Chapter 4 — Last Hope

I grabbed a cold cup of coffee from the table and threw it straight at her face. Lam Na shouted. Coffee ran down her hair and face. The delicate makeup is smudged. Looks like a clown.

“This crazy person!”

Tran Loi rushed forward, pushing me hard to the ground. My head hit the corner of the table. The front is dark.

“Protect! Protect! Drive this crazy person out!”

He screamed. Very quickly, two guards ran over. Each person held one side and pulled me out. I struggled and screamed as if I had exhausted my soul.

"Tran Loi! Lam Na! I will not forgive you!"

“I will definitely find evidence!”

“I will make you... pay in blood!”

They threw me out the hospital door. People in the cafe pointed and whispered. I lay on the cold ground. Like a piece of trash thrown away by the world. I looked up at the gray sky. Tears... just kept flowing down. Crying for a while, I slowly sat up. Dust off your body. Tears may fall. But the road... still has to go on. Tran Loi, do you think that you can defeat me? You are wrong. The more he forced me down... the more I had to stand up. This game of chess— has only just begun. I took out my phone and looked at the photo of that piece of paper.

“Don't pay anymore, check the camera early last Wednesday morning.”

Currently, the only clue... is the guardian who left the note. Ms. Truong. I must find her. Finding Ms. Truong... became my only hope. But she quit her job. The phone is also unreachable. In a big city like this... finding someone is like finding a needle in a haystack. But I can't give up. The first person I thought of— was the escort agency. Most hospital assistants are introduced by intermediary companies. Just need to find that company... maybe I will have Ms. Truong's profile. I went back to the hospital, to the nurse's station. I replaced it with a sweet smile.

“Hello nurse.”

I looked at the nurse yesterday, smiling in the most harmless way.

“It's you again.”

She still misses me.

"Sister, your brothers and sisters have very unpleasant personalities. Yesterday that Ms. Lam Na made me angry. But to be honest, Ms. Truong used to take good care of my sister-in-law, I want to find her to do more housework. Do you know what company she's from?"

I made up a reason. The nurse didn't suspect anything either.

“Let me check.”

She typed on the computer for a while.

"Ah, the hospital staff at our hospital are all provided by 'Anh Duong Gia Chinh'."

“Gia Chinh Duong!”

My heart skipped a beat.

“Thank you! You are so beautiful and kind!”

After I finished speaking, I immediately turned around and left. Based on the location, I found the address "Anh Duong Gia Chinh". It is a tiny shop, located deep in an old alley. I walked in. A middle-aged woman is knitting a sweater. Hearing the sound, she didn't bother to raise her head.

“Looking for a job or looking for a maid?”

"I'm looking for someone."

"I'm looking for a housekeeper named Truong Que Phan, everyone calls her Ms. Truong. Previously worked at the city hospital, 12th floor."

The woman now raised her head. Her eyes... glanced over me, as if considering something.

"Truong Que Phan? She quit her job."

"I know... I just need to find her urgently. Can you give me her phone number or address?"

“No way.”

Extra person female shook her head.

“My company has regulations that do not arbitrarily disclose personal information of employees.”

“Miss, I beg you... this is really important, it involves human lives!”

I'm impatient.

"Girl, don't act with me. Every day people come looking for me, everyone says it's a matter of life and death."

She is as hard as rock. I had no other choice but to open my wallet. Take out all the cash inside. About two thousand.

"You take it, it's a waste of thanks. I just need her address."

Her eyes flashed. But still hesitant.

“This... is not according to regulations.”

“Regulations are death, people are lives.”

I pushed the money towards her.

"I promise not to say that you gave it to me. Whatever happens has nothing to do with you."

She stared at the stack of money, swallowing her saliva. Finally... still reached out to take it.

“Okay, you don't look like a bad person.”

She looked it up on the computer for a while, then wrote me an address.

"Here. But I'll say it first, her family situation... is quite complicated. You talk carefully."

“Thank you.”

When I got the address, I felt like I had found a lifeline. It's a slum in the suburbs. I took the bus for more than an hour, then walked another half an hour to get there. An old self-built house. The stairs were filled with miscellaneous items, the lighting was dim, and the air was moldy and difficult to breathe. I followed the house number and stood in front of the door. A long time later, the door opened a small crack. Ms. Truong stuck her head out. Seeing me— her face immediately turned pale.

“You... how did you find your way here?”

Her voice trembled with fear.

“Miss Truong, don't be afraid, I'm not here to harm you.”

“You go away! I have nothing to say!”

After she finished speaking, she was about to close the door. I quickly raised my hand to block it.

"Miss Truong! Please! Just five minutes! Listen to me!"

"I don't listen! Go away!"

"It's my sister-in-law's problem! She... was harmed by my brother, right?"

I speak frankly. Ms. Truong's whole body was shocked. She stood still. I immediately squeezed inside. Small, messy room. On the bed, a boy of about ten years old lay huddled, covered with a thick blanket, his face was yellow, and he coughed incessantly.

“This is… your child?”

“It's sick.”

Ms. Truong's voice lowered.

"Severe kidney disease. Continuous dialysis, waiting for a kidney transplant."

I understand. Why do you need money? Why don't you dare tell the truth?

“How much did my brother give you?”

She was silent, tears falling.

"He threatened you, right? If you dare to speak, he will cut off your money, even... touch your child?"

Ms. Truong collapsed. She sat down on the ground, sobbing.

“Miss, don't force me anymore!”

"I have no choice! My child is waiting for money to save his life!"

“If I say... my mother and I are both finished!”

I walked over and sat down in front of her. Take her hand.

"Miss Truong, I won't force you."

"I came to ask you... to help me, also to help my sister-in-law."

"She's a good person. She can't just lie there, not alive, not dead."

"I know you're also a good person. Otherwise, you wouldn't have risked leaving that note behind."

"Your heart... is also not at peace, right?"

My words touched the deepest part of her heart. She cried even harder.

"Miss Truong, about money... let's think about it together. But the truth... cannot be buried."

“Just tell me, last Wednesday morning... you did What do you see?

She cried for a long time. Finally… raised his head. Bloodshot eyes. You have decided.

“That night… around three in the morning.”

Her voice was hoarse.

“Your sister-in-law's phone suddenly alarmed, I quickly ran in.”

“I saw… I saw your brother… standing by the bed.”

“His hand... was holding the ventilator's power cord.”

“He said the wire was loose, he just plugged it back in. The alarm is due to a power outage.”

“But I saw... sweat on his forehead, and his hands were shaking.”

“He was not accidental.”

“He… did it on purpose.”

“He intentionally unplugged the ventilator!”

"Luckily the nurse arrived in time and was able to save me."

“Then he found me and gave me two hundred thousand.”

“Tell me to quit my job and keep this a secret.”

“He said, if I dare say a word... my child will never be able to wait for a kidney.”

Just as I expected.