Chapter 3 — I Overturned My Own Sentence

Eighth month after going to prison, he came to visit me again. His face was very unsightly.

“My mother… is hospitalized again.”

“What is it this time?”

“Sequelae of previous brain hemorrhage causing complications of lung infection.”

I clenched my fist.

“Hospital fees…”

"You've paid a portion in advance. But you're not a rich person, Van Van, you understand."

“Thank you.”

He hesitated a bit.

"There's one more thing. My other classmate, named Tran Duyet..."

My finger stopped.

“She ranked third in the whole province in the university entrance exam.”

I stared at him.

“How many points?”

In tenth grade, Tran Duyet's achievement was still outside the top thirty of his class. By the second semester of the eleventh grade, she suddenly made great progress, and by the twelfth grade she was almost on par with me. Only two points deviated from the score I scored myself after the final mock exam.

“Where is she now?”

“Jinghua University, Department of Economics. Full scholarship.”

“Full scholarship?”

"Yes. The press all reported it. Hac Thanh's pride, poor students rising to change their lives."

"Poor?" I laughed. "Her father is Tran Kien Hoa, owner of the second largest real estate company Hac Thanh. What kind of poverty?"

My laughter startled him.

“Van Van, you…”

“Uncle, help me investigate something.”

“What?”

"On the day of the university entrance exam, my admission notice and ID disappeared. The night before the exam, I saw them in my bag. The next morning, as soon as I went out the door, I was arrested. During that time, no one touched my bag."

“I doubt…”

"In the twelfth grade, I lived in the dormitory. There were four people in the room: me, Tran Duyet, Phuong Tieu Linh and Luu Tu Tu. That night, after turning off the lights, I took sleeping pills to get to sleep. You know, before the exam I had trouble sleeping, my mother even specially bought sleep aids for me."

His expression immediately changed.

“I mean… someone took advantage of me while I was sleeping…”

"Go investigate Phuong Tieu Linh and Liu Tu Tu. See who they are close to now."

He opened his mouth, but in the end he said nothing, just nodded. Two months later, he brought news.

"After Phuong Tieu Linh graduated from college, she went to work at Tran Kien Hoa's company. Meanwhile, Luu Tu Tu's family suddenly renovated their house and bought a new car."

I closed my eyes. Everything matches.

“Van Van, but these things still don't count as evidence.”

“I know.”

“So you…”

“Continue to wait.”

After listening to me tell everything, Trieu Hong was silent for a long time.

“What is the name of Tran Kien Hoa's company?”

“Hoa Kien Real Estate.”

“Hoa Kien…” She frowned. “Previously, when I was working in finance, I had contact with this company.”

I immediately looked at her.

"Their books have problems. The cash flow does not match, there is a high possibility of money laundering."

“Are you sure?”

"Not completely sure. But I remember a few important accounts. I can investigate later when I go out."

She read me a series of names and numbers. I memorized every word into my head.

“Miss Trieu.”

“Why did you help me?”

She leaned her back against the wall, looking up at the peeling paint on the ceiling.

"Before going to prison, I also had a daughter. She's probably in high school now. I don't know if she's living well."

She tilted her head and looked at me.

“You remind me of her.”

Eleventh month after entering prison. Come visit day, boy I'm not coming. I waited all day. Second day still not seen. On the third day, the warden called me to his office.

“Lam Van, family members are calling.”

I picked up the receiver. On the other end of the line was my aunt's voice. Her voice trembled violently as she called my name.

"What's up?"

“My mother… passed away.”

The stethoscope almost slipped out of my hand.

"Dawn the other day, around three o'clock. Lung infection led to multiple organ failure."

I said nothing.

"My uncle is taking care of the funeral. Before leaving... my mother always called my name..."

I could no longer hear the words after that. There was only a persistent buzzing sound in my ears. I hung up the phone and quietly returned to the cell. Trieu Hong looked at my face and didn't ask a single question. I climbed into bed, facing the wall. Lie down from morning to night. Then from evening to morning. On the fourth day, the warden came to check the room and I finally stepped down. Trieu Hong gave me a curtain. I shook my head.

“If you don't eat, your mother died in vain.”

I raised my head to look at her. Her face was cold, without a trace of pity.

"You're still alive to get out, there's still things to do. Dying in here will only make Tran Duyet pop champagne to celebrate."

I received the curtain. Each bite, each bite swallowed. Can't feel any taste anymore. From that day on, I never cried again. Hatred took root in my body, stronger than the desire to live. I put all my energy into two things. One is to study law. The more and more documents Trieu Hong obtained, I began to systematically research how to fake the chain of evidence and how to solve it. Second is practice. The space in the cell is very tight, but every day I still do five hundred push-ups, three hundred squats, and two hundred sit-ups. Someone asked Trieu Hong:

“Is she crazy?”

Trieu Hong replied:

“It's awake.”

Fourteenth month after entering prison, Trieu Hong had his sentence reduced and was released from prison. Before leaving, she stuffed a piece of paper into my hand. On it is a phone number.

"After you go out, call this number. Find a person named Ton Minh. He is my old lawyer, specializing in overturning criminal cases."

“Miss Trieu…”

“Don't thank me.”

She patted my shoulder gently.

“I only do one thing.”

“It's your trust.”

She left. After the cell door closed, I folded the piece of paper carefully and sewed it onto the inside lining of the pillow case. I have one year and ten months left. Enough to re-read the entire book two more times.