Chapter 11 — Final Record

Vuong Thuc Lan, my "good" mother-in-law, from the first day she entered the Chu family, she never gave me a kind look. In her eyes, I was always unworthy. She criticized me for being from an ordinary background, criticized me for not knowing how to speak, criticized me for bringing her out only to make her lose face, but what she hated most... was that I gave birth to a daughter. An An is a girl, only I, Chu Van Ban and my mother know this, but to the outside world, we always say she is a boy, because one sentence from her that year was enough to make everyone silent.

"The Chu family must have a son to continue the line. If the first child is a girl, they will never step foot in the door again."

At that time, I thought it was just old-fashioned, an obnoxious but not dangerous prejudice, but looking back now... it was all calculated in advance. Why did Ly Mai have to "buy" a son, why was Vuong Thuc Lan so obsessed with having a grandson, and most importantly... where did that $500,000 come from when even Chu Duc Hai didn't know. Behind this, there is surely a bigger secret, one that is enough to explain her entire madness. I left the hospital and went straight to the police station, where Ton Nhue was detained for intentionally causing injury. I asked to see her. In the interrogation room, the woman who once wore a white blouse now wore a prisoner's outfit and handcuffs. In just a few days, she seemed to have aged ten years. When she saw me, she trembled, then suddenly knelt down, repeatedly bowed her head in apology, and slapped herself in the face like crazy.

“I'm sorry… I'm guilty… I'm not human…”

I didn't stop, just stood and watched until the corner of her mouth bled, then spoke up.

“Does sorry still mean anything now? My child is destroyed, my life is destroyed.”

She collapsed to the ground, crying until she choked, trying to explain that it was all forced by Ly Mai, and if she didn't do it, her husband would have his hand cut off. I interrupted, my voice as cold as ice, asking if she could destroy someone else's child just because of her husband, where was her conscience and medical ethics. She couldn't answer. I didn't come to hear repentance, I just want an answer.

“Wang Shulan, in this matter… what role does she play?”

Ton Nhue's body stiffened, her eyes were filled with panic, as if that name was scarier than her own sin.

“I… I can't say… she'll kill me…”

I stood up, looked straight at her, every word cut like a knife, reminding her that if this matter was exposed, she would be torn apart by public opinion, not only herself but her entire family would have no way to live. Her weak point was hit, her psychological defense immediately collapsed.

"I said it! I said it all!"

She screamed, her voice hoarse, like a drowning person reaching for air.

"It's all because of Vuong Thuc Lan, it was she who found Ly Mai, it was she who gave the money, it was she who was behind everything!"

“She said the Chu family absolutely cannot have a granddaughter, especially the eldest, it must be a boy!”

“If Ly Mai can make her give birth to an unhealthy child, or preferably a girl, then she will give money for Ly Mai to go abroad for IVF, guaranteed to give birth to a boy!”

“So… the first grandson of the Chu family will belong to Ly Mai, all assets In the future, it will also return to the main room!”

Each sentence fell like cold ice penetrating my bones, causing the blood in my body to almost freeze. It turned out that from beginning to end, it was all a trap, a meticulously arranged plot just to target me. Vuong Thuc Lan, for the sake of a grandson, for the sake of his eldest son's inheritance, was ready to destroy his own grandson. No, An An is her daughter, her biological granddaughter, yet she still did it without hesitation. A fierce tiger wouldn't even eat its cub, but that woman... doesn't even deserve to be called human. I continued asking about the origin of the money, but Ton Nhue only knew that it was Vuong Thuc Lan's dowry money, drawn from an old trust fund left by her family. The name of that fund... is "Truong Thanh". I memorized that name, as if jotting down one last clue to this game. Stepping out of the police station, the sunlight was bright but didn't bring any warmth, only making everything more bare. I took the phone and called Luu Chan Bang, my voice was scary calm.

“Uncle Liu, help me investigate something, the ‘Truong Thanh’ trust fund, I want to know its entire origin, beneficiaries, and every cash flow.”

“Especially… everything related to Wang Shulan.”