Chapter 21 — Debt Book at the End of the Alley

On Monday morning, Dieu brought the original loan contract that Lam Van Duc left behind, along with a stack of documents with her mother's real signature - household registration book, business registration certificate of the shop, a few old receipts her mother once signed when buying wholesale ingredients - to Khoa's lawyer's office for comparison.

"I asked a signature expert I know," lawyer Khoa said, inviting Dieu to sit down at the desk, where all the papers were neatly spread out under the bright desk lamp. "He agreed to see if he could help unofficially first, so that I could have a basis to decide whether I needed to do an official judicial appraisal or not."

The expert, a middle-aged man wearing glasses, carefully placed the signature samples side by side under a lighted magnifying glass, comparing each stroke, each tilt, each slight highlight of the pen as it moved on the paper.

“Overall, it's quite similar,” he commented initially, making Dieu's heart sink a beat. But then he continued, his voice professional and meticulous. "However, there are a few notable points. Her real signature - here, here, and here - always has a small characteristic hook at the end of the "H" in the last name, almost an unconscious habit, very difficult to imitate accurately without careful practice. But in the signature on the loan contract, this hook is missing, or is made unnaturally, a bit stiff, as if the writer is trying to copy the shape rather than writing according to the familiar reflex."

He added only a few small differences — pen pressure at the start of the signature, spacing between strokes — each individual detail might be overlooked, but when added up, creates a fairly clear picture.

"My preliminary opinion," he concluded, taking off the magnifying glass, looking straight at Dieu and lawyer Khoa, "is that there is a high possibility that this is not a real signature, but a rather sophisticated copy, which can be carefully practiced or used with a graphic support tool to retrace from an existing sample signature. But to have an official conclusion with legal validity, it is necessary to do an appraisal at a specialized agency with full equipment."

Dieu felt a rush of complicated emotions — both relief that her suspicions were confirmed, and anger at the thought that someone had the audacity to forge her mother's signature to legalize a loan that did not exist as far as her mother knew.

"So that means," Dieu said, her voice shaking with emotion, "your mother probably didn't even directly sign this contract? Did someone forge the whole thing?"

“There is that possibility,” lawyer Khoa confirmed, his face serious. "But there's also another possibility — the mother and child did sign a contract of some kind, but not this one, and the lender swapped the signature page for a different set of terms that were much more unfavorable than the original agreement. This is not an uncommon tactic in the dark credit world — getting the victim to sign a blank sheet of paper or a preliminary contract, and then adding harsh terms."

Dieu recalled what Aunt Suong told her - Ms. Hanh needed money urgently, an acquaintance recommended a place to borrow, and most likely in a panic, trusting the introducer, her mother signed without reading carefully, or worse, was tricked into signing a different piece of paper than what she believed.

“I need to find out who introduced my mother to Kim Phat,” Dieu said, her voice determined. “I believe that person knows better than anyone else what really happened happen."

Lawyer Khoa nodded in agreement. “That is exactly the direction needed right now. At the same time, I will prepare a request for official signature verification, submit it along with a denunciation of acts showing signs of fraud or falsification of documents and send it to the economic police agency. With what I and Mr. Nam have collected - cross-ownership diagram, internal memos, now adding suspicion of signature forgery - this is enough basis to request an official investigation, instead of just a simple civil dispute."

Leaving the lawyer's office, Dieu immediately called Aunt Suong and asked carefully about the "acquaintance" who introduced the place to borrow money for her mother. Aunt Suong, after trying to remember for a while, suddenly stopped.

“Dieu,” she said, her voice a bit hesitant, “I remember that Hanh mentioned a name... apparently 'Mr. Phat' or 'Uncle Phat' or something, saying she knew her through a business friend. But I'm not sure, it's been too long, and at that time I was busy with my own family, so I didn't pay close attention."

“Phat…” Dieu muttered, feeling that this name was strangely familiar. She suddenly remembered - that could be the origin of the name "Kim Phat" that the loan company had chosen, a coincidence that could hardly be a coincidence, as if the person behind had deliberately used a familiar, trustworthy name to easily approach and gain her mother's trust.

In the evening, Dieu sat down with Mrs. Sau Lien and carefully asked her if she remembered anyone named Phat who used to visit this neighborhood, especially during the time before her mother borrowed money. Mrs. Sau thought for a long time, her face wrinkled as she tried to search her memory.

“There was a guy,” Mrs. Sau finally spoke, her voice slow as if trying to piece together the fragmented memories. “About a year ago, I stopped by a few times, dressed smartly, spoke sweetly, and introduced myself as the nephew of an old friend of my husband's. He often asks about the business of several families in the neighborhood, anyone who is having financial difficulties, as if he really cares. At that time, I didn't pay any attention, but now that I think about it, I find it very suspicious."

“Do you remember that person's full name or phone number?” Dieu asked, her heart beating fast with hope.

Mrs. Sau shook her head, somewhat guilty. “I'm old, remember first and forget later. But let me ask a few other people in the neighborhood, maybe anyone still has his phone number or business card or something."

Dieu thanked Mrs. Sau and left with a new ray of hope, although the clues were still vague. She understands that finding the person who trapped her mother will not be easy, but every little piece of the puzzle she finds brings her closer to the complete truth, and closer to the ability to protect not only her mother's shop, but also the future of this beloved Ben Cat alley.

On the way home, she stopped by the car repair shop and told Uncle Tu all about the results of the signature appraisal session and Mrs. Sau's story about the young man named Phat. Uncle Tu stopped tightening the screws on the unfinished car, his face hardened.

"Dandy, sweet-tongued, often inquiring about people's business..." Uncle Tu repeated, his voice lowered as if he was trying to remember something. “Sounds familiar. Let me ask my friends who often sit at coffee shops in the alley, they have a longer memory and are much better at paying attention to strangers than I am.”

"Do you think it's possible that this person is the clue that led mom to Kim Phat?" Dieu asked, sitting down on the chair low plastic next to a pile of old car parts.

“Very likely,” Uncle Tu replied, nodding firmly. "The way it approaches and searches for financial information of each house is not like a random person visiting. It sounds like a type of 'decoy' installed in the neighborhood to find suitable prey, then report back to the higher level."

That thought made Dieu shiver. If that's true, it means that the whole thing about her mother borrowing money was not a random incident, but the result of a carefully calculated process of monitoring and selecting targets - turning her mother's real financial difficulties into an opportunity for profit.

“I'll stop by a few familiar shops in the neighborhood to ask more,” Dieu said, standing up. “Who knows, maybe no one took a picture together, or even remembered the license plate number of the car he was driving.”

“Be careful,” Uncle Tu advised, his eyes filled with worry. "If it's true that there are people spying on our neighborhood, maybe they're also watching to see how we react. Just ask discreetly, don't make a fuss so they'll be alert and retreat early, losing track."

Dieu nodded, remembered the advice, and felt grateful to always have Uncle Tu by his side, both as a spiritual support and a sober companion on this risky journey. That night, before going to bed, she reopened her clue notebook and added a new page with the words “Phat — decoy?” is boldly underlined, along with a list of things to do in the coming week: ask around the neighborhood, wait for the results from lawyer Khoa about the formal complaint, and continue to keep in close contact with Nam to update any new developments from his company. She closed the notebook and placed it next to her pillow, silently telling herself that even though the road ahead was long and full of unknowns, she would not let anyone take advantage of her family's difficulties or anyone else's in this alley again.