Chapter 2 — Fire Race

The next few days. I'm like a wound-up machine. During the day, orders are processed at the studio. At night, I dive headfirst into rummaging through the past. I went through all the old things in the house. Photo albums, letters, diaries. Hope you can find some clues. But almost nothing. There are not many relics left by her mother. Mainly some trivial things in daily life. Her diary was only written up to a month before I was born. The back is completely empty. It's like you're intentionally avoiding something. As for my father, it's like a bronze wall with iron walls. Every time I try to start a conversation in an insinuating way. He always tried to avoid it. Or completely silent. His eyes were always filled with fatigue and caution. As if I were some scary troublemaker. Originally, the father-son relationship between us was not close. Because of this photo, it has now fallen to the freezing point. There is always tension and stuffiness in the house. No words, but full of quiet confrontation. Chu Hao's side is not much better. “Miss Van.” “Looked up some basic information.” “But access to many important documents is not enough.” He spoke over the phone. "Mr. Lam Chi Vien used to work in the security unit, the file has been sealed." “In the official records, he died on July 15, the cause was ‘death due to duty’。” “The funeral and pension payments all match。” “At first glance… there are no problems。” “What about the hospital side?” I continued asking。 “The records of my mother giving birth to me。” “Looked it up。” “It was at the City Obstetrics and Children's Hospital。” “The records show that Tham Hue Nhu - that is, your mother。” “On December 20, 1992, a baby girl was born naturally。” “Weight 3.1 kg。” “The person recorded as the father… is Lam Kien Quoc。” “Nothing unusual。” Chu Hao's voice sounded helpless。 “Sister Van…” “Could it be that… are you really thinking too much？” “Maybe that photo is just a coincidence？” “Or was the AI algorithm really wrong？” I remained silent。 Was I really overthinking？ But dad's reaction that night… Traces of chemicals on the photo photos… And my mother's diary – suddenly stopped before the day I was born… All of this cannot be called a “coincidence”？ “Chu Hao。” “Can you help me investigate one more thing。” “Before and after the time of my grandfather's death。” “Did any unusual events happen？” “For example, a large bank transaction？” “Or are there any rumors related to his 'disappearance'? ‘accident’？” “More。” “Check the hospital records when my mother passed away。” “Cause of death, emergency treatment, all the details。” “Sister Van…” Chu Hao hesitated a bit。 “Want to check the details of the deceased person's medical records, this…” “I know it's difficult。” “But please.” “Okay。” Chu Hao sighed。 “Let me try one more time。” I hung up。 A feeling of helplessness came。 All clues seemed to be cut off。 Could it be that the real truth has been buried forever？ Just when I was almost about to give up… Unexpected changes happened again。 That day, I received a strange call。 The area code that appeared was from my hometown。 First On the other end of the line was a hoarse, old female voice。 “Hello？” “Is… it's Van Van？” I paused for a moment。 “Sorry, who is it？” “It's my grandmother！” “Don't you recognize her？” Grandma？ Is a distant relative from my father's hometown。 After my mother passed away, my father very rarely took me back to my hometown。 I'm close. like I have no memory of this third lady。 "Hello, third grandmother。" "You called me... why do you have my number？" "It's Kien Quoc that gave it to you。" Third grandmother's voice sounded a bit agitated。 "He said... recently you've been finding out about your grandfather, right?" My heart jumped a little。 Did dad tell her? Why did he say that? "Yes, that's right." so。” I'm careful

Trong replied。 "I found an old photo... so I have a few questions。" "Sigh..." Ba's grandmother sighed deeply。 "Kien Quoc didn't let me say much。" "He said he was afraid you'd think too much。" "But I think... there are things, you have the right to know。" I held my breath。 "Grandma..." "What do you know？" "My grandpa... he..." Grandma's voice lowered. low, as if afraid someone would hear。 “He… wasn't dead at that time。” “At least… at that time we just thought he was dead。” What?! I felt a buzzing sound in my head。 “What did you say?” “What do you mean by ‘thinking he died’?” “Kien Quoc told you that... he died in July, right？” “Yes。” “But that was just an outside report。” “Actually… that summer, my grandfather went missing。” “Missing from the work unit。” “No body found alive, dead no body found。” “It took several months for the unit to announce his death。” “But our family members… everyone thought he was gone dead。” “Just hiding somewhere。” “Why?” “Why do you think like that?” “Because… because at that time my grandfather…” Grandma's voice became more and more hesitant。 “He seemed… to have been involved in a very big problem。” “It involved money。” “A very large amount of money。” “Some people said he was embezzled。” “There were also people who said… he offended someone who shouldn't have offended。” “Before he disappeared, he even secretly returned once。” “It was a few days before you said hello life。” My whole body was in shock。 A few days before I was born？ “What are you doing back?” “I don't know。” Dad replied。 “He came back at night, very secretly。” “I only met my parents。” “The next day he left。” “Not long after, there was news that he died。” “At that time my father… cried like he was dead。” “But Everyone in the house can see... he's just acting。” “He definitely knows where your grandfather went。” Returned at midnight. Just met my parents. Right before I was born. Could it be... That photo was taken at that time? “Grandma。” “Have you ever seen a picture of… my grandpa holding me?” “Photo?” The third lady paused。 “Never... never seen it。” “At that time, no one had the right mind to take pictures。” “Your grandfather came back, it was very mysterious。” “With my parents, we closed the door and talked all night。” “The next morning, we left。” “At that time, my mother's face… was very bad。” “It was like… she had just suffered a huge shock。” Mom… was in a very big shock. big. I suddenly remembered my grandmother's unfinished diary. I remembered my father's panicked expression that night. A vague image gradually appeared in my mind. "Grandma" "Do you remember anything else?" It's like you turned into someone else。” “Less talk。” “After that, when my mother gave birth to me, she had difficulty giving birth and lost a lot of blood。” “I almost didn't survive。” “My father at that time... was waiting outside the delivery room, his face as white as a piece of paper。” “And then my mother passed away... also pitiful。” “He was so young…” Grandma's voice was full of sadness。 “Ah yes then。” She suddenly remembered something。 “There's something… I don't know if I should tell you。” “Just tell me。” “My grandfather… long ago had a friend who fought。” “Last name is Chu。” “The name is Chu… Chu Chinh Tuong。” “That's right, Chu Chinh Tuong。” “At that time he was the closest person to my grandfather。” “Later he was discharged from the army and transferred his job to the city. me。” “It seems… works at the City Archives or something？” “After my grandfather disappeared, how many times did he come。” “Ask my father about the situation。” “And then… no more contact。” “I don't know whether he's alive or not now。” Chu Chinh Tuong? City archives?