Chapter 1 — Mother-in-law sold dowry for 320,000 yuan, I reported it to the police and their whole house collapsed

"Hieu Tuyet, don't rush to conclusions like that, mom really didn't mean to harm you."

Luc Triet's voice rang in my ears in waves, as heavy as air bubbles pressed under water, no matter how much I struggled, I couldn't come up. I did not respond. His eyes were glued to the floor in the living room, where the colors were completely different. There was originally an Arhat bed made of hollow carved mahogany wood that my grandmother left behind. At the head of the bed is a Thanh Hoa porcelain vase brought by his uncle from Suzhou. Next to it is a whole handmade porcelain dining table set, which my mother asked someone to order specifically from Canh Duc Tran. But now... There's nothing left.

"Grandma... she just wants to keep this house. A Nhien's side really can't wait for the money, you know that..."

I slowly turned my head, my eyes glanced past him, stopping at the ground-level glass door. The antique embroidered "Thanh Minh Thuong Ha Do" painting that once hung there was a gift from my grandmother for the last three years of her life. Each needle and thread was completed before the age of seventy... Now it has also disappeared without a trace.

"Hieu Tuyet, what should I say? Those things are only more than 300,000 yuan, we'll have them back later. Isn't it better for the family to be happy and harmonious? Or... don't pursue this matter anymore?"

I finally looked straight at him. The man who slept with me for three years. His face was red with impatience, but in the depths of his eyes, there was a flash of avoidance, a bit of guilt that he couldn't hide. I didn't say a word. Just quietly reached out and grabbed the phone and car keys from the shoe cabinet, leaned away from him, opened the door, and walked out. Behind him was Luc Triet's increasingly panicked voice, mixed with pleading. I don't stop. Go straight to the elevator, press basement B2. The car sped out of the parking lot, the sunlight outside was so bright that I had to squint my eyes. I put on sunglasses, opened my contacts, dialed a number.

"Hello, is this the Hangzhou City Public Security Bureau? I want to report a case."

“Miss Lam, do you confirm that you want us to file a case for theft?”

The young policeman who welcomed me was named Chu Nhat Minh. Beautiful face, very standard conversation.

“I confirm.”

My voice was so calm that even I felt strange.

"According to what you just said, the person suspected of committing the theft is your mother-in-law, Ms. Luu Que Lan. This case is often easily considered an internal family conflict, do you want to consider reconciliation first..."

"Officer Chu, she used the spare key to enter the house without my presence and dispose of all the dowry assets that were in my name before the marriage. The total value has exceeded 320,000 yuan. This is not a family conflict. According to the law, it is theft."

The older, gray-haired police officer next to Chu Nhat Minh raised his head and looked at me for a moment, then turned and said:

"Tieu Chu, follow the process, don't have preconceived notions. Miss Lam, you need to make a detailed list of lost assets, and provide documents proving value and ownership."

“I brought it with me.”

I pulled out a brown paper folder from my pocket. Inside was neatly arranged: photos of each dowry, sales contract, appraisal papers, and a notarized copy of pre-marital personal property that my mother asked a lawyer to do before the wedding. The two policemen looked at each other and their eyes immediately became serious.

“We will move forward immediately conduct investigation. But Miss Lam, I need to say first, once the case is officially established, the process will have to go to the end. During that process, the relationship between her, her husband and both families may suffer effects... that are difficult to reverse."

"I know."

I looked at them, every word coming out clearly.

“There's no need to keep that relationship anymore.”

Leaving the police station, the sky was overcast. The phone screen was covered with missed calls and WeChat messages, all from Luc Triet.

“Hieu Tuyet, where are you? Let's meet and explain clearly."

“Don't get excited, mom is old, don't scare her.”

“Lin Xiaoxue! What do you really want to do? Did this house become like this because of a few things?”

I immediately put his number on the blacklist. Then drive back to the small apartment in the riverside area. That's the house I bought when I was single in Hangzhou, and it's always been empty. I didn't expect it to become my retreat so quickly. I had just finished showering, my hair was still dripping water, and the doorbell rang loudly. Looking at the doorbell screen, that obnoxiously familiar face was blushing. I pressed the dialogue button.

“Lin Hieu Tuyet, open the door.”

It's Luc Triet. He actually came all the way here.

“What did you come for?”

“Are you still pretending? Do you dare run to the police station to report the case? Are you crazy? That's my mother!”

“I'll correct it a bit, that's your mother, not my mother. Besides, my mind is now more alert than ever.”

Luc Triet was so angry that his lips trembled and he raised his hand to knock on the door.

“I advise you to keep in moderation. There is an HD camera outside the door. You dare to cause trouble, I can sue you for disturbing the peace."

My voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to make his hand stop in mid-air, unable to move forward but also unable to retreat. He glared at the screen, as if he wanted to gouge me.

“Lin Hieu Tuyet, what exactly do you want before you withdraw your application? Money, you can borrow and earn. Return it intact, even double it!”

“This cannot be measured with money.”

“So what else do you want? Isn't it just a few items? Is it worth turning your back on your family because of those torn things?"

“Some torn things?”

I laughed softly, but the laughter was cold to the bone.

“Luc Triet, that's what my grandmother, uncle, and mother left me. It's proof of where I came from. In your mouth, it becomes 'a few torn things'?"

"I don't mean that, I just feel like we're all family, there's no need to go to this extent!"

"From the moment your mother took the key, opened the door, took each of my things out to exchange money... to me, we were no longer 'family'."

I hung up. Ignoring him banging on the door and screaming outside, I turned off the bell and walkie-talkie, letting all sounds fall silent. Early the next morning, Chu Nhat Minh called.

“Miss Lin, we have invited your mother-in-law, Ms. Liu Guilan, to the station. But she was very agitated and insisted that she was not wrong."

“What did she say?”

"The original text is: the daughter-in-law's things are also her son's, she took her son's things, it can't be called stealing."

Chu Nhat Minh's voice sounded a bit helpless.

“She also emphasized that if you marry into the Luc family, you are part of the family, everything you own naturally belongs to them. This time she only 'temporarily used a few decorations' to treat her youngest son, her brother-in-law."

“Healing?”

A pale face immediately appeared in my mind, Every day, he stays up all night playing Luc Nhien's games.

"What disease does he have that requires more than 320,000 yuan? Why have I never heard of it?"

“This… she didn't clearly state the diagnosis, just cried, saying you were heartless and meaningless, forcing her to the end.”

"Officer Chu, all of my dowry has notarized pre-marital assets. It is clearly stated on the legal documents that it is my personal property. What she 'says' has no value before the law."

"We are definitely working according to the law. But now she refuses to specify who she sold those items to, only insisting that she call a scrap collector to pick them up, and the money has been given to her youngest son for treatment."

“Buying scrap?”

I almost burst out laughing because I was angry.