Chapter 6 — The Family That Accused Me Now Wants Me Back

Tuesday evening, when Gia Han had just finished her shift at Thanh Tin printing factory, she stepped out of the gate and was stunned when she saw a shiny black car parked right in front of the alley leading to her boarding house. That car, with a familiar license plate, made her heart pound, memories of the past years rushing back in one moment.

The car door opened, and Ms. Chu Bao Tram stepped out first. Her appearance was still as elegant as ever, but her face was lined with more wrinkles from time and perhaps even worry. Following behind was Mr. Ninh Chan Vu, his hair was more gray than six years ago, his eyes still retained the inherent majesty but contained an insecurity that Gia Han had never seen in this man.

"Gia Han," Ms. Bao Tram called out first, her voice trembling as if she was really emotional. "Finally found you."

Gia Han stood frozen in place, her hands tightening on the handle of her bag, her whole body stiff as if she had just been doused with a bucket of cold water in the middle of summer. After six years of no contact, no deposit money, no greetings, now they stood before her again, with expressions on their faces as if they had just found their long-lost child.

"What are you two looking for me for?" She asked, her voice as cold as possible, even though her heart was churning.

"We came to apologize to you," Mr. Chan Vu said, his voice trying to be soft but still unable to hide the familiar stiffness. "For the past six years, my parents have tormented a lot about that decision. They know they were wrong."

Gia Han laughed, a dry laugh without any joy. "Six years. Three years I was in the reform school, three years I rebuilt my life from scratch, not once did you two come to me. Now, suddenly you two came here, apologizing. What happened?"

Ms. Bao Tram and Mr. Chan Vu looked at each other for a moment, a brief silence but enough for Gia Han, with a sensitivity honed over many years of self-protection, to realize there was something wrong with their hasty attitude.

"Nothing happened," Ms. Bao Tram quickly replied, her voice slightly higher than usual. "It's just that lately, mom and dad have been thinking a lot about what happened, feeling unbearable. I want you to come home, so our family has a chance to heal."

"Heal?" Gia Han repeated that word, as if tasting a strange taste in her mouth. "You two made me the one to bear the blame for Kha Ai, pushed me into a reformatory for three years, then left me to fend for myself for the next three years. Now you two use the word mend, as if everything was just a small misunderstanding that could be cleared up with an apology."

"Parents know they don't have the right to ask their children to forgive them immediately," Mr. Chan Vu said, his voice low, seemingly trying to control some emotion. "But you are still our daughter. Your room at home has remained the same for the past six years. We just hope you give your family a chance."

Gia Han looked straight into her father's eyes, trying to find some sort of sincerity in his words, but what she saw was just a worry of unknown origin, as if he was trying to complete a difficult task rather than actually expressing his feelings.

"I need to think," she said, trying to keep her voice calm. "This is so sudden."

"Just think," Mrs. Bao Tram said quickly, her eyes flashing with something like panic. "But don't wait too long, my child. Our family... our family still has many important things to deal with, and with you there, everything will be more complete."

That sentence, "more complete", made Gia Han pause. That is not the language of a sincere apology, but more like the language of a transaction that requires all parties involved to complete the procedure.

"What's important?" She asked directly, no longer being polite.

Mr. Chan Vu and Ms. Bao Tram looked at each other again, this time confusion appeared more clearly on both of their faces. "It's nothing important," Mr. Chan Vu said, his voice a bit hasty. "It's just family matters, you don't need to worry. We just want you to come back and live with your family like before."

Gia Han stood still for a moment, her eyes scanning the faces of both people in front of her, trying to read what they were trying to hide. Six years of living in absolute silence from the family, then suddenly appearing with such hasty regret, certainly not simply because the cold love suddenly flared up again.

"I'll think about it," she repeated, her voice more determined. "But I need time. You two can't come here, say a few words, and then expect me to come back as if the past six years never happened."

Mrs. Bao Tram wanted to say something more, but Mr. Chan Vu put his hand on his wife's shoulder, stopping her. "Okay, we respect your decision. This is my new phone number," he gave her a simple business card, with only his name and phone number. "When you're done thinking about it, call dad."

They got in the car and left, leaving Gia Han standing alone in the middle of a dark alley, holding a new business card in her hand, her mind full of thoughts. She walked into the motel room, closed the door, sat down on the bed, her whole body trembling from the emotions pent up during the short encounter.

That night, she couldn't sleep. She remembered every detail in the conversation, every glance, every glance exchanged hastily between her father and mother, every time they avoided a question about the "important thing" they mentioned. Something was forcing them to come to her right now, something much more urgent than a belated apology.

She recalls the image of her grandfather, Ninh Bach Dat, the only person in the family who ever treated her with affection without calculation. He was the founder of Ninh Phat Group from scratch, and had told her countless times about the difficult early years, about how he had to borrow from everywhere to have capital to build the first material factory. He always told her that, whether adopted or biological, in his eyes, she and Kha Ai were both his nieces and deserved to be loved equally. She still remembers the afternoons when he took her to visit the factory, introducing her to the veteran workers with an undisguised pride in his voice, making her feel like she really belonged to this place, to this family.

But when the accident happened, he was hospitalized due to a stroke, his health was seriously weakened, and he was not alert enough to intervene in his son's decision. Gia Han once wondered if he would have let things happen that way if he was still healthy then. She wanted to believe that he would be on the side of the truth, on her side, but in the past six years, she had never had the chance to verify that, because he passed away just one year after she entered the reformatory, while she was completely isolated from all family news.

The thought of a will, of the possibility that her grandfather had left something just for her, made Gia Han's heart stir up a complex emotion, both a faint glimmer of hope that she was still genuinely cared for by someone in that family, and also a fear that it was just another tool for the family to take advantage of, turning her grandfather's feelings for her into a pawn to serve their interests.

She tossed and turned until dawn, her mind spinning with a series of theories, until exhausted and falling into a restless sleep. When she woke up, the sunlight was filtering through the window. She quickly changed clothes and decided to meet Bach Tuong that morning to share the thoughts that had arisen during the night.

The next morning, Gia Han came to Bach Tuong's law office earlier than the usual appointment time, recounting the entire meeting last night to him, not hiding any details, including the vague feeling of insecurity growing in her heart.

Bach Tuong listened attentively, occasionally jotting down a few lines in his notebook. When she finished, he pondered for a moment and then spoke. "Six years of absolute silence, then suddenly appearing with such a hasty attitude, is definitely not simply a late regret. Perhaps there is some pressure forcing them to act right now. Do you know if there has been any special event in your family recently? Anniversary, late death anniversary, or any milestone related to the company?"

Gia Han shook her head, but then suddenly stopped, a vague memory appeared in her mind. "My grandfather passed away about five years ago. I remember, before I entered the reformatory, he was still alive, even though he was very weak. Maybe... maybe he left something behind."

Bach Tuong looked at her, his eyes flashing with the sharpness of someone who had just found the first clue in a complicated case. "If your grandfather left a will, and in it there were some provisions related to you, then that may be the reason why your family suddenly came to you now. We need to find out more about that will."