Chapter 4 — I Returned After 18 Years and Found Mother's Lifelong Secret

A human life. Those three words were like three bullets piercing straight through the thick air in the living room. Giang Minh and his wife's faces changed color. From discomfort to panic.

"Dad! What nonsense are you talking about!"

Giang Minh almost shouted. But dad didn't look at him. He just looked at me. His eyes were almost pleading.

“Vi Vi… I beg you.”

“Don't ask anymore, okay?”

“My mother… she left without peace of mind.”

I looked at that old, desperate face. There are no waves in my heart. Uneasiness? The woman that year blatantly took away 6500,000 from me, and now she's starting to say the word peace? I don't pressure anymore. Because I know, he won't say more. The answer really doesn't lie with him. I withdrew my gaze, quietly gathered photos and savings books and put them in the box. Then he picked up the envelope that was still placed next to him. Letter from mother. I turned around, without saying a word, and walked back to the room that used to be mine. Behind him came the sound of Giang Minh asking questions, and the sound of his wife sobbing in worry. Along with Dad's heavy sigh. But it all no longer has anything to do with me. I close the door. This time, I locked it. Completely cut off from the chaotic world outside. The room fell silent. I sat down at the desk. The yellow light fell on the stained envelope.

“To my only daughter, Giang Vi.”

The writing is so shaky that it hurts my eyes. I looked at that line for a long time. Then tear open the envelope. As if inside was something that could crumble. Just a thin sheet of paper. Letters cover the page. There are places where the ink is blurred, as if tears had been shed on it. I took a deep breath. By the time you read this letter, I will probably be gone. I know you hate me. Hate to the bone. I don't ask you to forgive me. Because mom is not worthy. All my life, my mother did many wrong things. But the biggest mistake... is to blame your child." I'm not surprised. The opening is a familiar repentance. Empty. I read on.

“I always thought my mother favored my younger brother.

Yes, mom is biased. But it's not because mom loves it more. But because you look so much like your father. Rigid. Stubborn. Carry everything on your own. And my younger sister looks like my mother. Weak. Useless. Only knows how to cause trouble. I'm afraid he won't survive." I laughed softly. Classic reason. The weak are protected, the strong must be sacrificed. I continued reading. The handwriting suddenly changed direction.

“Eighteen years ago, mom took my money. I know it's like taking your life.

But mother has no choice. Because if I don't do that... the one who will lose his life will be my brother." I stopped.

“I don't understand why buying a house is related to my life.

Because that money was not originally used to buy a house. 650 thousand... is to repay debt. Paying off a blood debt that the Giang family has owed for more than thirty years.” My heart sank. The words in the letter match what dad just said.

“I saw the wooden box.

The person in the photo is Lam Phong. He used to be my mother's fiance." I tightened my grip on the paper.

“We love each other. Planning to get married.

But a month before the wedding, he died. Not an accident. It's not a disease. He was hit by a falling steel bar while saving your father.” The ink blurs into streaks.

“The person responsible for that incident… was originally your father.

At that time, he was the construction site leader." The air in the room seemed thinner. I read on.

“The person who died that day… should have been your father.”

My fingers tightened on the paper. The edges are wrinkled. Steel bar. The person responsible… is my father. Turns out it wasn't a pure accident. It's a covered up disaster. And my father was the one who should have been responsible. My mother spent her whole life paying that debt to him. And use my whole life... to pay for it. I continued reading. Handwriting begins to become disordered. It was as if by the time she wrote this, she had lost control.

“Lam Phong died, the Lam family also collapsed.

His parents could not bear the shock and passed away a few years later. There's only one younger brother left, a few years younger than me, named Lam Dao. Mom feels guilty. During those years, he still secretly helped the two cousins. I don't dare tell your father. Mom was afraid he was going crazy. I thought this matter would be buried. As long as we stay silent, the secret will rot in the ground. But I didn't expect... retribution still came." I took a deep breath.

“18 years ago, Giang Minh's younger brother had just stepped into society, not knowing how high the sky was and how thick the earth was.

Contributed capital to do business and was deceived. Owe a huge high-interest loan. Every day someone comes asking for money. Hit it. Curse it. Threatened to cut off my legs if I didn't pay." Each line seemed to stretch my nerves.

“My parents collected all the money in the house but it still wasn't enough.

When we have no way back... creditors come to us. He is Lam Dao. Lam Dao has grown up. He knew all along who we were. He is always waiting for an opportunity. An opportunity to reckon with both old debts and new enemies.”