Chapter 17 — The Fateful Trial

I stared at that red fingerprint and suddenly remembered that during the month of confinement, Lam Mai once brought in a bowl of soup. She said the insurance file needed additional fingerprints. She held my hand and pressed down some papers. That day I was so sleepy that I couldn't open my eyes. I thought I was reviewing hospital bill payment records. It turned out that that hand press was the seal of losing my son's identity. The police continued. Another piece of paper fell out. Not a commitment. It's a draft petition that hasn't been filed yet. In the reason for the request, write: *"Newborns have duplicate records, registration is postponed, wait until family relationship is confirmed, it will be processed later."* Before I could finish reading, Ha Binh suddenly bent down and pulled out an envelope from the bottom of the box. There was only one photo in the envelope. The background of the photo is a hospital room. I am sleeping on the bed. Lam Mai stood next to the bed, holding my son in her arms. Tong Uyen lowered her head to search my bag. Behind the photo was written a line: *"Documents received."* When I looked up, Lam Mai's eyes showed panic for the first time. But at that moment, from outside the gate downstairs suddenly came the sound of rapid footsteps. Someone shouted loudly: "The police are here, don't leave anything behind!" 14 The scream from outside the gate made everyone on the second floor stand still. The police immediately signaled us to stand still, another comrade rushed downstairs. The sound of arguing quickly rang out in the yard.

“Running what?”

“I was just passing by!”

“What is that in your hand?”

I stood at the top of the stairs, holding baby An An tightly in my arms. Ha Tuan reflexively tried to stand in front of me. I dodged aside. Now any defense from him strikes me as ironic. Moments later, the police escorted a man up. He was in his forties, wearing an old coat, clutching a black plastic bag in his hand. As soon as she saw him, Lam Mai's face became even paler: "I don't know him." The man immediately looked up: "Miss Lam, you can't say that. Didn't you tell me to come get the notebook at the bottom of the box?" Lam Mai shouted: "You lie!" The police opened the plastic bag. Inside was a wad of cash, an old phone and a red notebook. The notebook has frayed corners. Open the first page, it says *"Costs for contacting the clearance committee"*. Flipping to the back, there are lines of people's names and numbers. Named Tong Uyen. His name is Vuong Xao Tran. And there's even the word *"Vien"* written very crookedly. If Vien Bin were here right now, his face would probably be whiter than a piece of paper. The man bowed his head and said in a guilty voice: "I'm just an errand boy. Ms. Lam told me to clean up the house and asked me to bring the notebook to burn." The police asked: "Who told you?" The man pointed to the old phone: "She called me." The police opened the call history. The last call was after we left the courthouse. The name saved in the phonebook is *"Ms. Lam"*. Lam Mai's lips trembled, but she remained stubborn: "My phone was kept by you guys, how could I call?" The police officer looked at her: "Do you have a spare phone?" Lam Mai turned away and did not respond. Tong Uyen suddenly laughed coldly: "Of course she does. She doesn't use her number to do anything. When she gave me money in the past, she also asked someone else to contact me." lost." The man was taken aside for testimony. The police continued to check the red book. I saw on a page that it said: *"Duong Hoa's maternity papers, taken"*. The back has the date written on it. It was the third day after I was born. The next line reads: *"Fingerprints added, household registration temporarily suspended"*. Staring at those words, I felt cold all over.