Chapter 23 — The Fateful Trial

When the video ran to the final seconds, another man appeared in the frame. He stood at the door of the hospital room, not entering. But his profile was captured clearly by the camera. Ha Tuan. He saw Lam Mai taking my papers. He didn't stop him at all. He just gently closed the door. 18 I looked at the man closing the door on the screen, his chest felt like something was weighing him down. It turns out he didn't find out until later. From the beginning he was standing outside the door. I used to think that on the most miserable days of confinement, he was running around because of me, because of the children. But what he tried to hide was not my mother and I. It's his mother's secret. The police copied the video to seal it, then asked the archivist if it was possible to restore the activity history on the system. The archivist said it needed coordination from the hospital's IT department. The police immediately contacted the person in charge of the hospital and asked to reserve the server. I stood in front of the old medicine warehouse and suddenly felt so tired that breathing became difficult. The phone rang again. This time it's still Ha Tuan. I answered the phone. The other end of the line was very noisy, it seemed like it was in the hospital hallway.

"Duong Hoa, your mother is really in the emergency room. Can you come here first?"

I calmly asked: "Ha Tuan, do you still think until now that as long as she is in a hospital bed, I have to put everything aside to forgive?" The other end of the line was silent. I continued: "I'm in the storage room in the basement of the old building. I've seen the camera footage. You're standing outside the door, watching your mother steal my papers." Ha Tuan's breathing suddenly became disordered:

"Duong Hoa, at that time I didn't know my mother would do so many things. She said she would just photocopy the documents. I really didn't expect things to turn out like this."

"I know she took your papers. I know you didn't agree. I know An An hasn't been registered yet."

I said every word: "You know everything, but you choose to let me know nothing." He choked for a long time: "You are wrong." Hearing these three words, I suddenly felt my heart not waver at all.

"Your mistake, keep it to tell the police. Our marriage, keep it to tell the lawyer."

I hung up the phone. This time, I didn't cry. When people are in extreme pain, tears seem to freeze. The police took away all the files that Director Tien hid. Ms. Ly was also taken to the station to give her testimony. Lam Quoc Cuong was still cursing while being escorted to the police car:

"You think you can win with these things? The system is not a piece of paper. Without the right to make final edits, your son is still stuck."

I stopped walking. The corner of his mouth curled up in a malicious smile:

"Lam Mai has blocked all avenues of retreat. As long as the general application has not been submitted, your son will forever be without a household registration. In the future, schooling, health insurance, inheritance, everything will be enough to drag you to death."

The police pushed him into the car. But the words he said were like needles stuck in my heart. Evidence can prove that they did evil. But An An's household registration still cannot return to the boy. When I carried my portfolio back to my mother's house, the clock struck two in the morning. Baby An An sleeps in the crib, mouth open she opened her mouth slightly. My mother sat next to me, staying up all night without sleeping. Seeing me return, she quickly stood up: "Have you found me yet?" I nodded, then shook my head again: "I found evidence. But the household registration has not been restored yet." My mother's eyes were red: "Why did this happen?" I sat down next to the cradle, looking at An An's tiny hand. The boy still cannot take charge of his own destiny. So I have to be the one to hold it for my child.