Chapter 4 — I Am Bigger Than The Hurts

She informed me that Tham Gia came to Singapore herself. Somehow, she got my new phone number. At six o'clock in the afternoon, a message appeared.

"Tieu Dao, I've arrived in Singapore. I'm staying at the Marina Sands hotel. Let's have dinner together, okay?"

Accompanied by a smiley face icon. I looked at that message. I can guess what she came for. I answer in two words.

“Don't go.”

Ten seconds later, the phone immediately rang.

"Tieu Dao! I flew from far away to visit you, are you still not willing to come see me?"

“What did you come to Singapore for?”

“Of course it's to visit you, you're alone here, mom takes care of you.”

"If you're worried, why don't you come over yourself?"

Tham Gia paused for a moment.

"Mom is not feeling well these days and can't go far, so she told me to come check on you."

“By the way… you already know about the Dong Thanh project.”

“There's a bit of a problem with that project. I wanted to talk to you and see if you could help.”

“You spent more than four months ruining a project that took me two years to negotiate, and now you come to me for help.”

“Do you think it's possible?”

Tham Gia's voice changed.

"Tham Dao, don't talk about love like that. Project problems are due to many reasons, it's not just me."

"You're relieved, leaving Singapore to be an outsider, leaving a mess for me to clean up."

"Have you ever thought if something happened to Dinh Huy, what would you benefit from? It's a company that my father built with his own hands."

I stood in front of the rented apartment window, looking at the unfamiliar city lights outside.

“Sister, since when do you care that Dinh Huy is the company your father founded?”

“If you really cared, you wouldn't have ordered a Porsche Cayenne the day after receiving 95% of the shares.”

“You… how do you know?!”

“Sister, the real estate industry in Hai Thanh is very small, no matter what you do, someone always tells me.”

Tham Gia's voice became harsh.

"Tham Dao, you've had enough! Do you think you can escape in peace by going to Singapore?"

"Mom told me, if you don't withdraw the lawyer's letter, you can't expect to keep that 1,000,000 yuan!"

“She can at any time ask Dinh Huy's legal department to counter-propose you for violating the terms of competition!”

“Sister, there is no competition clause in my labor contract.”

“Do you think mom can't find a reason?”

I leaned against the window frame, my voice calm.

“Then let her find it.”

“See you in court.”

I hung up. Do not block numbers. Because I know, Tham Gia flew to Singapore, not just for the Dong Thanh project. She also has other things. The next night, Tham Gia texted again.

“Tomorrow noon, twelve o'clock, Marina Sands hotel lobby bar, will you come?”

“If you don't come, there are things you may never know.”

I looked at that text for a few seconds.

“What?”

“Let's meet and talk.”

The next day, on time, I went to the hotel lobby bar. Tham Gia was already sitting on the corner of the sofa, wearing designer clothes, exquisite makeup, and two unopened cups of coffee in front of her. I sat down. She pushed a cup toward me.

“I called you.”

I don't touch it.

“Tell me, what's going on?”

Tham Gia looked at me for a few seconds.

“I'll say it first—have you met Chen Kien Quoc before?”

I don't answer. But the silence was enough. Tham Gia smiled coldly.

“Sure enough, that old man was looking for you.”

“What did he say to you? Did he mention the trust fund?”

I looked straight at her.

"Older sister know about trusts?

“Of course I know, you thought you were the only one who was hidden?”

She crossed her legs, her voice was light.

"Five years ago, when my father passed away, I searched his office. In the secret compartment of the safe there was a copy of the trust contract."

“Beneficiary writes my name.”

“Amount—8,000,000 yuan.”

“So why didn't you tell me?”

Tham Gia did not answer that question, just leaned forward slightly.

“Because mom told me, that money has already been processed.”

“How to handle it?”

“Mom said she used the guardian's name to freeze the trust fund, because I'm not mature enough to manage such a large amount of money.”

“And then what?”

Tham Gia's expression changed slightly.

“Then the money just froze, at least that's what mom told me.”

“But recently, when I checked Dinh Huy's books—”

She lowered her voice.

“There was a sum of nearly 8,000,000 yuan of unknown origin flowing in, exactly three months after Dad passed away.”

“What do you want to say?”

“What do you mean—”

Tham Gia looked at me.

“There's a good chance Mom didn't just freeze the trust fund.”

“But I already withdrew the money.”

My hands on the table tightened.

“There is no signature from the beneficiary, how did you get it?”

“I don't know.”

Tham Gia shook his head.

“But with mom's tricks, if she wants, there's always a way.”

“Don't forget—when dad was in the ICU, 40% of the shares were transferred to mom.”

“That transfer—was it signed by three characters?”

“What do you think?”

I stared at her.

“Why are you telling me now?”

Tham Gia's expression became complicated.

"Because after the Dong Thanh project stalled, I checked the books and discovered there was a problem."

“I went to ask my mother, she said not to interfere.”

“If you ask more, she says—‘If you ask any more, you'll be like your sister'.”

She smiled, but there was no joy in her smile.