Chapter 7 — I Am Bigger Than The Hurts

The third day after winning the bid, lawyer Ma called.

“Tham Dao, the results of both directions of investigation are in.”

“First of all, the trust fund.”

“I got a scanned copy of the beneficiary change form, which has your signature on it.”

“But after examining the handwriting—the signature was fake and did not match her signature on the labor contract, bank records or diploma.”

“The trust fund management company also admitted that they did not fully check their identity.”

“So—your mother forged the signature, illegally changed the beneficiary, and appropriated 8,000,000 yuan—the evidence is complete.”

“Next is equities.”

“The 40% share transfer before your father passed away—”

“I got the medical records, on April 12, he was in a deep coma, completely unable to sign any legal documents.”

“The signature on the contract—is also fake.”

Lawyer Ma's voice lowered.

“Tham Dao, your mother is involved in at least two cases of document forgery, one case of trust fund fraud and one case of inheritance appropriation.”

“The total amount exceeds 30,000,000 yuan.”

“This evidence—enough to stand trial.”

I sat by the window, phone in hand.

“Lawyer Ma.”

“For the time being, do not announce it publicly.”

“I want to give my mother a chance.”

“Let her choose.”

He was silent for a few seconds.

“Are you sure?”

“Okay, as you wish.”

I hung up the phone and opened my laptop. Compose an email. Recipient: my mother. The title is only one line.

“Mom, we need to talk, about dad's trust fund.”

Fifteen minutes after sending, the phone rang. It's your number. Number that I have not blocked.

“Tham Dao, what nonsense are you talking about, which trust fund?”

I looked out the window, my voice cold and calm.

“Mom, you know what I'm saying.”

“Tran Kien Quoc told you, right, that old man!”

“Who said it doesn't matter, what matters is—the 8,000,000 yuan that dad left for you, is currently in mom's hands.”

“That application to change the beneficiary, the signature is fake.”

“And that stock transfer when Dad was in the ICU—it was also fake.”

“I have the handwriting assessment report, and also the medical records.”

The other side was silent for a long time, so long that I thought she had hung up the phone, then her voice rang out, much lower than before, as if she had lost all strength.

“What do you want?”

“I want to video chat with mom, in person.”

"…When?"

The video call connected, my mother's face occupied the entire screen, she sat in the office at home, her hair was no longer neatly combed as usual, a few strands fell on her forehead, her face was gray.

“Tell me what you want.”

“Mom, I need to confirm something.”

“First, the 40% share transfer when dad was in the ICU—you arranged the signatory, right.”

My mother said nothing.

“Silence is considered admission.”

“Second, the 8,000,000 yuan trust fund that dad left for me—I forged my signature, changed the beneficiary to you, and then transferred the money to an offshore account in Hong Kong.”

"Right?"

Her lips moved slightly.

“That money… I haven't used it yet.”

“Mom said that money is still in the account in Hong Kong, she hasn't touched it yet.”

"Untouched? So why did you have to move?"

She closed her eyes for a second.

"After my father died, Dinh Huy incurred a bad debt of nearly 20,000,000 yuan. I needed a large amount of money to raise capital, and that 8,000,000 yuan was the fastest I could use."

“Mom moved out to make property Make sure that after the loan is approved, you will not touch it again."

“But changing the beneficiary—I really forged your signature.”

“Because the management asked the beneficiary to sign, and at that time you were just in graduate school, I didn't want you to know.”

“And the signature for the share transfer—also arranged by mother?”

My mother was silent for five seconds.

“Because in your father's will—the original 40% shares were divided into two, with you and your sister each having half.”

“But your sister has to take over the company, it can't be just 20%.”

“Mom needs to gather the shares into one group before the will takes effect, and then redistribute them.”

“So mom took action while dad was still alive?”

"I'm afraid it's not that I won't have time to divide, but that after the will takes effect, I won't be able to control it anymore."

"Right?"

My mother did not deny it. I looked at that face on the screen. Sentences like “mother does it for her child”, “you are too young to understand”, “you have to think about your sister”—all are fake. From beginning to end, what she wanted was only one thing—control. Company control. Asset control. And control me too.

“Mom, you have two choices now.”