"You need to pay my son a marriage settlement. Ten million dollars."
The air in the room turned to ice. My parents and I froze at the same time.
"How much?" My mother's voice cracked.
My father was already shaking with fury. His palm cracked against the table. "You've lost your mind! Do you have any idea how much ten million dollars is? You're out of your goddamn mind!"
"Oh, I know exactly how much it is." My mother-in-law didn't flinch. "I just asked around. These days, the going rate for a live-in husband starts in the tens of millions."
"Look at the casino mogul's son-in-law. After he married in, the old man handed over his entire empire as a dowry!"
"My son graduated from a top university. He makes a million a year. He's an only child. His looks and credentials are every bit as good as that mogul's son-in-law! So why should he settle for one measly house?"
She shot me a glance and kept going.
"Just earlier, one of my relatives told me that the biggest real estate developer in our state is also looking for a live-in son-in-law! He sent my son's resume over, and they said if my son married in, they'd give him ten million dollars!"
"And after the first baby? Another ten million!"