The Name Tariff

Our daughter, Emma Gables, stared at me incredulously with her eyes wide. It was as if she did not recognize me.

But I simply held out my hand again. “One hundred thousand dollars. I don’t need to nag you for it, do I?”

There was a loud “clang.”

Lana slammed down her water glass, shielded my daughter behind her, and glared at me.

“Lyle Stafford, do you find this amusing?”

I looked up at her and smiled. “Why wouldn’t I? It wasn’t me who took Emma to see him.”

Lana’s expression froze for a moment before returning to normal.

She grabbed my hand and said gently, “I was wrong. Today is our wedding anniversary. Don’t be angry, okay?”

Once upon a time, I would have dreamed of hearing her admit she was wrong.

But I only felt annoyed by her attempt to deflect the subject.

“I’m not angry. Just pay me on the kid’s behalf.”

Lana’s patience completely ran out.

“Fine. Very well.

“Lyle Stafford, you’ve really surprised me.”

She pulled a checkbook from her bag, wrote a check for two hundred thousand dollars, and slammed it on my face. Then, she carried Emma and walked away.

I bent down to pick up the check, not caring where they had gone.

Eliot would tell me the answer anyway.

I opened my phone, and his message arrived right on time.

Today, the mother and daughter had accompanied him to the amusement park. They looked like a real family of three.

After all, Lana and her daughter had never done such simple, ordinary things for me.

Never mind going to an amusement park, even when taking photos, the two of them would turn away from my camera with looks of disgust.

The next moment, my phone rang.

Several candid photos of Lana and Eliot popped up on the screen.

A tabloid reporter sent a malicious blackmail message.

[Mr. Stafford, you don’t want your wife’s scandal trending on the internet, do you? You’ve just remarried. You need to get your footing first, don’t you?]

I could not be bothered to respond, so I just blocked him.

Why should I be the one paying for their mistakes?

An hour later, the scandal involving the two of them trended everywhere.

When Lana came home, her gaze toward me was filled with suppressed fury.

“Look at the mess you’ve created!”

I glanced at her phone screen.

Apparently, the reporter had not gotten what he wanted from her either. So in a fit of rage, he had leaked the photos.

Judging by Lana’s reaction, she clearly believed I had intentionally facilitated their release.

My voice remained calm. “It wasn’t me. That reporter was desperate. He did not get the money, so he’s lashing out.”

Lana let out a cold laugh as her eyes brimmed with scorn.

“Money? Who in this world loves money more than you?

“The first thing you demanded after we remarried was money and a house. You even asked for money from our child’s innocent words.

“How could you criticize others when you’re just as horrible? Don’t you find that shameful?”

My fingernails dug into my palm as I wrenched my hand free from hers.

Even though everything she said was true, the pain still left me gasping for breath.

She knew full well that I needed all that money because of my mother’s illness.

Yet she saw it as nothing more than a ploy to win her favor.

I let out a self-deprecating laugh.

During our struggle just now, the strap of her watch had cut the back of my hand.

When Emma saw the blood on my hand, her expression changed. She rushed over to examine it.

I thought she would blow on my wound like she used to when she was little.

But the next second, she pressed down hard on it.

Caught completely off guard, the pain made my eyes well up.

Yet my daughter, as if seeking praise, video-called Eliot.

“Eliot, did you see that?

“Bad Daddy made you cry, so I got revenge for you.

“I’ll always protect you, just like Mom told you.”

Lana hurriedly covered Emma’s mouth and looked at me with guilt.

“Children speak without malice. We’re adults. We shouldn’t take it to heart.”

It took me a few seconds to realize what she was saying.

A hint of helplessness finally flashed in Lana’s eyes as she held out her hand to me.

“All right, Emma did go a bit too far.”

I reached out my hand as well.

“Two hundred thousand dollars. You’ve all just mentioned him.”

Lana froze in place.

It took her several seconds to snap out of it.

Her gaze toward me shifted from shock to anger.

“Crash!”

She kicked the coffee table, sending it crashing to the floor.

“Enough, Lyle. Are you ever going to stop?”