Chapter 2 — 26 Days My Husband Lived In The Attic

Tieu Du shook his head.

"But dad said he could hear the elevator. As soon as aunt arrived, dad went upstairs."

I clenched my fists. If Tieu Du's words are true... That means that between the time I left the house and before the maid arrived, someone actually came down from the attic. But in Tieu Du's perception, that person is his father. But the attic door is always locked. I have checked it myself. The lock was covered in dust, with absolutely no traces of being touched. The other person did not enter or exit through the attic door. After taking Tieu Du to kindergarten, I took half a day off. When I got home, I didn't go upstairs anymore but checked the entire apartment once. I know the structure of this place too well. After all, I am an architect. When I bought this duplex, I even looked at the design drawings myself. The first floor is the living room, kitchen, Tieu Du's room and additional bathroom. The second floor is the master bedroom, office and access to the attic. The attic is about fifteen square meters wide, has a low ceiling, and adults have to stoop to enter. I check all the windows. All locked from the inside. The main door only has two keys. One key stayed with me, the other Tran Dien brought it to Germany — at least he said so. The maid uses the code I gave her to open the door every day. There wasn't anything unusual. But in the end I still did one thing. I placed an old phone on the bookshelf in the living room and turned on video recording mode. The camera angle cleverly captures the living room and kitchen. The phone was obscured by several books, making it completely undetectable from the outside. Then I pretended to go to work as usual. That whole day at the company, I couldn't concentrate. At two o'clock in the afternoon, I really couldn't stand it anymore and made an excuse to leave work early. It was three o'clock when I got home. The maid just woke Tieu Du up from his nap.

“Auntie, is there anything unusual at home today?”

“No way.”

Auntie put Tieu Du's coat on and replied:

"Everything is normal. It's just that Tieu Du refused to sleep this afternoon and kept waiting for dad."

I let my aunt take Tieu Du down to the play area under the apartment, while I went back to the living room and took down the old phone from the bookshelf. The battery is only twelve percent left. From eight o'clock in the morning, filming continued until three o'clock in the afternoon, nearly seven hours. I fast-forwarded the video. A quarter past eight, the scene where I left the house. At eight twenty, the maid arrived. At nine o'clock, my aunt took Tieu Du out to play. After that, there was an empty living room, time passing little by little. Nine hours forty-three minutes. My finger stopped. In the upper right corner of the screen, towards the stairs... a faint figure appeared. Just less than two seconds. It was like someone stuck their head out to take a look and then immediately pulled back. I rewinded that part many times. The resolution is not high, the light is also very dark. But it was still recognizable as a person. Slim figure. Wear dark clothes. The movements were extremely fast, as if confirming whether there was anyone downstairs or not. My hands started shaking. At ten to seven minutes, the maid took Tieu Du home. After that everything was normal again, nothing unusual anymore. In other words... That figure appeared right around the time Auntie and Tieu Du went out. That person knows when there is no one in the house. That person is always listening for movement. That night, I didn't video call Tran Dien but just texted believe.

“Are you very busy with the project these days?”

"It's okay. Tomorrow I have to report the important stage."

He replied very quickly.

"Nothing."

I looked at the phone screen.

“It's just that I miss you.”

“I miss you both too.”

“Let's try for one more month.”

More than a month. I reopened the other video. Watch it over and over again more than ten times. The figure was so blurry, it was completely impossible to see the face clearly. But his body shape is very similar to Tran Dien. He is one meter eighty-two tall, thin, with hair slightly past his ears. I made a decision. The next morning, I went to an electronics store to buy a mini camera with night vision mode. Small as a bottle cap. Back home, I installed it at the corner of the second floor stairs, facing straight toward the attic, hidden behind the foliage of a decorative vase. After connecting to wifi in the house, I can watch live on my phone. After installation, I went to work as usual. All morning I kept opening my phone to check the surveillance screen. At nine o'clock, the maid took Tieu Du out. Nine thirty-eight minutes. The attic door... was pushed open from the inside. I see it very clearly. That door was not opened from the outside. Which is… pushed out from within. The lock that I personally inspected was still hanging on the door frame, in the open state. A man slowly poked his head out of the attic. His face was pale. Wearing dark blue home clothes. It's Tran Dien. Or to be more precise... a man who looks exactly like Tran Dien. He carefully lowered the folding ladder, taking each step lightly with his bare feet. Reaching the second floor hallway, he stopped, tilted his head, and listened to the movements downstairs. After confirming there was no one, he went down to the first floor. I stared dumbfounded at the phone screen. He went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of water, stood next to the sink and took small sips. Then take two slices of bread, don't warm it up, just eat it dry. Looks like he ate very quickly. But the movements were deliberately as light as possible, as if afraid of making a sound. After eating, he carefully cleaned up all traces. The glass of water is washed and placed back in its original place. The bread bag is sealed tightly. The table top was also wiped with paper towels. Then he went into the living room and sat down on the sofa. Just sit like that. Hands clasped together on knees, head bowed motionless. About five minutes later, he stood up and walked to Tieu Du's door. Push the door open and look inside. Of course… the room was empty. He walked in, picked up the stuffed animal on his son's bed and hugged it, burying his face in it. Shoulders trembled slightly. He is crying. At exactly ten o'clock, Tran Dien put the stuffed animal back in its place, dried his face, and returned to the second floor. Collect folding ladder. Close the attic door. The whole process took less than half an hour. I sat in the office, staring at the phone screen, now only an empty hallway, my mind completely chaotic. That is Tran Dien. There isn't any doubt. That gait. Those small unconscious movements. The way he holds the glass of water. That's my husband. But my husband should be in Munich. Yesterday we texted each other. I immediately video called Tran Dien.