Chapter 1 — Being forced to divorce empty-handed, I made him empty-handed for the rest of his life

On my wedding anniversary, what I was waiting for was not a candlelight dinner, but a kick in the door. My husband was carrying a baby boy less than a year old, behind him was his lover, then the husband's family and his brother-in-law, leading each other into the living room, crowded as if at a festival. The divorce agreement was thrown straight onto the table. The black and white paper clearly wrote: I had to leave empty-handed. My mother-in-law scolded me for not knowing how to give birth to a son, my brother-in-law said I was taking up space and was useless, and the other woman's eyes were red and she pretended to be pitiful as if she had been forced to the limit. Ten years of being a full-time wife, in their mouths, turns into the phrase "parasitic". My daughter was scared and cried, hugged my leg tightly, sobbing: "Mom, don't go..." I bent down to pick up the divorce agreement and tore it into pieces. Tran Tu Ngang laughed coldly: "A woman with no job, no income, how can you fight with me?" I turned on my phone and played the recording of him discussing property transfer. His face immediately turned white.

“Get something?” I smiled faintly, "take the evidence you personally gave me."

“You want me to leave empty-handed?” I looked straight at him, each word falling cold as ice, "Then I'll leave you empty-handed first."

On my wedding anniversary, I prepared a full dinner table. Doa Doa's daughter sat in the living room drawing a card, on it was a family of three, and also wrote "Mom and Dad will always be together". I wiped my hands, looked at the wedding photo hanging on the wall, and suddenly realized that although the past ten years had been hard, it was still worth it. The lock rang. I carried the bowl of soup and walked out. Before my smile could bloom, the door was kicked open. Tran Tu Ngang walked in carrying a baby boy, behind was his lover Lam Mi, then his mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law and relatives, a total of seven or eight people, crowded into the living room. Doa Doa was scared and the pen fell to the ground. I stood frozen in place, the bowl of soup in my hand almost slipping out of my hand. Tran Tu Ngang put the baby down on the sofa, pulled out a stack of papers from his pocket and threw it on the table, not even bothering to look at me: "To Van, sign." I bent down to look.

—— “Divorce agreement”.

In the property division section, it is clearly written: the female party leaves empty-handed, giving up all common property. Child custody rights belong to the male party. The mother-in-law immediately cursed loudly: "You hen doesn't know how to give birth! If you give birth to a daughter, you still have the face to take over the Tran family's property? My son already has a child on the outside, if you know how to do it, go away quickly!" Her brother-in-law immediately chimed in: "Yes, my brother raised you for ten years, which is great, don't be unreasonable." Lam Mi hugged the baby, her eyes were red, her voice was so soft that it gave people goosebumps: "Sister To, I'm sorry... I really didn't mean it... Tu Ngang and I truly love each other... the child cannot be without a father..." I looked at them, looking at each familiar face. Ten years ago I married into the Tran family, quit my job as a designer, and devoted myself to taking care of my family. When I gave birth to my daughter, I bled almost to death. When Tran Tu Ngang started his business and had no money, I gave him 200,000 dowry money and borrowed another 300,000 from my mother's house to give it to him. Now they call me a parasite. Tran Tu Ngang finally looked at me, his eyes cold as if he were a stranger: "To Van, don't make trouble anymore. You haven't earned any money in the past three years, the house and cars are all made by me. I'll give you three days to sign, otherwise I'll ask a lawyer to sue, and by then you won't even be able to see your child." Doa Doa is afraid burst into tears, rushing to hug my legs tightly: "Mom, don't go... Mom, don't go..." I looked at my child's frightened face, tears almost falling. But I swallowed again. Ten years of humiliation, resentment, and unwillingness, in this moment, everything froze into coldness. I bent down and picked up my child, wiped his tears, and softly said: "Good Doa, mommy is here." Then I raised my head, looked at Tran Tu Ngang, looked at my mother-in-law, looked at Lam Mi, looked at the group of people who broke into my house, trampling on my dignity. I picked up the divorce agreement, word by word it clearly said: "You want me to leave empty-handed? Based on what?" My mother-in-law rushed forward and tried to hit me: "Do you still have the face to ask based on what?" I leaned away and immediately raised my voice: "Based on me serving your whole family for ten years! Based on me giving Tran Tu Ngang's dowry money to start a business! Based on the fact that I almost died on the operating table to give birth! Do you Tran family want to squeeze lemons and remove the peel? Dreaming!" Tran Tu Ngang's face immediately changed, clearly he did not expect me to resist.

