Chapter 1 — 30 Years of Stolen Identity

At three o'clock in the morning, I was called to the police station because my "son" beat someone... while I had a hysterectomy three years ago. At three o'clock in the morning, I was woken up by the phone ringing. The voice of Principal High School No. One was as sharp as an ice tip, piercing straight into my ears:

"Your son beat up his classmate and sent him to the hospital! The other side has reported to the police, you immediately bring 300,000 yuan to mediate!"

I held the phone tightly, my whole body felt cold:

"Director Trieu, three years ago I had a hysterectomy. I've never even touched a man's hand, where can I get a son?"

The other end of the line was dead silent.

“…What did you say?”

I almost laughed, but my voice was bitter:

"I can't have children for the rest of my life. I really don't have a son."

He asked me to immediately go to the police station to check my civil status. In the recording, a woman who looks exactly like me is shielding the other "son", frantically slapping the other parent's face. The police turned the screen towards me and tapped:

“Can you explain?”

At four o'clock in the morning at the police station, the lights were white. The police officer on duty pushed a copy of the civil status records towards me, his finger pointing to the "mother" section.

“To Nghenh, ID number XXXXXXXX, is that correct?”

Black letters on white paper. Chu Tieu Bao, male, thirteen years old. Next to my name, is the name of a man I have never met — Chu Loi.

“Can you see clearly?” The policeman leaned back in his chair, watching me. "Tonight, after self-study at No. 1 High School, her son used a brick to hit the back of his classmate's head, seriously injuring the victim. He is currently receiving treatment in the hospital. The other side's family requested 300,000 yuan to reconcile, otherwise criminal prosecution will be initiated."

I raised my head, took out the medical records from my bag, and placed them next to the copy of the civil registration.

"Three years ago, I had a total hysterectomy at the City Obstetrics Hospital. Here are my medical records, surgical records, and post-operative sterilization certificate."

The police stopped, took the medical record and looked it over.

“Is this… real?”

“There's a red mark here.” I showed him. "I'm thirty years old this year. If I gave birth to this child thirteen years ago, I would have been pregnant at the age of seventeen and had an affair at the age of sixteen. You can check my academic records and college entrance exams that year to see if I ever missed a year of school."

The police officer was silent for a few seconds, then stood up and walked to the computer. He tapped a few times, opening another camera clip.

“You should look at this first.”

The image is a hospital hallway. A woman wearing a Chanel suit and carrying an Hermes bag was pointing at a couple opposite, cursing non-stop.

"What if my son hits me? Don't your children with bad mouths deserve to be beaten? Ask for compensation? I'll tell you what, I won't pay a penny!"

The man on the other side was about to argue back, but the woman suddenly raised her hand and slapped him hard in the face. Clear images. That woman's face... looks exactly like mine. Even the light brown mole in the corner of the left eye is in the exact same position. I stared at the screen, the coldness crawling from my spine to my bones.

"Not me." I said.

“But this is the ‘mother’ who was at the hospital when something happened to her son.” The police tapped the pause button. "The parents on the other side confirmed that it was this woman who did it. Now we need to find her her.”

I took a deep breath.

“I report the crime. Someone impersonated my identity, faked my civil registration, and even used my name to act outside the home."

The police frowned:

“Who do you suspect?”

I don't answer. In the screen, after finishing the slap, the woman panicked and ran towards the elevator. While running, the Hermes bag in her hand fell to the ground. She didn't pick it up. The frame stopped at the bag lying alone on the floor. The police took out a transparent plastic bag from the evidence cabinet and gave it to me.

“This is the bag left at the scene. Do you recognize it?”

I take it. Limited edition, cherry pink color, has a very small scratch on the metal buckle. I recognized that scratch. Three years ago, on my sister To Phan's birthday, I gave her this bag. At that time, he criticized the color for being too light, wore it once and then returned it to me, saying he didn't need it anymore. That scratch was when he returned the bag, his fingernail accidentally scratched it. I put the bag back on the table.

“This is my sister's bag, To Phan.”

At seven o'clock in the morning, the victim's parents rushed into the mediation room of the police station. The man had blue veins on his forehead, the woman had red, swollen eyes.

“To Nghenh, right? Your son turned my son into a vegetable! 300,000 yuan? If we don't have 500,000 yuan now, we can't finish this!”

The man grabbed my collar. The police immediately pulled out.

“Say something slowly! This is the police station!”

“Slowly say something! Her son beat my son into disability! This crazy guy even beat my wife!” The man pointed straight at me. “If you don't give me money today, I will let your son go to jail!”

The door to the mediation room was pushed open. Three people walked in. My father, my mother, and my younger sister — To Phan. To Phan did not wear makeup, wore a simple T-shirt and jeans, her hair was tied in a ponytail, her eyes were red as if she had cried all night. He hid behind his mother, looking at me cautiously. As soon as my mother walked in, she rushed towards me and held my hand tightly.

“Welcome, I beg you, please accept it! Tieu Bao is my biological child, I cannot ignore him!”

I withdrew my hand.

“Mom, I don't have children.”

“How can you say that!” My mother suddenly knelt down, hugged my legs tightly, and sobbed. “That year, it was my mother who was at fault for me, I shouldn't have forced her to have an abortion... but Tieu Bao is innocent! He's causing trouble, I'm his mother, I can't see death without saving him!”

Everyone in the mediation room turned to look. The victim's parents were stunned. The police frowned. My father walked forward, a pained look on his face.

“To Nghenh, dad knows you hate us. But the child has grown up like this, no matter how much he hates, he can't help but accept his blood and flesh!"

I bent down to look at my mother. She cried really hard, tears and snot smeared all over her face.

“Mom, just now you said that I was pregnant and was forced to have an abortion that year?”

Her crying stopped, her eyes averted.

“Ph… yes…”

“When did you get pregnant?”

“So… when I was seventeen…”

“What are you doing at seventeen years old?”

“I… I'm going to school…”

“I'm seventeen years old and in 11th grade. I've been in the top 20 of my grade all year. Every day I wake up at six in the morning, then finish at ten at night to self-study, and take extra classes on the weekends. So may I ask, when did you get pregnant, when did you give birth, and where did you stay?"

My mother opened her mouth, unable to say a word. My father quickly interjected:

“Of course I don't remember! At that time, the child had a high fever and was unconscious. After giving birth, the baby was given to someone else! Only later will we know, That family registered the child under his name..."

I laughed.

“Dad, when I was seventeen I actually had a high fever once. But because you two forced me to bear the blame for To Phan - he stole a classmate's wallet, you forced me to admit that I took it. I knelt in front of the staff room door all afternoon, was exposed to the rain until I had a fever, and was hospitalized for three days.

My father's face immediately changed. I took out my phone and opened the recording.

“Just keep talking. I also want to see how much you guys can make up."

My mother suddenly jumped up from the floor, pointed straight at me and cursed:

“To Nghenh! Do you still have a conscience? We are your biological parents! Now that you have money and bought a big house, you won't accept your parents or your son anymore? I tell you, you must give this 500,000 yuan today! Don't let me die right here!”

She said and then rushed towards the wall, intending to stab her head. To Phan quickly pulled back, cried and told me:

“Sis, don't tease mom anymore… mom's heart is not good…”

The mediation room immediately fell into chaos. The police pounded the table:

“Everyone be quiet!”