Chapter 12 — The Day I Overthrew My Husband's Family

A photo of Zhou Jianjun's grave site, I just found it online. Below, I wrote a short sentence.

“Uncle Chu's death anniversary… is coming soon, right?”

After sending, I put my phone aside, turned it on and drove straight to the cemetery in the west of the city. I didn't go to the grave. I just need to wait. Waiting for the prey to come on its own. Sure enough, less than an hour later, a black Mercedes drove like crazy, braking suddenly in front of the cemetery gate. The car door opened, Luu Ngoc Mai almost fell to the ground, her hair disheveled, her face pale, her eyes filled with panic. She rushed inside like a lunatic, looking around frantically, as if looking for a ghost. Chu Van Ban also ran after her, trying to hold her but could not keep up.

"Who! Who sent the message!" he asked in panic.

Luu Ngoc Mai did not answer, just screamed in the empty space.

"Tham Nguyet! Is that you?"

"You come out! What do you want to do!"

The screams echoed in the cemetery, so sad it was funny. I sat in the car, looking at everything through the window, not getting out. It's not the time yet. The fish has just taken the bait, we have to let it struggle a little more in fear. I picked up my phone and sent another text message.

“Those medicine bottles from that year… did you bury them deep enough?”

As soon as the message was sent, I saw Luu Ngoc Mai's body stiffen. She stood dumbfounded, slowly lowering her head to look at the phone. In an instant, all the blood on his face disappeared. It's the fear of a secret being torn apart. A shrill scream rang out, and she fell to the ground as if her soul had been drained out. Chu Van Ban panicked, hugged her and shook her vigorously.

"Mom! What's wrong with you!"

But Luu Ngoc Mai just stared, her eyes empty, her mouth mumbling.

“It knows… it knows everything…”

“It's done… it's all done…”

I looked at that scene without a wave in my heart. My plan was half successful. Her psychological defense has broken. Now I just need one last piece of the puzzle. A key to open that door of sin. I started the engine, left the cemetery, headed towards an old residential area in the suburbs. Ton Chi Cuong's house. The man who took the blame for her for fifteen years had his entire life ruined. I believe… the final secret is in his hands. I stopped the car, walked to the door, raised my hand and knocked. The door softly echoed with deep sounds... like knocking on a past that had never truly slept. The person who opened the door was not Ton Chi Cuong, but Ton Hieu Hieu. As soon as she saw me, she froze for a second and then immediately became happy and surprised.

“Sister Tham Nguyet!”

Ton Chi Cuong also walked out from inside, his back slightly hunched, the traces of time and fifteen years of imprisonment clearly visible on his face.

“Miss Tham.” He still kept his distance and spoke politely.

I don't beat around the bush.

“Uncle Sun, today I came to ask you something.”

I looked straight into his eyes, each word falling slowly.

“More than twenty years ago, you shouldered the crime for Liu Ngoc Mai… not just twenty thousand, right?”

His body shook violently, the glass in his hand fell to the ground and broke. His face instantly turned pale, exactly like Luu Ngoc Mai's expression when I cornered him. It was the fear of a nightmare dug up from the depths of memory. Ton Chi Cuong stood still, his lips trembled but he could not say a word. Ton Hieu Hieu panicked and caught it grandfather.

“Dad, what's wrong?”

But he didn't seem to hear, his eyes were still fixed on me, torn between fear and torment.

“Miss Tham…” his voice was hoarse as if it had been sanded through sand.

“What… what do you know?”

“I just know that it's not just about money that you're responsible for.” I calmly replied.

“I also know she asked you to handle some potions.”

“She said it was medicine for her son, right?”

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with fear.

“You…how do you know!”

“Because she also used that reason to deceive my father.”

My words were like a key, opening the door of memories that he had tried to bury for twenty years. He shook his head in pain, tears rolling down his wrinkled face.

“It's not… it's not like that…”

“She tricked me… tricked us all…”

He choked, his voice cracking.

"That day she came to me, knelt down in front of me, cried and said her son was seriously ill and was about to die."

"He said he had to take the money from the factory out of necessity, then gave me fifty thousand and asked me to take the blame for him."

“She said that if I went to prison for a few years, she would take care of my wife and children for the rest of my life…”

“I believe… I foolishly believe…”

He pounded his chest hard, each heavy sound resounding.

“I went to prison, but before my wife could wait for me to come out, she died of exhaustion.”

“My daughter had to drop out of school to wash dishes to make a living…”

“And she… lives like someone above others!”

His voice was full of resentment, bitter to the bone.