Chapter 7 — The Child You Never Knew

On the fourth day Wen Tam Duyet joined the group, something happened. In the afternoon, the outdoor scene was filmed, the theme was "Family Sports Festival". Six families, plus Wen Tam Duyet, played games together on the lawn. One part is a relay race, where children run the first half, and parents or instructors run the second half. Wen Tam Duyet was grouped with another boy. That is Trieu Hang's son, a six-year-old boy named Trieu Nhac Nhac. He is quite introverted and doesn't run very fast. After the relay race began, Trieu Nhac Nhac ran last. When handing over the baton, his hands shook and he dropped the baton to the ground. When On Tam Duyet bent down to pick it up, the camera angle happened to be obscured by the parents of the teams in front. That gap should not exceed two seconds. But Tieu Chau saw it. At that time, he was standing outside the yard waiting, because his group had finished running. He saw that when Wen Tam Duyet bent down to pick up the stick, his other hand pinched the inside of Trieu Nhac Nhac's arm very hard. The movement was extremely fast, when he let go of his finger, Trieu Nhac Nhac began to cry. On Tam Duyet immediately hugged Trieu Nhac Nhac, who was sobbing, and said to the surrounding staff: "The boy fell, he must have been in a bit of pain. It's okay, it's okay, I'm here." Trieu Hang ran to pick up his child: "What's wrong, child? Where did you fall?" Trieu Nhac Nhac cried so much that he couldn't speak, he just held his father's shirt tightly. On Tam Duyet stood next to him and said gently: "The boy fell a little, I saw his knees touching the ground. He's probably scared, let dad hold him and comfort him a bit." Trieu Hang nodded gratefully: "Thank you, Tam Duyet, for taking care of me." No one doubts this statement. Except Tieu Chau. That night back at the hotel, Tieu Chau sat on the bed, waiting for Khuong Niem to pour him a cup of warm water before saying: "Mom, that girl pinched that friend's arm today." Khuong Niem was arranging things for tomorrow, her movements stopped. “Did you see it?”

"I saw it. When she picked up the stick, she used her right hand to pinch Nhac Nhac here." Tieu Chau pointed to the inside of her arm, "Very strong, Nhac Nhac is crying. It's not because she fell."

Khuong Niem walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking straight into her child's eyes. “Did anyone else see it?” Tieu Chau thought for a moment then shook her head. “I'm the only one standing in that direction.”

“Are you sure you can see clearly?”

“Sure.” Tieu Chau's voice was very assertive, without any hesitation or embellishments that are common in children when narrating, "Her finger pressed in deeply and then twisted."

Khuong Niem was silent for a long time. The words of a five-year-old child, no other witnesses, no recorded images. If she brought this matter to the director's team, the result would go without saying. Wen Tam Duyet will deny it, Trieu Hang will think she is using children to make up stories, public opinion will once again engulf her.

“Mom, do you believe me?” Tieu Chau looked at her silence, for the first time a bit of insecurity appeared on her small face.

Khuong Niem opened her arms and hugged her child. "I believe in you. I will always believe in you." Tieu Chau's body relaxed, snuggling into her mother's chest without saying another word. Khuong Niem's chin rested on the top of her child's head, looking into the frosted mirror on the opposite wall. The girl in the mirror had an unsightly face, but her eyes were as dry as two stones. She picked up the baby locator watch. Daytime today Tieu Chau was not with Wen Tam Duyet, the watch did not record anything useful. But this does not mean that opportunities will not come again. She needed to wait. At two o'clock in the morning, the phone lit up. Some devices without names sent a message: *"That flowery edited clip, I have the original material here. Whenever you need it, just say a word."* Khuong Niem looked at this message and did not reply. She tucked the phone under her pillow and closed her eyes.