a scam

By Katelyn Tran

Two years ago, hell broke loose. 

It was a normal night— my brother and I playing together outside our study room and my parents inside talking about how their day was going. Everyone was so happy, smiling and just playing around with each other. I can still hear how my brother just laughed so much over an inside joke we had… 

Everything was just perfect… 

Until the yelling started. 

At first, the sound was muted until it rang across the room. It was just so chaotic— my mom crying and screaming at my dad while my dad was just sitting there, saying nothing. Everything and everyone was just tense until the words came out of my mother’s mouth:

“How much did you take from me? HOW MUCH DID YOU GAMBLE AWAY?!”

I felt my heart shatter and I just remember the way my brother and I froze. I was just filled with horror and denial because the person I looked up to, the person that even warned us to not do stuff like this— my own dad did this. 

My body felt numb. I could hear the screaming and crying… especially the pain in my mom’s voice.

When I looked up, I only saw my dad. His face full of remorse, the disappointment visible in his eyes. I felt something build up inside me— anger. I just felt so hopeless and upset— upset at what my dad did, upset at why my dad did this— just upset at everything. After that day, I didn’t know how to feel about my dad. I kept thinking, he shouldn’t deserve my sympathy or why would he even do this? I became really distant with not just my dad, but with everyone else around me.

I was just numb. I didn’t want to socialize or anything. I just wanted to find out WHY my dad even did it.  

Eventually, he and I did have a talk. At first, it was really tense with lots of arguing and yelling—- all our emotions just went loose. After it died down, we started to speak with one another, trying to understand each other’s perspective. 

It honestly felt hard trying to understand my dad. I wanted to know why he was so convinced of this scam— why he went back on his word. Just why.

During the interview we had, I asked some questions regarding why and how he got into this situation.

Dad: It all started when I heard some of my friends talk about putting in money into this website and if you do it, you get more money in return. I should’ve known from the start that it was a scam, but I was blinded with arrogance, you know? I wasn’t thinking at all. 

I always wondered what was going on through his mind when he first gambled. Did he have any regrets? Did he think about the consequences? How would it affect my grandparents? My mom? My siblings? Me?

Dad: While I was in that phase, I did have lots of thoughts towards your mom and your grandparents… but mainly to you and your siblings. I realized that I messed up. I showed my kids a bad example of me, and I don’t want my kids to follow in my footsteps like that. I want them to succeed and thrive, not fall for a scam. I knew the consequences but it never registered in my mind.

During the whole talk we had, I still felt angry towards him, but not as angry as I was before. Before, I felt emotionless around him to the point where I didn’t even interact with him. I felt like I lost a father figure, but really— I was just missing him. Missing the old him, the one that would make me laugh, smile, and help me when I’m at my lowest. 

Even though I felt upset, my mom got the worst end of it. Having someone you trust hide something so drastic from you feels like a betrayal. Sometimes, my mom and dad get into arguments over small things, making their relationship even more tense. I understood my mom and knew that she didn’t anticipate this at all. However, I think that as time went on, she began to see the changes in him. 

She realized that he may be able to change. Although they still argue over this incident, they know that they love each other very much. They both want to provide for their kids and let them have the best lives. My parents just want to be great role models. 

After all this, I think that I never lost a father figure, but I just lost the trust I had for him. After that conversation we had however, I began to understand his perspective a bit. I can see why he would fall for a scam— everyone does sometimes. 

At times—even now— I still have a small grudge against him, but I know that he will own up to his mistakes. It takes time to fix, but after hearing my dad out, I know that he will try to own up for not just himself, but to his family. 

Dad: I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, and to this day, I still regret it. It’s something that I know I can’t fix, but I can try to keep pushing through to make both my family and myself better. I try to move on, but it’s hard. It’s not easy, but I do it for myself and for my family, especially your mom. She has done so much for me, so I’m grateful for where I am now. My home.