Chapter 5 — An Amicable Parting

Despite the suspicion that this might be a trap, after a brief hesitation, I agreed. The meeting place was set in a conference room within the law offices of Khuong Hang. When Wan Ning Chu pushed the door open and stepped inside, I barely recognized her. The refined makeup, the triumphant and spirited arrogance of just a few days prior, had completely vanished. She wore no makeup, dark bruises shadowed her eyes, her lips were chapped and peeling, her hair was tied up carelessly, and she wore a crumpled sweatshirt. The moment she caught sight of me, a flash of deep resentment sparked in her eyes, though it vanished almost as quickly as it appeared.

"I took the initiative to find you because there is something I must tell you."

She spoke in a raspy, strained voice.

"The online post that Lam Sam Tran mentioned was arranged by me."

I looked at her, not a single trace of surprise registering in my eyes.

"Ever since you spoke of those matters to Zhang Yuan in the coffee shop, I knew she would spread the word, so I simply struck first to preempt her."

She lowered her gaze, staring at the trembling water inside her glass.

"I had people fabricate the story that you forced Lam Sam Tran to abandon his wife and child, successfully steering public opinion against you. I truly believed that if I trampled you down first, you would never be able to rise again."

I picked up where she left off, finishing her thought.

"You miscalculated one crucial thing, which is that I had the evidence."

The corners of her mouth twitched slightly, as if she intended to smile but found herself entirely unable to do so.

"There is one more thing."

She paused, her throat visibly working as she swallowed.

"Your father… his death was triggered by me."

Silence blanketed the conference room for a long, heavy moment, the whites of my eyes burning red.

"Say that again."

Wan Ning Chu's voice seemed to be forced out from the very depths of her constricted throat.

"That day, he came looking for me, asking whether the rumors between Lam Sam Tran and myself were true. I told him they were."

"He asked me what was to become of you. I told him you were already in prison, and that everything in the outside world no longer concerned you."

"At that moment, your father's expression shifted instantly. He cursed me for being an ungrateful wretch, and then clutching his chest, he collapsed."

"I called for an ambulance, but the emergency vehicle arrived far too slowly."

She raised her head to look at me, her eyes holding an exceedingly bizarre expression. There was no remorse, no repentance, only the bone-weary exhaustion of someone drained of all life.

"I never intended to kill him. I only wanted to force him to accept the reality of it."

I shoved my chair backward and stood up abruptly.

"Wan Ning Chu, from the day you were twelve years old and my father brought you into our home, he fed you, clothed you, and sent you to school. He genuinely regarded you as his own flesh and blood."

I walked straight up to her and delivered a hard, echoing slap across her face.

"You knelt before him, shedding false tears at his gravestone. When you told him you were pregnant with another man's child, what on earth was going through your heart?"

The water in the glass shuddered, a few stray droplets spilling over the rim onto the tabletop, yet she remained utterly motionless. Ignoring her entirely, I turned my gaze toward the door.

"Lawyer Khuong, has everything she just said been successfully recorded?"

Khuong Hang slid the upper half of her body through the doorway, holding a digital voice recorder in her hand.

"Every single word since the moment she stepped through that door has been captured."

Wan Ning Chu snapped her head up, her face drained of all remaining color.

"You..."

"I have finally grown wiser."

I said:

"During my three years behind bars, I learned one vital lesson: at any given time, one must always leave oneself a way out."

With that, I turned on my heel and walked toward the exit. As I reached the door, her voice drifted from behind me, fragile as a thread stretched to its absolute breaking point.

"You Duo, can you ever forgive me?"

I did not look back.

"Did my father ever forgive you?"

The heavy door clicked shut behind me.

On the day Lam Sam Tran was released on bail pending trial, I stood outside the detention center waiting for him. He had lost a tremendous amount of weight; the suit hanging on his frame appeared vastly oversized, and the dark stubble on his jaw remained unshaved. Catching sight of me standing a short distance away, his footsteps faltered before he immediately hurried toward me.

"You Duo."

He spoke, his voice gratingly hoarse.

"I was wrong."

I crossed my arms and stared at him, my gaze colder than cracking ice.

"You said you wanted to see me one more time, just to tell me those three words?"

He nodded vigorously, his eye sockets burning red.

"I've already instructed the legal department to transfer the shares back into your name. The house and car will be deeded over to you tomorrow, and I've calculated the interest on your savings and deposited the full amount into your account."

He took a step forward, his hand rising instinctively before dropping heavily back to his side.

"You Duo, please give me a chance, let me make amends and start over…"

I took a step back, cutting through his pleading words without hesitation.

"Start over with what?"

"Start over by begging for your forgiveness."

His voice trembled violently.

"I can return everything to you, I'll hand the company over to you as well. I don't need anything else left, I only need you…"

"Lam Sam Tran."

I called his name, my voice remarkably calm, though a deep wave of nausea rose within my chest.

"How did your mother die?"

A look of profound bewilderment flashed across his eyes, completely failing to grasp why I would suddenly bring up his mother.

"The year your mother passed away from illness, Wan Ning Chu stayed at the hospital to take care of her for half a month."

"At that time, you were away on a business trip in another city. Upon your return, she told you she had merely been acting out of kindness to help out, and you believed her."

"What are you trying to say?"

His voice began to shake uncontrollably. I looked straight into his eyes, pronouncing every single word with chilling clarity: