Chapter 17 — My Husband's Secretary Announced Pregnancy

The whole courtroom fell into chaos. The judge had to repeatedly bang the gavel to restore order. Lam Uyen was so emotional that the police took her down to rest. Tram Mac was still sitting in the defendant's chair, his face as white as a soulless body. Lam Uyen's accusation had completely destroyed the last line of defense in his mind. He knows, he's done. The image of the "victim" that he worked so hard to build was torn to pieces by Lam Uyen. He is not only a financial criminal, but also a love player, ungrateful and ungrateful, plotting to harm his wife and children - the worst man of the century. His reputation was completely ruined. The next trial became almost a one-sided battle. Although Lam Uyen's testimony was emotional and could not be completely trusted legally, the details she revealed opened up a new direction of investigation for the prosecution. The police followed the clues and quickly discovered more connections between Tram Mac and the woman in Macau, and even found a few young girls who had had shady relationships with him and had been silenced by him. When the wall collapsed, everyone pushed. People who had been hurt by him took turns testifying. Tram Mac's crimes, in addition to the initial charges, added many new items. Finally, the court pronounced the verdict. Tram Mac was sentenced to twenty years in prison for financial fraud, money laundering, kidnapping and extortion among many other crimes, was deprived of political rights for five years, and had all personal assets confiscated. Twenty years. Five years more than lawyer Vuong predicted. The moment the verdict was announced, I was at home, pruning the potted orchids my mother planted. Lawyer Vuong sent me the results via WeChat. I looked at the brief text on the screen, my finger stopped in mid-air, the scissors blade was less than a millimeter away from an unopened flower bud. I did not feel the joy I imagined, nor the pleasure of one who has avenged a great revenge. Just feel calm. It was like I had just finished watching a long movie. When the words "End" appeared on the screen and the lights turned on, I walked out of someone else's story and returned to my own life. Tram Mac - the man who played the main role in my life for five years - finally completely withdrew from the stage. As for Lam Uyen, the court considered the fact that she had made great achievements and actively confessed to the crime, and finally sentenced her to three years in prison as an accomplice. She paid the price for her stupidity and greed. But compared to Tram Mac, this is probably the gentlest ending for her. Three years later, she was only twenty-seven years old. Life can still start again. As for Tram Mac, by the time he was released from prison, he was nearly sixty. In this war, I am finally the winner. After processing it all, I treat myself to a long vacation. I did not choose crowded tourist cities, but went to Tibet. I carried a light backpack and, alone, boarded the train to Lhasa. The scenery outside the window ranges from high-rise buildings, to vast fields, then gradually changes to snow-covered mountains. My heart gradually opened to that scene, little by little, becoming quiet and relaxed. In Lhasa, I did not go to crowded destinations. I just Every day I wander on Barkhor Street, joining the flow of people spinning prayer wheels, round after round. The sun is very strong, the air is thin. I looked at the believers lying prostrate on the road, their clothes torn, their bodies covered in dust, but their eyes were strangely clear and steadfast. Their world is very simple, there is only faith. I suddenly felt a little jealous of them. Half a month in Lhasa, I felt purified. The love - hate - love - hatred that was once deep in the heart, the calculations and resentment that penetrated the bones, all disappeared with the wind on the Potala peak. The last day before leaving Lhasa, I received an unexpected phone call. It was Tram Mac's mother calling. Her voice was hoarse and tired.

“To Thanh… can I see you for a moment?”

I agreed to meet her. We met at the sweet tea shop downstairs from the boarding house where I lived. When I arrived, she was already sitting there. She wore dark clothes that did not match the setting, looking out of place among the locals wearing colorful Tibetan robes. In front of her was a cup of sweet tea, untouched. Seeing me, she awkwardly stood up.

“Sit down.” I said.

She sat down carefully, her hands on her knees, looking like a child who had just done something wrong.

“Uncle… how did you know I was here?” I asked. I didn't tell anyone about my journey.

“I asked your father.” She replied, "I begged him for a long time before he finally told me."

I nodded, understood.

“What are you looking for me for?” I get straight to the point.

She took out something carefully wrapped in a handkerchief from her cloth bag and pushed it towards me.

“This, for you.”

I opened the handkerchief, inside was a jade bracelet. The jade water is very beautiful, the jade is transparent, looking at it you can see that it is very valuable. I recognize this bracelet. This is a family heirloom of the Tram family, said to have been passed down since the Qing Dynasty. When Tram Mac and I got married, she regretted not wanting to show me a gold ring.

“What do you mean by giving me this?” I asked.

"This is... the debt we still owe to you from the Tram family." She bowed her head, her voice as small as a mosquito, "Tram Mac... he is sorry for you. We... are also sorry for you."

“We sold the old house.” She continued, her voice slow, "The auction proceeds will pay part of the bank's interest. The rest is only enough for the two of us to buy a one-bedroom apartment in the countryside. From now on, we will live the rest of our lives there."

"This bracelet is the last valuable item in the house. I think I should leave it to you."

I looked at the bracelet, then looked back at her. The wrinkles on her face were deeper than the last time we met. His hair was almost completely white, his eyes no longer had any of the sharpness or harshness of the past, only emptiness and abandonment.

“I don't need it.” I pushed the bracelet back.

“No, take it.” She pushed me again, her voice somewhat stubborn, "You don't accept, my heart... is not at peace."

"To Thanh, I know we didn't treat you well in the past. You... you favor men over women, you blame me for not being able to have children, I always think it was you who delayed Tram Mac's future."

"Ever since that incident happened, I haven't been able to sleep every night. I kept thinking about where we went wrong. Later, I figured it out."

She raised her head, Water sparkled in his eyes.

"It was us who were wrong. It was us who spoiled him. From childhood to adulthood, everything he wanted was there, we never said 'no' to him. Always thought that our son was the best in the world, that all mistakes were caused by others."

“We, ourselves, pushed it down a path with no way out.”

“If before, we had taught him properly, if when he discovered he was doing something wrong, we would have helped him take care of him, instead of blindly defending him... Maybe we wouldn't have gotten to this point.”

Saying this, she burst into tears.