Mary flinched at grandma's sharp voice sliced through the tense silence.
Though everyone else might have thought it was anger, she knew better; this was bargaining.
Grandma Lovely was testing them, and if Adam truly dared to walk away now, the situation would spiral into disaster.
The thought alone made Mary's stomach twist.
Just as the atmosphere thickened, Grandma Lovely let out a weary sigh and said in a softened tone,
"Fine then, five hundred thousand dollars. I'm willing to settle for that."
Both Adam and Mary exhaled in relief and quietly sank back into their chairs.
Their shoulders loosened ever so slightly.
They knew too well that what they were doing was a gamble, a dangerous one.
If they had truly walked away just now, there was no telling how Grandma Lovely, Uncle Milo, or Hans might retaliate.
Extortion was something this family had mastered over the years.
But Mary and Adam weren't fools. They understood the kind of people they were dealing with.
