Chapter 9 — Cashing Out of a Broken Past

Ky Tu Han, however, only grew more enraged. "Who does that guy think he is?" he snarled, his eyes fixed on me with a predatory intensity.

"Tue Tue, don't you dare think you can escape me. Even if you fled to the other side of the world, it would be useless. Wherever I want to take you, you will go."

He produced a black credit card and turned his attention to Ha Dinh. "Listen, brother. There are five hundred thousand dollars on this card. Walk away from my wife right now, and this money is yours."

Ha Dinh let out a scoffing laugh. He didn't speak, but his expression was saturated with such profound disdain that it felt like a physical blow. I offered a biting retort: "Ky Tu Han, before you came here to hunt me down, did you even bother to investigate who he really is? If you have the guts, why don't you try to snatch me away from the Ha family?"

"The Ha family? Do you mean the shipping magnates?"

Ky Tu Han recoiled as if struck by lightning, staggering half a step back.

"Even so… what about our ten years together? How can you simply discard our history as if it means nothing?"

He was still unwilling to accept defeat, clinging to a final, desperate sliver of hope. "Think about your family. You still have your father and your brother back in S City. Are you really going to abandon them, too?"

I laughed coldly, my voice dripping with revulsion. "Ky Tu Han, for years I was blinded by all of you. It is only now that I understand why my mother suffered from such deep depression before she died so young. It turns out my father had a secret mistress and an illegitimate child hidden away the entire time."

"I have been deceived by my own father for over twenty years. Do you really think I care about him anymore?"

Ky Tu Han’s mouth hung open, his voice trembling with pained disbelief. "You promised me! You said that as long as I provided the money, we could move past everything from the past..."

I cut him off, my tone icy. "Exactly. And that includes our entire history together. That, too, is in the past."

I turned away in disgust and took Ha Dinh’s hand. "Let’s go. I don't want to look at him for another second." Ha Dinh cast a final glance at him, his narrow, dark eyes cold enough to freeze blood. I knew, with a chilling certainty, that he would not let Ky Tu Han off easily. Later, over dinner, he told me that Ky Tu Han would never bother me again. I simply nodded, asking no further questions. Ky Tu Han had been left with a broken leg and forced to slink back to S City in shame. He locked Lam Hoan away in his house and abruptly severed all business partnerships with the Manh family.

Not long after, my father and Manh Huu An arrived at his doorstep, frantic. "Tu Han, what on earth has happened lately? Why have you cut off our business ties?"

"We have always worked so well together. If you withdraw your capital now, the entire Manh financial structure will collapse!"

My father looked haggard, having aged a decade in a single night. "And another thing—why haven't we been able to reach Hoan Hoan? Tu Han, what is going on?"

Ky Tu Han gave a hollow, mirthless laugh, spitting out the twisted rage festering in his heart. "This is only the beginning. Next, the Manh family will go bankrupt, drown in debt, and end up behind bars."

"Ky Tu Han, have you lost your mind?" Manh Huu An, unable to contain his fury, lunged forward and slammed his fist into Ky Tu Han’s face. "Are you sabotaging the Manh firm just because you have your eyes on some other woman?"

"I gave you both of my sisters as wives, is that still not enough for you? What is it that you actually want?"

Ky Tu Han wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a dark, sinister smile forming on his lips. "What do I want? I want Tue Tue to return to me." He roared, his eyes bloodshot. "If you hadn't all ganged up on her and stoked her insecurities, she never would have left!"

"I treated all of you well before only because Tue Tue cared for you. Now that she despises you, I am simply doing her the favor of clearing you out of the way."

"If you hadn't pushed Lam Hoan into my bed all those years ago, my marriage to Tue Tue would never have fallen apart!"

"All of you, and Lam Hoan included, will pay for this."

Manh Huu An grabbed him by the collar, gnashing his teeth in pure hatred. "You bastard! It was you who set your sights on Hoan Hoan first, you animal!"