Chapter 8 — Diary of Someone Who Shouldn't Exist

Mo Than stood close to the metal door, took a deep breath, tried to keep his voice steady, then shouted loudly: "Police! I am Mo Than, CEO of Mo Thi Group!" “The person calling to report the case —— His name is Lam Kien Quoc.” “He is a criminal with a criminal record!” “He deliberately locked the door and imprisoned us inside!” I squeezed the diary tightly in my hand, cold sweat poured down my palm, feeling like every second was counting down to life and death. Outside, the police were talking loudly. But… who will believe us? Who will stand on our side —— when all the evidence is against you and me? Outside, Lam Kien Quoc's voice rang out dramatically, mixed with a false sense of injustice: "Police! Don't listen to him!" "They are slandering me! These two sisters colluded together, intending to harm me, and now they want to break into the secret room to steal things!" A police voice rang out, low, majestic, irresistible: "Whoever you are... Open the door immediately!" “If you don't open it, we will break down the door and force it!” Mo Than stood close to the door, his face pale, his voice urgent: "We can't open!" “This is a fingerprint lock system combined with voice!” “It's locked from the outside... It's completely impossible to open from the inside!” I looked at his face covered in cold sweat, and in that moment, I had to force myself to calm down. I quickly walked closer to the door, took a deep breath, then shouted, letting each word penetrate the thick metal door: "Police! In this secret room... There is all the evidence that Mo Uyen bought the murderer and planned to hide everything!" I held up the diary, my voice hoarse but still decisive: "This diary is the most important evidence!" Outside, Lam Kien Quoc shouted, his voice full of panic but still trying to defend himself: "This... brat is talking nonsense!" "Police! She has a history of mental illness! She once threatened to jump off a building, committed suicide, and became extremely agitated!" The entire hallway was silent for a few seconds. The hesitation in the footsteps outside showed that the police were wondering - between my words and his words, who is more trustworthy? At this moment, his phone vibrated. The bell suddenly rang, tearing through the tense atmosphere. He quickly answered the phone and turned on speakerphone. "General Manager Mo, I'm lawyer Truong. I've already arrived at the villa gate, but the police won't let me in..." Mo Than immediately took the opportunity, his voice was harsh, quick as a shot: "Police! This is my personal lawyer, please verify your identity immediately!" Outside, there was the sound of rapid exchange. A policeman's voice rang out over the radio, sharp but no longer absolute: "Check lawyer Truong's information." A minute later, the police chief's voice rang out, calm, dignified but containing some reserve: "Lawyer Truong's identity has been confirmed." “Bring a lawyer to the scene.” A figure in a gray suit walked to the door of the room, the sound of shoes hitting the floor was steady, each step seemed to hit my chest. His voice was calm and clear through the door: "I am Truong Dat, the lawyer representing Mo Than." “Before breaking the door, I requested that a scene be recorded and the entire area sealed off —— because this may be related to a murder twenty years ago.” The police outside were making a lot of noise. There was discussion, There was the sound of rushing shoes and the sound of a walkie-talkie transmitting signals continuously. He and I looked at each other, for a moment, my heart beat so fast that I was suffocated. "Hello, police officer, I am the lawyer representing Mr. Mo Than. My client has the legal right to reside in this villa. The person reporting the case - Lam Kien Quoc, has divorced Ms. Mo Uyen a long time ago. He has no right to appear here." Lam Kien Quoc still stubbornly argued: "I just came to visit my daughter! They are the ones who broke in illegally!" Lawyer Truong's voice was cold, sharp as a knife: "Mr. Lam, your right to visit your child has a clearly stipulated time frame. Appearing here in the middle of the night is itself a violation of the law. Moreover, you also show signs of illegally detaining people and obstructing the trial process." The situation outside the door immediately turned around. Ten minutes later —— The sound of an electric drill rang out loudly, shaking the metal door. “Bang!” The door was broken open. The bright white flashlight beam shined straight inside. He and I were almost saved by that light. The police rushed in and immediately controlled Lam Kien Quoc and the old butler, trembling like a cicada. I clutched the diary tightly in my chest, along with the photos I had just taken off the wall, walked over, mustered all my remaining strength, and handed it to the police chief. "Police officer. This... is evidence." My mother's lawyer still used the old trick: They made me look like a mentally unstable person, a paranoid, hallucinatory child. They replayed the video of me jumping out of the car, slashing my hands and killing myself, threatening to jump from the rooftop. The defense attorney nodded slightly, his voice piercing the listener's heart: "Dear jury, dear jurors." “A child with a normal mind… Is it possible to commit such extreme acts?” “A child who is loved wholeheartedly by his mother, how can he turn into someone who resents his biological mother?” He stopped, a cold smile appeared on the corner of his lips, and concluded: "Miss Tham Niem's testimony - full of holes and illusions without evidence." Soft laughter spread throughout the courtroom. Each laugh fell into my ears like a knife. I raised my head. In the defendant's row, Mo Uyen wore a gray prison jacket. Her posture was still straight, sitting neatly, her eyes carried a cold and arrogant look. She looked at me. In her eyes... was a strange light: pity, contempt, and confidence of victory. Her lawyer stood up and slowly finished his defense: "My client, Ms. Mo Uyen, may not be a perfect mother." “But her starting point —— It was all love.” “We strongly urge the Trial Council to consider the suffering of a mother.” “Please give her a lenient sentence.” Having finished speaking, he leaned slightly, looked towards Mo Uyen, and nodded slightly - a definite nod to victory. The corners of my mother's lips curled up slightly, a smile full of confidence, as if she believed that everything was still under control. But at that moment —— “Please allow the court to present new evidence.” The prosecutor's voice rang out clearly, each word seemed to pound the ground. On the large screen in the middle of the courtroom, the diary and all the photos taken in the secret room appeared one after another. The smile at the corner of Mo Uyen's lips suddenly froze. Her whole body began to tremble, her eyes widened, filled with horror and disbelief. “No… How… did you… Did you get them?!” The prosecutor turned around and looked straight at me: "Miss Tham Niem, please stand up as a witness." I stood up from the chair, each step felt as heavy as stepping on mud, but still walked steadily towards the witness stand. I don't look at anyone. Don't look at the audience. Don't look at the defense attorney. My eyes were only locked on one person —— the woman trembling in the defendant's chair. I raised the diary, my voice was low but clear, each word echoed in the silent room: "April 15, clear sky." "Today, Niem Niem smiled at me. Her eyes... are exactly like Si Si." I stopped and didn't read any more. The finger flexed slightly, closing the diary. I looked straight at her, my eyes unblinking, my voice cold as a knife cutting through ice: "You don't love me." “You only love someone like me —— your dead twin, Mo Tu.” “What you did for me… It wasn't motherly love.” That is sin. It's a sick obsession."

