Chapter 3 — An Amicable Parting

"Lam Sam Tran, I promise you, you will definitely regret this."

I did not let the security guard chase me out; instead, I walked away under my own power. Stepping out of the residential complex, I retrieved my phone, dialed an unsaved number, and placed the call.

"Is this Lawyer Khuong Hang? This is You Duo."

"I have thought it through carefully. I want to reopen the case. Shortly, I will send you all the evidence currently in my possession."

Hanging up the phone, I hurried directly to the Hue Thanh Law Firm. It was already late into the night. When I pushed the door open, the receptionist had already gone home, leaving only a single lamp burning at the far end of the hallway. Khuong Hang was seated behind his desk, a thick stack of documents with curled, frayed edges spread out before him. He raised his head to look at me, removing his glasses to reveal a pair of sharp, penetrating eyes behind the frames.

"You Duo, I have been waiting for this phone call from you for three full years."

He then stood up and personally poured me a cup of hot water.

"You have lost weight. It seems the past three years have not treated you well."

I accepted the cup of water, pressing my palms against its ceramic walls, allowing the gentle warmth to slowly seep inward and banish the lingering chill from my bones.

"Lawyer Khuong Hang, thank you for still being willing to help me."

He smiled faintly.

"If I can help you overturn this verdict, I will also reap the professional benefits of doing so."

"Three years ago, when I sat in the courtroom as an observer, I already sensed there was something fundamentally wrong with this case."

With that, he sat back down and reopened my old case file from that year.

"Lam Sam Tran's corporate accounting contained systemic loopholes. The amount of underreported tax simply did not align with the scale of his actual business operations."

"After the trial concluded, I even went to the detention center to find you, telling you back then that the money from those evaded taxes ultimately flowed straight into Lam Sam Tran's overseas bank account."

He lifted his gaze, his eyes lingering on my face.

"At that time, I asked you whether you truly intended to take the fall for him. Yet, you still stubbornly insisted on shouldering all the blame yourself."

I lowered my head to watch the wisps of steam curling inside the cup, my thoughts drifting back to an afternoon three years ago. Clad in an orange vest, I sat in the detention center, struck speechless by his questioning yet stubbornly refusing to harbor any doubt toward the man I had loved for five full years. Therefore, no matter how Khuong Hang tried to advise me back then, I had only ever offered a single response:

"I trust him."

Back then, I foolishly imagined that love was a form of self-sacrifice. I would shield him from disaster, and in return, he would cherish my devotion. Looking back now, aside from myself, it seemed not a single soul was moved. That self-righteous sacrifice merely served as absolute proof of my own utter stupidity. My voice dropped to a whisper:

"I am sorry. I did not listen to your advice back then."

Khuong Hang waved his hand dismissively and slid a thick stack of documents across the desk toward me.

"The person you wronged was never me. It was yourself."

"These are the materials I have gathered over the past three years, including Lam Sam Tran's personal financial cash flows, corporate share transfer records, and security camera footage captured on the day you signed the transfer agreement."

Upon seeing these items, I raised my head in utter astonishment. I had never imagined he would be capable of preparing such comprehensive documentation.

"If I lacked even this basic level of capability, how could I possibly merit the title of top defense attorney?"

"The documents Lam Sam Tran brought for you to sign during his prison visits were entirely unsupervised by legal counsel from start to finish, nor were you ever informed of their actual contents. From a purely legal standpoint, the validity of this agreement can be completely overturned."

I carefully examined the documents, my finger suddenly freezing over a specific line.

"Have you been investigating Wan Ning Chu?"

"Naturally. Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles."

Khuong Hang leaned back against his chair, his voice brimming with absolute confidence in his professional competence:

"I have not only investigated her present circumstances, but her past as well."

Back then, before Lam Sam Tran's mother passed away, the very last person she met with was Wan Ning Chu. Although the elder woman's death was officially ruled as natural causes due to illness at the time, I still uncovered several suspicious anomalies.

During her hospital stay, Wan Ning Chu repeatedly entered and exited the hospital room entirely alone. The nursing station had once received an oral complaint, noting that a family member had been interfering with the patient's medication regimen.

Hearing these words, my spine instantly stiffened.

"Are you implying..."

"I do not yet possess definitive, conclusive evidence."

Khuong Hang closed the file folder.

"However, I will continue to dig deeper into this matter. First, hand over the original tax-evasion records you have been keeping, and I will handle the rest of the arrangements."

I retrieved the neatly folded copy from my bag and carefully placed it upon the desk. The edges of the paper had been frayed from handling, the creases so deep they were on the verge of tearing. I had once believed this evidence would forever remain buried in darkness, yet I never anticipated it would transform into my most potent weapon for retaliation. Khuong Hang examined the document closely. When his eyes caught Lam Sam Tran's handwritten signature in the designated box, the corners of his mouth turned down slightly.

"Lam Sam Tran's tax evasion, combined with the crime of malicious framing and perjury, is more than enough to put him behind bars for ten years."

"Not just ten years."

I declared with unwavering certainty: