Chapter 7 — 30 Years of Stolen Identity

“Not enough, right?” I continued. "That's why you guys forced me to sell the house. Because after selling, not only did I pay off the loan, I still had 9,000,000 yuan left over. Enough for the two of us to take care of our old age, enough for To Phan to spend, enough for Chu Tieu Bao to go to school."

“Ngh Nghenh… we have no other choice…”

"If there's no other way, then let me die?"

"Who forced you to die! We just want your help!"

“Using your reputation, your job, your house, your whole life to ‘help’?” I smiled faintly. “Mom, I am also your daughter.”

There was only crying on the other end of the line. I hung up. Sit in the car, start the engine. The phone vibrates again. I picked up the phone and turned on recording at the same time.

“Sister To Nghenh, it's me, Chu Tieu Bao.”

The voice of a thirteen year old boy, slightly hoarse.

"I'm at the hospital. My mom said you're my aunt."

I said nothing.

"Auntie, can you come visit me? I have a headache."

“My mother is at the police station.”

“I know.” Zhou Xiaobao said. "But my father was also arrested. Now I'm alone in the hospital, no one cares."

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.

“The hospital has nurses.”

"They don't care about me. They said I still owe 20,000 yuan in hospital fees. If I don't pay, the medicine will stop."

“Then call grandma.”

“She said she had no money.” Zhou Xiaobao stopped for a moment. "Auntie, I heard you have a lot of money. Can you help me pay it first? I will pay you back when I grow up."

I looked at the light at the exit of the parking lot.

“Chu Tieu Bao, do you know why your mother hung your name under my name?”

"I know. Because she wants to marry a good husband, it's difficult to bring you along."

“Do you know that the classmate you beat up can now become a vegetable?”

Zhou Xiaobao was silent. A long time later, the boy whispered:

"He cursed me first. He said I was the one without a father."

“So you hit it on the head with a brick?”

“I… I didn't mean to hit that hard…”

“But you did.” I said. "Now he's in the intensive care room, spending 10,000 yuan every day. His parents have to consider selling the house to get treatment. As for me, I'm in the regular hospital room, thinking of a way for you to pay for it."

Zhou Xiaobao burst into tears.

“Auntie, I know it's wrong… I really know it's wrong…”

"If you know you're wrong, you have to take responsibility."

“But I'm only thirteen years old…”

"Thirteen years old, old enough for criminal responsibility." I said. "Worry about your injury. Once you've recovered, you'll have to bear the consequences yourself."

I hung up. Drive out of the lot. Bright sunlight. I lowered the window, letting the wind blow in. Phone vibrates. Message from private detective:

"Miss To, the information you requested is available. To Phan is currently living in the Xinghewan apartment, the rent is 12,000 yuan a month. The Porsche she is driving is a rental car, 8,000 yuan a month. Recently she has been hanging out with an out-of-town businessman, who asked her to prove her assets, so she urgently wants to take your house."

I replied:

“Is there information about that person?”

"Yes. They are Trieu, a construction materials business, divorced, have a daughter. He thought To Phan was a senior manager of a foreign company, had a house in the central school district, and earned millions of yuan each year."

“To Phan used my identity to interact with him?”

"That's right. The business card she gave me said 'To Nghenh - Manager of Hoanh Dai Group's strategic development department'."

I smiled softly.

"Continue to investigate. Focus on the 800,000 yuan cash flow between her and Zhou Lei."

The red light turned on, i stop at the intersection. Next to the bus stop, a real estate advertising sign hangs prominently:

“School district — give your children the best future.”

I stared at those words. Until the green light turns on. Tuesday afternoon, I met the private detective at a tea shop in the old neighborhood. His last name was Ho, over forty years old, wearing sports clothes, looking like someone going to the gym in the morning. He pushed a bag of documents towards me.

“To Phan's entire spending history, bank statements and social network activities are all in here.”

I opened the bag. The first page is a screenshot of To Phan's personal page. Last week, To Phan posted a series of photos. Sitting in the Porsche, behind is the ground-level glass door of the Xinghewan apartment, holding a Starbucks cup in his hand.

“Another day of hard work making money.”

Below are more than a dozen comments:

“Ms. Phan is so good!”

“Did you buy the car yourself?”

“The apartment is so beautiful, the rent must be very expensive?”

To Phan replied:

“Company-issued car, given to me by my boyfriend's family.”

I turned to the next page. A copy of the car rental contract.