“The so-called ‘protection’ —— Is actually surveillance.” “The so-called ‘training’ —— is actually control.” “She sees me as an object, a perfect sculpture that she created with her own hands.” “No scratches allowed. No deviations are allowed. It cannot be allowed to get out of control.”

“So… in my previous life, when I fell in love with someone you considered ‘imperfect’ —— You killed him.” “Then… kill me too.”

I took a deep breath, put the diary down on the podium, my voice was soft but resounding like thunder: "I am not Mo Tu's replacement." “I am not the daughter you love.” “I… am just someone you imprisoned —— to satisfy your obsession with power.” The words I said, each word, were like a sharp knife penetrating the deepest part of her mind. Mo Uyen lost all her strength, she did not scream, did not refute, and no longer struggled. She sat down, like a stone statue eroded by time in an instant. In her eyes, everything collapsed. Confidence collapsed. Attitudes collapse. Everything she built up in twenty years —— shattered right in front of the public. To her, this... is more cruel than death. Judgment declared. • Mo Uyen —— Crime of attempted murder, incitement to cause injury, illegal detention. Life in prison, no parole. • Lam Kien Quoc —— Crime of giving false testimony, illegal gambling, illegal intrusion. A total of 20 years in prison. Mo Thi Group, under the leadership of Mo Than, overcomes the crisis. It's all over. At least… all the truth has come to light. Everything… is over. The day I left the hospital, the weather was beautiful. The gentle sunlight spread across the road, so warm that it almost made people forget all the past hurts. You came to pick me up. He looked much more haggard than before, but there was something more steadfast, stronger in his eyes. In the car, he looked at me and asked in a low voice: "Nim Niem... What do you plan to do in the future?" I sat by the window, watching the light passing through the trees, my voice as light as the breeze: "I want to go abroad to study." “To a place… where no one knows who you are.” He was silent for a moment, then nodded: “Okay. I will support you.” “Where do you want to go, what school do you want to attend… leave it to me.” I smiled, shook my head slightly: "No need, boy." “This time… I want to rely on myself.” I don't want to rely on it anyone else. I want to learn how to walk on my own, choose my own path, decide my own life. I received back the educational fund that belonged to me —— compared to Mo Uyen's huge property empire, it was not worth much. But for me… that's enough. Leaving the Mo family's villa, I didn't look back. I booked a plane ticket for the next day, didn't tell anyone, didn't let anyone know. The next day, I pulled my suitcase and stood alone in the crowded airport lobby. People come, people go. Some laugh, some are in a hurry. The world is vast and bustling, and I stand there, like a drop of water just falling from a glass, free and helpless. I looked out the window, planes taking off and landing one after another, carrying countless stories and fates. The phone bell rang. An unfamiliar series of numbers. Below is displayed —— “Calling from prison.” I pressed listen. On the other end of the line, a hoarse, old voice came: "Nem... Niem..." It was Mo Uyen. I said nothing. Only the sound of broken breathing, suppressed sobs, and broken tears filtered through the phone speaker. I quietly... just quietly listened. Until the airport loudspeaker rang, announcing my flight to begin check-in. I hung up. Open the call log, find that phone number —— press and hold. Scroll down. Block. Erase. I pulled my suitcase, turned around, and walked towards the boarding gate. The sound of the loudspeaker echoed throughout the hall. I did not turn around, did not hesitate. The plane took off, passing through the white clouds. I looked down at the city below, the place that held me captive for two lifetimes. Buildings, roads, gradually getting smaller, fading, disappearing in the sea of clouds. My chest... is empty, but peaceful. A chapter closes. I am, finally, free. (Complete)