wailing began.
"Oh, my son! This fiancée of yours is vicious! She's beating up an old woman!"
Chad's expression darkened, his brows knitting tighter and tighter.
"Enough, Muriel! You're giving that gold back today, one way or another!"
I laughed in disbelief, holding both palms up.
"I never took it. What exactly am I supposed to give back?"
"You searched my bag. You found nothing. So stop trying to pin this on me."
Zoey kept going: "Give me back my gold! I want the exact same gold!"
Chad slammed his palm against the glass display case and barked at me.
"If you can't produce the gold, you pay market value. Two hundred thousand. Not a cent less!"
I almost laughed at the absurdity.
Setting aside the fact that I never took it, this brass knockoff weighed less than ten grams. And they wanted two hundred thousand dollars from me.
This family genuinely thought I was an idiot.
There was no point arguing. I refused to waste another ounce of energy on this circus.
I pulled out my phone and transferred ten thousand dollars to Chad without hesitation.
"Your necklace doesn't even weigh ten grams, but let's round up and call it ten. I've calculated the value of your brass at gold's market price. Ten thousand is more than generous. It's already in your account. Don't bother me again."
"Oh, and give your dad my best wishes for a speedy recovery."
I grabbed my bag and headed for the door. I didn't even bother picking up the cosmetics scattered across the floor. I just wanted out of this godforsaken place.
The whole house reeked of toxicity. I could feel the bad luck clinging to me like a film.
I never wanted to set foot here again.
But Zoey's greed was nowhere near satisfied.
She darted to the front door, craned her neck, and let out a shriek that carried down the street.
"Everybody! Some little brat came here to walk all over the Fletcher family!"
The next second, villagers who'd been milling about the lane appeared with shovels and axes, surrounding me in a tight circle.
Every face was hard with menace.
"This village isn't somewhere you stroll in and out of whenever you please."
Their eyes were cold and predatory, every last one of them looking like small-town thugs straight out of the backwoods.
Zoey's laugh was shrill, dripping with arrogance.
"There's a resort about to be built right here in this village. It's a project from Chad's company. He earned it because the chairman thinks so highly of him."
"My family is this village's number-one benefactor. These people follow my lead. One word from me, and they could end you right here. No one would ever find you."
Zoey wasn't wrong about one thing.
The resort project did have Chad's involvement.
But he held no real authority over it whatsoever.
Whether it got built or not was never his call.
Dozens of people blocked my path. I couldn't move an inch. I turned to Chad.
"Chad. You invited me all the way out here over the holidays to meet your family, and you're just going to stand there and let them do this to me?"
A shovel hovered inches from my face. He didn't flinch. Didn't move. His expression was utterly indifferent.
When he finally spoke, his voice was ice.
"You still owe a hundred and ninety thousand. Pay up, then you can leave."
And just like that, everything clicked into place. He'd never had any intention of introducing me to his family to discuss our wedding. This whole thing, from the moment I arrived, was a trap. The entire family had planned it together.