"To Van, don't be so arrogant..."

I tore up the divorce agreement and threw it right in his face.

"From today, I - To Van - am no longer the Tran family's nanny, nor am I a soft persimmon for you to squeeze however you want. We will slowly calculate this debt."

Lam Mi panicked and hid behind Tran Tu Ngang. Her mother-in-law was so angry that she was shaking, and her brother-in-law took out his phone to film me. Tran Tu Ngang smiled coldly: "Okay, you're good. A woman with no job, no income, how can she fight with me? If you don't sign for three days, I will make you not even see a girl!" He led the whole group of people and left, the door slammed shut, the shock was so strong that the entire hallway shook. Doa Doa hugged me tightly and cried. I hugged my baby, tears finally flowing. But after crying, I wiped my face, turned on the phone, and called Chu Tinh.

“Tinh Tinh, I need to stay with you for a few days… also, I need to find a lawyer.”

After hearing the whole incident, Chu Tinh was so angry that he scolded him for ten minutes on the phone. I hung up the phone and looked at the living room. The dining table is cold. The card the girl drew is still there. The wedding photo on the wall is still intact. Tran Tu Ngang, do you think I have nothing left? You are wrong. My greatest asset is all the secrets that over the past ten years, you have unguardedly revealed to me. The next morning, I discovered all my bank cards were locked. The phone displays a notification: Your account is temporarily frozen due to legal requirements. I laughed coldly. Act quickly. I went to the supermarket to buy things, couldn't swipe my card, and when I switched to electronic payment, it said the balance was insufficient. I searched my wallet, only had a few hundred cash left, so I had to temporarily buy bread and milk. When I got home, I entered the door password and said it was wrong. Ring the bell. The mother-in-law stood inside and shouted: "If you don't sign, don't come in! This is the Tran family!" Doa Doa pulled my hand, her voice was small: "Mom... can't I come in anymore?" I sat down at my child's eye level, speaking calmly: "Doa Doa, I won't go there for the time being. I'll take you to Aunt Tinh's house for a few days, okay?" The girl nodded obediently. I packed a few things and took my children to call a car. On the way, Tran Tu Ngang called, his voice full of pride: "To Van, are you afraid yet? I've given you electricity and water." cut, my bank card is locked, you can't get in. If you know what to do, sign early, I'll even give you some money for fees."

“Assets moved, accounts frozen, electricity cut off, water cut off... Tran Tu Ngang, you really did it to the end.”

“That's for you to realize reality. I've already found a lawyer and will file a lawsuit next week, on the grounds that she can't raise the children. The baby will belong to me.”

I laughed: "Let's meet in court then." Hanging up, I texted Chu Tinh: help me look up Tran Tu Ngang's recent cash flow. Chu Tinh is a media person, has wide acquaintances, and can find information very quickly. Arriving at her house, as soon as he saw Doa Doa, Chu Tinh's eyes turned red: "To Van, you shouldn't have quit your job that year!" That bastard…”

“Stop talking about old things,” I interrupted, “I need your help posting something in the resident group with the relative group.”

I opened my phone and found some recordings. In one part, last year's mother-in-law bragged to her relatives during Tet: "In my family, To Van is very good at her job. She takes care of everything inside and out, more than hiring ten maids." In one part, Tran Tu Ngang got drunk two years ago, hugged me and swore: "Wife, I will only love you all my life. If you betray me, heaven will strike.” Chu Tinh's eyes lit up: "Are you going to expose them?"

“I want to see how long they can perform.”