Chapter 21 — My Daughter's Iron Box

"That is why she had someone send threatening notes to the child."

Meiqin collapsed, sinking heavily to the floor.

"Shen Zhiqiang, the bonds of husband and wife..."

Shen Zhiqiang stood up.

The bonds of husband and wife end right here.

The bonds of father and child were almost buried by my own hands.

Meiqin, what you are about to face is not my leniency.

"It is the law."

Meiqin shrieked, crying out his name. Shen Zhiqiang did not look back. The door slammed shut, completely cutting off her frantic cries from within. When night fell, Shen Zhiqiang returned to the hospital. An extra chair had been placed outside the door of the hospital room. Teacher Jiang was sitting there, grading exam papers. Seeing him arrive, she spoke softly, "She is awake." Shen Zhiqiang paused.

"Does the child want to see me?"

Teacher Jiang shook her head.

She said no.

Shen Zhiqiang nodded. He handed a document folder to Teacher Jiang.

These are the necessary papers for her to return to school.

Boarding fees, material costs, and future medical expenses have all been deposited into a dedicated account.

This account will be jointly supervised by the school and a lawyer.

Teacher Jiang flipped through the pages, her expression flickering with surprise.

"You are not managing this yourself?"

Shen Zhiqiang replied, "She will not trust me right now."

"It is better for the money to be in the hands of someone she trusts."

Teacher Jiang remained silent for a few moments.

Now that sounds like something a human being would say.

Shen Zhiqiang managed a bitter smile. From inside the hospital room, Anan's faint voice suddenly drifted out.

"Teacher Jiang."

Teacher Jiang hurried inside. Shen Zhiqiang stood rooted outside the door. Through the crack in the door, Anan's voice filtered through.

For that account, do not use his name.

Teacher Jiang asked, "Whose name should we use then?" Anan paused for a long time.

Use mine.

"I will manage it myself from now on."

Shen Zhiqiang lowered his head. His eye sockets burned with a hot, aching pain. The child was finally beginning to reclaim what belonged to her. Not begging. Taking it back. At that very moment, Officer Lu called.

"Mr. Shen, Scarface has just confessed. There is another ledger hidden at Du Meiquan's residence."

It likely contains the precise whereabouts of all the children.

But Du Meiquan's place has already been searched by someone else.

The ledger is gone.

Shen Zhiqiang snapped his head up. Officer Lu's voice grew heavy.

"We suspect someone is still trying to destroy the evidence."

The ledger was found early the next morning. It was not uncovered through a police search, but rather through a clue provided by Anan. After waking up and hearing that the ledger was missing, she had remained silent for a long time. Then she asked Teacher Jiang to bring over her old iron box. When the iron box was opened, nestled inside were still her old tuition debt ledger, hospital receipts, and a copy of her school withdrawal form. With trembling hands, Anan pried a tiny slip of paper from the crevice in the lid of the box. On it were written only six words: Red cabinet, false partition. Teacher Jiang's tears instantly fell.

When did you hide this?

Anan's face was deathly pale.

When they made me sort the fabrics, I saw it.

That woman was afraid I would run away and made me sleep right by the storage room door.

"I memorized it."

Officer Lu immediately led his men back to Du Meiquan's dwelling. By noon, word came back. The ledger had been found. Inside were transfer records, names, locations, and even the identification codes of the children who had been trafficked away. This time, it was not just Meiqin and Du Meiquan. The entire network of accomplices was dragged out into the light. Officer Lu stood outside the hospital room and spoke solemnly to Anan, Thank you. Anan lay on the bed, her voice barely a whisper.

"Do not thank me."

"Bring them back."

Officer Lu nodded.

"We will."

Over the following days, matters were settled one by one. Xiao Man's fever had broken. Yuan Yuan was out of danger. The other children were successively taken home by their families or received by rescue organizations. The school had preserved Anan's student status. Teacher Jiang helped her apply for a scholarship and arranged for remedial tutoring. Shen Zhiqiang no longer made decisions on her behalf. For every single expense, he had Teacher Jiang and the lawyer verify it first. For every document, he had the nurse bring it in, waiting for Anan to agree and review it before he signed. Every day, he came to the hospital. He did not enter the room. He only sat on the farthest bench in the hallway. When he brought soup and Anan refused to drink it, he would ask the nurse to swap it for a nutritional meal prescribed by the doctor. When he brought a new schoolbag and Anan refused to accept it, he would leave it with Teacher Jiang. He no longer talked about how a father should act. Nor did he speak of how deeply he regretted his actions. Regret was his burden to bear. Redemption had only just begun. A week later, Meiqin was formally arrested with an official warrant. Du Meiquan, Scarface, and the others were also transferred for deeper investigation. When the lawyer reported on the progress of the divorce proceedings, Shen Zhiqiang was downstairs buying porridge. The lawyer said, "Meiqin does not agree to a divorce."

She even wants to contest ownership of the house.

Shen Zhiqiang held the bowl of porridge, his tone steady and calm.

Proceed with the legal process.