Chapter 14 — A Debt of Filial Duty

When the mediation concluded without yielding any results whatsoever, I rose from my chair, intending to leave immediately, when Bang Bang suddenly flung his tablet onto the table.

I do not wish to wait.

I want the big house.

My mother hurried over to embrace him.

Be a good boy, Bang Bang, grandma will take it back for you.

She spoke in a mere whisper, yet I heard every word. I turned my head to look at her, and she met my gaze. In those eyes, there was no shame to be found, not a shred of the remorse expected of a mother; there was only the ruthless desperation of a lifelong gambler who had just lost her final wager. Emerging from the courthouse gates, Attorney Tan motioned for me to get into his vehicle first. I asked him quietly: What else could they possibly pull out from their sleeves? Attorney Tan glanced back at the family of three standing upon the towering stone steps.

If that promissory note of theirs is indeed a fabrication, the thing they fear most is facing criminal prosecution.

Yet your father still had the audacity to utter those words just now, which clearly indicates he believes he holds one final trump card.

I gripped my car keys tighter.

What kind of trump card?

Attorney Tan did not reply immediately. It was not until my father had carefully supported my mother down the steps and they drifted out of earshot that he finally spoke: The contract for the purchase of your very first home, along with the earliest set of registration documents.

If those documents contain a signature where you formally authorized him to act on your behalf, they might be able to tamper with it.

A denial rose instantly to my lips, forming the words that it was impossible. But before I could utter them, I forced the words back down my throat. The harrowing events of the past few days had thoroughly shattered those three simple words. That very night, I tore through every single old document and file stored in my home. Contracts, receipts, loan approvals, tax payment certificates—all of them were still present. Only the duplicate set of the earliest purchase registration documents had vanished entirely. I sat alone on the cold floor, staring blankly into the empty filing compartment, feeling the backs of my hands grow gradually numb. At that exact moment, my phone chimed with a notification. It was a friend request from a former sales representative who had worked at the real estate agency all those years ago. The attached note contained only a single sentence: Miss Meng, your father came looking for me today.

I stared at the pending friend request for several long seconds before pressing accept. The other party responded swiftly, explaining that her surname was Liang and that she was the very agent who had taken me to view properties back then. The name still lingered in my memory; she had just entered the industry at the time, speaking at a rapid pace and smiling with an overwhelming, infectious enthusiasm. By the time I finally took possession of the apartment, she had already been transferred to another branch. Miss Liang’s first message arrived.

Your father came to my workplace, claiming that you refuse to acknowledge your parents and are attempting to steal the family fortune.

He asked me to write out a formal attestation stating that when the purchase was registered back then, he was the one who actually paid for it.

He even promised that if I agreed to write it, he would compensate me handsomely with twenty thousand yuan.

My fingers paused above the screen. Twenty thousand yuan. They had already resorted to purchasing false testimonies with hard currency. I typed back: Did you agree? Miss Liang replied without a moment's hesitation.

Never.

I have no desire to meddle in your family affairs.

However, as he was leaving, he threatened that if I refused, he would simply track down other former employees who worked at the agency during those years.

After turning it over in my mind again and again, I decided I should at least give you a warning.

I dialed her number directly. Once the call connected, I offered my sincere gratitude first. Miss Liang let out a heavy sigh.

Actually, I still remember you from back then.

You were a young woman who ran back and forth to the bank entirely on your own, preparing your paperwork with far greater thoroughness than anyone else I had ever seen.

Your father only showed up once.

On that particular occasion, he did indeed help you submit the documents and the initial deposit.

As to whether those funds actually belonged to him, however, I could not possibly say.

I told her: Just the day before, those funds were transferred directly from my personal account into his, and I possess the official bank statements to prove it. Miss Liang breathed a visible sigh of relief.

That changes everything.

I can pull the historical customer tracking records from our company's old internal database.

Our former company system is still archived.

Inside, it explicitly notes that you were the actual purchaser of the property, while your father merely acted as an agent handling the paperwork on your behalf.

I straightened my posture immediately.

Is it possible to retrieve those records?

I can try.

However, so much time has elapsed, so I will need to ask a former colleague for assistance.

I responded instantly: If any expenses are incurred, I will cover them all. Miss Liang gave a soft chuckle.

This is not about money.

It is simply that the things your father said today left a truly unpleasant taste in my mouth.

He kept repeating over and over that a daughter holds no intrinsic value whatsoever.

He claimed that if real estate falls into the hands of a daughter, it inevitably ends up belonging to outsiders sooner or later.

Hearing him speak like that made me feel suffocated on your behalf.

I remained silent for a few seconds. It turned out that when facing total strangers, he no longer even bothered to keep up appearances. After ending the call, I forwarded the audio recording and the chat logs directly to Attorney Tan. Attorney Tan replied shortly after.

This is of paramount importance.

Instruct her not to meet with your father privately under any circumstances.

We will arrange for her to serve as an official witness later in the proceedings.

I typed back a confirmation. Just as I lowered my phone, the door to the small study creaked open. Nian Nian stood on the threshold, cradling a cup of water in both hands.

Mom, are you still awake?

I quickly tucked the documents back into my bag.

I am heading to sleep right now.

She walked across the room and sat down beside me.

Are maternal grandparents trying to steal our home again?

I looked into her small, innocent face, and for a fleeting moment, I felt a strong temptation to deceive her. To tell her nothing was wrong. To claim that adult matters had nothing to do with her. Yet those people had already begun hurling dirt upon her reputation. She deserved the right to know that she was being actively shielded, rather than being kept in the dark and pushed blindly into harm's way. I gently stroked her hair and said: They are trying to use fabricated claims to pretend that the houses we live in have nothing to do with me. Nian Nian gripped her cup of water tightly, her knuckles turning white.

But you are the one who bought all of those places.

Yes.

That is precisely why mommy is going to gather the absolute proof.