Chapter 13 — Nine Months Post-Divorce

What you call acting in the best interest of the Qin family is broadcasting screenshots of the DNA test results to the entire guest group, making sure everyone knows your family wedding has turned into a total laughingstock?

The expression on Phuong Thuc Hoa shifted abruptly.

That was all because Jiang Rui started making trouble first.

If I had not made things clear, people would have assumed the child had a questionable background.

I stared straight at her.

The very first person who claimed the child had a questionable background was you.

Phuong Thuc Hoa was left speechless. Qin Nian lowered his voice to a dangerous degree.

Mom, hand over the tablet right now.

Phuong Thuc Hoa immediately snatched her handbag and pressed it against her back.

What are you planning to do?

I want to check who else you have been sending those to.

You are investigating your own mother?

She stared at him in utter disbelief.

I am the one who gave birth to you.

Qin Nian walked toward her step by definitive step.

Wen Lan is the mother of Zhi Yi.

And Zhi Yi is my daughter.

When you were hurting both of them, did you ever stop to think that I was your son?

Hot tears instantly welled up in Phuong Thuc Hoa eyes.

Are you really willing to completely break ties with your own mother just for their sake?

Qin Nian did not soften in the slightest.

Ever since the day you falsified that medical report, you should have known this day would eventually come.

As if struck by her deepest fear, Phuong Thuc Hoa pitiful demeanor vanished in a flash.

I altered that report entirely for your own good.

Your father passed away when you were young, leaving only you to shoulder the Qin family.

If word got out that you had health issues, how would the members of the board of directors look at you?

How would all those greedy relatives view the Qin family name?

I abruptly lifted my head. This was the first time she had ever voiced the real reason behind her actions. It was not because she despised my aloof temperament, nor was it because she favored Jiang Rui. It was simply because Qin Nian public image and the prestige of the Qin family mattered infinitely more than my marriage and my dignity. Qin Nian looked equally stunned as the harsh truth finally sank in.

The board of directors?

Realizing she had slipped up, Phuong Thuc Hoa clamped her mouth shut and refused to utter another word. Thieu Dinh instantly seized upon the crucial opening.

Madam Phuong, you just made a reference to the board of directors.

In other words, your falsification of that medical examination report years ago was not merely a private family dispute, but rather a calculated move to protect Mr. Qin public standing within the company?

Phuong Thuc Hoa expression turned grim.

Do not try to put words in my mouth.

Thieu Dinh replied in an impassioned, level tone.

I am merely recording your own statement verbatim.

Furthermore, regarding the dissemination of confidential DNA test results, the police will confiscate your electronic devices in accordance with the law.

Panic finally overtook Phuong Thuc Hoa. She spun around, intending to flee the hallway. But Qin Nian blocked her path entirely.

The tablet.

Clutching her handbag fiercely, Phuong Thuc Hoa voice trembled uncontrollably.

Qin Nian, you cannot possibly treat your own mother like this.

Qin Nian refused to budge an inch. Right in the midst of the tense standoff, his assistant hurried down the corridor and thrust a phone into his hands.

President Qin, a message just came through from the old estate.

This morning, Madam instructed the staff to clean out the study, and someone took an old file away.

The housekeeper says that document is the supplementary addendum to the will left behind by the late Chairman Qin years ago.

Phuong Thuc Hoa expression shifted violently. Thieu Dinh and I exchanged glances. The testament. The mere mention of those two words suddenly connected all the scattered pieces into a clear, chilling picture. Why was Phuong Thuc Hoa in such a desperate hurry to accept the child? Why did Jiang Rui claim the Qin family would never let the child live outside? Why, the exact moment the DNA results came out, was the report immediately leaked? Qin Nian voice dropped to a chilling register.

What supplementary addendum?

The assistant glanced warily at Phuong Thuc Hoa before gritting his teeth and continuing.

The housekeeper stated that back when he was alive, Chairman Qin included a very specific clause.

A substantial portion of the corporate shares registered under Mr. Qin name would, upon the birth and formal verification of his first biological child, be transferred into an educational trust fund under that child name.

By default, the legal guardian of the child is appointed as the administrator of the trust.

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the corridor. Phuong Thuc Hoa fingers slowly lost their grip. Her handbag slipped from her grasp and hit the floor with a thud. The tablet inside slid out, its screen still brightly illuminated. The display remained frozen on an active chat interface. The most recent message had been sent by her own hand: As long as the child is brought back into the Qin family household, the trust fund will never fall into the hands of Wen Lan.

15

Those words glowed harshly against the screen, resembling a resounding slap across the face. Phuong Thuc Hoa lunged forward to snatch it up, but Qin Nian beat her to it, bending down to retrieve the device. She panicked so intensely her voice cracked.

Give that back to me.

Qin Nian stared down at the glowing screen, all the color draining entirely from his face. He did not speak right away. Instead, his thumb scrolled upward. Message after message revealed themselves. There were screenshots of the DNA test results she had forwarded to their extended relatives. There was the chat history showing her commanding others to spy on hospital room numbers. And there were her instructions to the housekeeper, ordering him to secure the will addendum beforehand and keep outsiders from finding out. That outsider, quite obviously, was me. I looked at her with an absolute, chilling calm. It turned out that in their eyes, little Zhi Yi had never been a child at all. The little girl was merely a bloodline, a bundle of shares, and a lucrative trust fund.