Chapter 4
The salesperson immediately stepped up with a smile. "Great eye, miss. This one's a limited edition.
"Every Swarovski crystal is set by hand, and the sound quality is the best you can get. It's made for the stage."
Maria's eyes sparkled as she looked over at Eugene. "Eugene, this is so cool."
Eugene nodded, clearly pleased. "This is the one. How much?"
The salesperson replied, "300 thousand dollars."
Eugene let out a sharp breath.
He knew professional microphones were expensive, but he never thought they'd cost this much.
Maria noticed Eugene was reluctant, so she decided to step back and make it easier for him to say no.
She said, "Eugene, this is way too expensive. I can't let you spend so much on me. If I lose, so be it."
Eugene felt the pressure as everyone stared at him.
"No big deal, just put it on my card," Eugene said.
The payment was successful.
Maria hugged the sparkling microphone, her face lighting up as she rushed over and kissed Eugene on the cheek.
"Eugene, you're the best," she squealed.
Eugene's arm instinctively slipped around her waist.
For a second there, it felt like Maria was his wife.
I stood at the checkout counter, watching them get all cozy right in front of me.
If this had happened in my previous life, I would've been really upset.
But now, I actually felt like laughing.
Go on, kiss him.
Yeah, swipe that card.
Let's see if they could still laugh when the time came.
All these years, I'd been stashing every penny of his paycheck on this card.
Even now, he still thought he was spending my money on that microphone.
Maria finally seemed to notice me, as if I'd just appeared out of nowhere.
"Mrs. Mcguire, I'm just so happy right now. You don't mind, do you?" she said.
Eugene suddenly snapped at me, like he'd been triggered, "Can you stop being so twisted? If your heart's messed up, everything you see looks messed up too."
Maria quickly jumped in, pretending to smooth things over. "Eugene, don't be like that.
"The show gave me two tickets to the live performance. You guys should come and cheer me on."
Eugene jumped in right away. "Look at Maria, she's so mature. You should learn from her."
I sat across from them, just watching the whole thing like it was some kind of show.
They had no clue, and they thought they were the stars of this performance.
*****
On the day of the recording, Maria was dressed to the nines, looking more gorgeous than ever.
The first round was a face-off with original songs.
Right before the show started, Maria was all smiles, showing off backstage in the dressing room.
"Guess what? Karissa just said my voice sounds incredible," Maria bragged.
Eugene jumped in right away. "You're totally moving up. A superstar like her doesn't hand out compliments to just anyone."
I cut in from the side, killing the vibe. "It's an original song contest today, so don't sing mine."
The room went dead silent.
Maria's smile froze, her eyes starting to well up. "Is it really so hard for you to accept me? I worked so hard for this chance..."
Eugene's face instantly darkened.
"Taylor, can't you stop being so small-minded?" he snapped. "Maria's bringing your song to a bigger stage. You should be thanking her, not trying to hold her back."
I stared right into his eyes, making sure he heard every word. "You know this song was written for my little girl."
The silence in the room grew even heavier.
Eugene's face darkened, his voice full of impatience."Enough. She hasn't even been born yet. Legally, she doesn't even count as a person," Eugene said coldly.
Maria echoed, her voice soft and agreeable, "Yeah, Mrs. Mcguire, we should care about the living first, shouldn't we?"
I just stood there.
My chest felt like it was shattering.
So in their eyes, that was all it was.
To them, my baby wasn't even a person.
So they killed her without a second thought.
And they didn't even feel the slightest bit guilty.
If they were so obsessed with what counts in the eyes of the law, then I would let them see just how ruthless the law could be.
*****
The competition officially kicked off.
As expected, Maria went ahead with what everyone knew she'd do.
She was using that top-of-the-line microphone.
Her performance was even better than at the last concert.
Everyone was completely mesmerized.
My gaze stayed fixed on the judges' table.
Karissa's face was getting stormier by the minute.
Suddenly, she slammed her hand down on the table and brought the competition to a screeching halt.
"Maria, is this really your own original song?" Karissa snapped.
The whole place went dead silent.
Maria stood in the center of the stage, completely stunned.
Her face drained of all color at Karissa's fierce question.
"It... it's my original," Maria stammered, her voice trembling. "Maybe there's some kind of misunderstanding?"
Karissa refused to sit down.
She stood before the judges' table, jabbing a finger right at Maria on stage.
"Alright, since you insist this is your original song," she said coldly, "then tell us—where did your inspiration for this song come from?"
Maria froze.
She never expected to be asked that.
Of course, she knew the inspiration came from my tribute to the child I lost to miscarriage.