Chapter 26 — The Fateful Trial

*”Don't go to the Corrections Office, otherwise something will happen to the child.”* 20 Staring at that photo, my fingertips instantly turned cold. My mother's house is on the third floor. There is no balcony outside the window. Whoever captured this angle must have broken into the building opposite, or there was always someone lurking and watching us. Ha Tuan saw the photo and his expression also changed: "Who sent it?" I don't answer. The first thing I did was call my mother. The bell rang twice and someone picked up the phone. My mother's voice was very impatient: "Hoa, what's going on?"

“Where is An An, Mom?”

“Here in my mother's arms.”

I closed my eyes tightly.

"Mom, please close the window curtains immediately, don't open the door. No matter who knocks on the door, absolutely do not open it."

My mother started to get nervous: "Is the Ha family coming again?" I tried to calm my voice: "The police will be here soon." The police officer who accompanied me forwarded the photo to his colleagues, and immediately arranged a force to go to my mother's house. But my heart still cannot relax. The message was a threat. It's also a trick to buy time. They knew the Office of Corrections would review the list at ten o'clock. They wanted me to be confused between saving my child and protecting evidence. I tightened my grip on the phone and looked up at the policeman:

“On my mother's side, please take care of it. I'll go to the Corrections Office.”

Ha Tuan immediately said: "I'll go with you." I coldly responded: "If you really want to do something, then go downstairs to my mother's house. Don't let anyone from the Ha family get close to my son." His lips moved, and finally he nodded: "Okay." I sat in the police car and rushed to the Corrections Office. On the way, another text message arrived. This time it's a video. In the video, a man wearing a hat stood in the stairwell of the building opposite my mother's house, holding binoculars. He smirked at the camera. Then, the camera pans downward, revealing a black backpack at his feet. My heart jumped into my throat. The police glanced over and immediately called for backup: "Give him some time. Our people are almost there." I texted back: *"What do you want?"* The other party responded very quickly: *"Withdraw the lawsuit, sign a document certifying that sixteen-year-old Ha An An's identity is valid."* I asked: *"Who are you?"* The other party only replied with three words: *"Don't talk nonsense."* Looking at the phone screen, I suddenly remembered the word *"Vien"* scribbled in the red notebook. Someone who understands litigation, knows how to threaten and understands the time to review files. It's not necessarily Vuong Xao Tran. It's not necessarily Lam Mai. I gave the phone to the police: "Can you locate it?"

“Looking in progress.”

The car sped along the road. At nine fifty-five, we arrived at the Inter-Agency Office for the Improvement of the Old West Quarter. The hall was crowded with people. The electronic board on the wall has the last red text: *"Final review of the list of people compensated for resettlement"*. As soon as I walked through the door, I heard Lam Mai's voice:

“Our house records are complete, on what basis can we not approve them?”

Wasn't she jumping from the emergency room building? At this moment, she was sitting in front of the counter. Although her face was pale, her spirit was still very full. Standing next to her is Tong Uyen. And also Ha Binh. Ha Binh stood very far away from them, like Maybe there's an invisible wall separating him from all of this. Seeing me, Lam Mai's eyes shrank and became aggressive: "What are you doing here?" I walked up to the counter, slammed the police receipt and the list of sealed documents on the table.

"This resettlement household has committed serious identity falsification. I request to immediately stop the review."

The employee frowned: "Are you a family member?"