Chapter 3 — One Sentence Scares Away the Whole In-Law Family

Do not push me! Where are you right now? Do you honestly believe that because you took our daughter away, I would be unable to find you? Do you dare me to book the very next flight and drag you back by force?

You are more than welcome to try.

I ended the call immediately. Without a moment's hesitation, I scrolled through my contact list and dialed another number.

Is this Attorney Wang? This is Su Qing. Yes, it is me. I need you to handle two matters for me. First, prepare a formal divorce agreement. Second, report to apartment twelve-oh-one, building three, at the Splendid Blossoms residential complex by tomorrow morning. Inform the occupants that they must vacate the premises within the stipulated deadline.

Attorney Wang paused briefly at the other end of the line, his professional composure returning almost instantly.

Understood, Ms. Su. Regarding the matter of evidence...

I have all of it secured.

After terminating the call, I stared out at the sprawling shadows of the night. Hang, you will never find me. From the very second I resolved to take our child away, I had already set every single phase of my master plan into motion. You and your entire family are merely pieces of trash that must be swept away during the preliminary stages of this undertaking.

The following day dawned bright and clear, bathed in a brilliant, warm sunlight. My daughter and I spent our morning splashing in the children’s wading pool of the hotel, her innocent, ringing laughter washing away the final traces of gloom that had lingered in my heart. My phone suddenly buzzed against the table—a message from Attorney Wang. Ms. Su, I have delivered the notice to the location. The occupants were extremely agitated, but acting under your authorization, I have already replaced the lock with a new digital keypad system. All previous fingerprints and access codes have been completely invalidated. In forty-eight hours, I will bring the inspection team over to conduct the inventory and hand over the property.

Thank you for your hard work. I typed out a brief reply and tossed the phone aside. I had granted them a grace period of forty-eight hours, extending the absolute limit of decency I could muster. Yet, I was certainly not naive enough to believe they would peacefully comply. Changing the locks was merely a necessary precaution to prevent them from acting in desperation and vandalizing my property.

As I sat building a grand sandcastle with my daughter on the edge of the pool deck, a friend request popped up on my screen. It was from my younger cousin, Manh. I promptly accepted her request. She immediately forwarded a flurry of screenshots, followed closely by a frantic voice message.

Cousin! You need to look at our extended family group chat right now! Your mother-in-law has completely lost her mind! She is screaming and cursing like a madwoman in the chat!

I opened the screenshots. It was a sprawling family group chat consisting of more than a hundred relatives. The profile picture of Thuong Thuy Lien flashed repeatedly across the screen. Everyone, come and be the judge of this! I broke my back raising a son and finding him a wife, and now this ungrateful wretch wants to turn our lives upside down! She lacks the capability to bear a son herself, so she cannot bear to see another family's granddaughter cherished and loved! She has even kidnapped my sweet granddaughter, dragging her off to some desolate, godforsaken mountain range! This woman is utterly vicious and cold-blooded; before they were married, she tricked my son Hang by claiming their apartment belonged to both of them, only for the property deed to list her name alone! Now she is attempting to throw our entire family out onto the streets! She is harboring another man behind his back! She must have plundered our family savings and eloped with some stray dog! My poor son and my poor granddaughter!

Beneath these tirades were several candid photographs of myself and a single picture of my daughter. She was weaponizing the most malicious and vile language imaginable to systematically assassinate my character, attempting to leverage public opinion to force my submission.

Unfortunately for her, she had miscalculated entirely.

With a chilling detachment, I captured screenshots of every single message and saved them meticulously to my album. Then, I replied to my cousin: Manh, do me a favor. Record a video scrolling through every single one of these images, alongside all the commentary from the relatives backing her up in the chat, and send it to me. Do not miss a single word.

Cousin, are you alright? Do you want me to jump in there and tear them to shreds in the group chat?

No need. Let them curse. The uglier the words, the better.

I responded with absolute calm. These would serve as exquisite pieces of evidence to present before the court—proof of how Thuong Thuy Lien deliberately sabotaged my reputation, and glaring testimony that the Hang household was a toxic, completely unsuitable environment for a child's upbringing. This evidence would become the heaviest counterweight in my favor, securing my absolute custody of our child.

Just as I was deep in thought, an unfamiliar number blinked onto my screen with a new message. It was Hang. Su Qing, check the kindergarten parent-group right away. Teacher Liu just sent out an urgent notice stating that a case of hand, foot, and mouth disease has broken out at the school, and every student must undergo immediate medical screening! You need to rush our daughter to the hospital this instant!

My heart plummeted violently. I immediately opened the kindergarten group chat, an app I rarely ever bothered to check. The chatroom was dead silent; the most recent message remained the regular dismissal notice sent out late yesterday afternoon. There was not a single trace of any announcement concerning an outbreak.

I narrowed my eyes and dialed the head teacher, Liu, directly.

Good morning, Teacher Liu. I am the mother of our little girl.

Ah, Little Pearl's mother! You two are away on a family vacation, correct? Are you having a wonderful time?

Teacher Liu’s tone was exceptionally warm and cordial.

Yes, thank you for your concern. I wanted to inquire whether there have been any reported cases of illness in the classroom?

No, all the children are entirely healthy. Is there something the matter?

It is nothing at all, thank you. I apologize for disturbing you.

As I ended the call, a freezing draft of air crept up the length of my spine. What a brilliantly calculated trap—flushing out the serpent from its hidden den.