Chapter 11 — Dawn After the Crack

“What chance?”
"An opportunity to use the child as a bridge to the Lam family's wealth. The child is that link."
Lam Tri Vien looked at her belly.
“What are you going to do?”
“Aborting this baby is impossible.” Lam Niem So put her hand on her stomach, "This is my child. But the Tran family's plans, I will not let them achieve."
“You don't have to carry it alone.” Lam Tri Vien stood up, "Dad is here, grandfather is here, there are three hundred billion from the Lam family..."
The doorbell rang again. Lam Niem So opened the door. Tran Canh Tham stood outside the door. Behind him are Tran Quoc Dong and Tran's mother. Each of the three people's faces were different - Tran Canh Tham was gloomy, Tran's mother was tense, and Tran Quoc Dong was panicked.
“Nien So, you have to come home with me.” Tran Canh Tham's tone did not sound like he was negotiating.
Lam Tri Vien stood up from the sofa and walked out the door. Tran Canh Tham saw him and was stunned.
“Who are you?”
Lam Niem So looked at Tran Canh Tham, looked at Tran Quoc Dong, and looked at Tran's mother. She remembered the night when she asked for a fair share of money, the sound of Tran Canh Tham tapping the bowl with his chopsticks. She remembered Tran Quoc Dong's gray face outside the door the day she heard the word "fifty thousand yuan". She recalled the text message "Wait until she gives birth and then divorce" on Phuong Di Nhien's phone. She remembered the little girl behind the bars of the orphanage, still waiting patiently for someone to pick her up. No one came to pick her up. Because the very person who was supposed to come pick her up was watching
She is like a commodity.
“Tran Canh Tham.” Her voice was so calm that there was not a single ripple, "Do you know what your father did twenty-eight years ago?"
Tran Canh Tham frowned: "What are you talking about?" Tran Quoc Dong's face turned pale.
“You should ask your father.” Lam Niem So looked straight at Tran Quoc Dong, "Uncle Tran, Hai Thanh No. 1 Hospital, February 28, 1996. The baby was taken away that year..."
Tran Quoc Dong's legs became weak. He took a step back, hitting the door frame.
“You, why are you…”
“That baby is me.”
Tran Canh Tham and Tran's mother simultaneously turned to look at Tran Quoc Dong.
"Dad?" Tran Canh Tham's voice was lost.
Tran Quoc Dong's lips trembled, unable to utter a complete sentence. Lam Tri Vien walked out of the house and stood next to Lam Niem So. He looked straight into Tran Quoc Dong's face, twenty-eight years of pent-up hatred concentrated into one word. Lam Tri Vien's appearance caused the temperature in the hallway to drop sharply. Tran Canh Tham still hasn't had time to calm down.
“Who exactly is this person?”
“My name is Lam Tri Vien.” Lam Tri Vien's eyes were fixed on Tran Quoc Dong's face, "CEO of Lam Thi Group, is also the biological father of the woman standing next to you."
Tran Canh Tham seemed to have just heard a joke.
"Your wife is the daughter I have been looking for for twenty-eight years. Your father that year, while on duty at Hai Thanh No. 1 Hospital, carried her away from the newborn room."
Tran Canh Tham looked at Tran Quoc Dong. Tran Quoc Dong couldn't stand anymore, one hand was leaning against the wall, his lips were moving and he couldn't speak.
“It's not… it's not me… it's Tien Duc Hai… he said that child was abandoned…”
“Abandoned?” Lam Tri Vien took a step closer, "Her mother just gave birth the day before, and the next day the child disappeared. Are you telling me she was an abandoned child?"
"I don't know anything! Tien Duc Hai told me that, he said no one recognized that child..."
“So how to explain the other fifty thousand yuan?”
Tran Quoc Dong completely shut his mouth. Tran's mother was next to Tran Canh Tham's sleeve: "Canh Tham, let's go, we can't explain this clearly..."
“Stop.” Lam Niem So's voice was not loud, but Tran's mother's feet seemed to be nailed to the spot.
“It's okay to go.” She said, "But Tran Canh Tham, you married me, was it your idea, or was it arranged by your father?"
Panic flashed across Tran Canh Tham's face, then immediately covered by anger.
"What do you mean? Could it be that I married you by arrangement?"
“Whose person is Vuong Loi?”
Tran Canh Tham's face froze for a moment.
“Vuong Loi…”
"The person who organized that party. My high school classmate. Also the nephew of my uncle's ex-wife."
“So what does that have to do with…”
"Your eldest uncle's current wife's name is Tien My Linh, the daughter of Tien Duc Hai. The person who bought me that year was Tien Duc Hai, the one who executed it was your father. Your Tran family and Tien family are in the same boat."
The hallway was completely silent. The neighbor in the next room opened the door to look out, then withdrew his head and closed the door.