Chapter 2 — The Gift I Left After My Divorce

Chu Minh Hien's mind... stopped working for three seconds. He was completely unable to process what was happening before his eyes. That face. Those pajamas. The familiar layout of the room. They were all telling him one thing— The person lying on the bed… was me. The person who had just divorced him had just left empty-handed and had just disappeared without a trace. Die right in this house. Died in a horrifyingly tragic way. His first reaction… was not heartbreak. It's fear. A cold fear, penetrating to the bone marrow. Just finished moving house for him... am I going to die here again? The house in the blink of an eye from heaven... turned into a hot potato. A house with a murder. He will become the number one suspect. Just received transfer. The most obvious motive for murder. Chu Dinh also rushed up, and as soon as he saw the scene in the room, he screamed louder than Truong Lan. Her husband followed closely behind, and as soon as he saw her, his legs went limp and he sat down on the ground. The whole villa... was immediately engulfed in screams and panic. Chu Minh Hien's body began to tremble uncontrollably. He wants to run. Want to leave this place immediately. But it's not possible. His mother was still lying unconscious on the ground.

“Report… report to the police…”

His lips trembled, it was difficult for him to utter two words.

“Quick… call the police!”

Chu Dinh's husband, Ly Vi, frantically took out his phone. My hands were shaking so much I couldn't open the screen lock. Tried several times before calling 110.

“Hello… 1… 110, right?”

"Our place is... Lam Vinh villa number 1... someone died!"

“There was a murder!!”

His voice trembled, he almost burst into tears, and his speech was confused. Chu Minh Hien finally regained some reason. He grabbed the phone.

“Comrade police, I am Chu Minh Hien… I confess… no, I report!”

“My ex-wife, To Tham… she… seems to have been killed!”

“Right in my house!”

“Come quickly!”

Hanging up the phone, his whole body seemed to be drained of strength. Lean against the wall, slowly slide down. Empty eyes looked into the room. That tie… It's what he wore to the meeting last week. After returning home, I personally put it in the dressing room. Why here? Still stained with “blood”? His mind was a mess. Scary thoughts are like poisonous snakes crawling into the brain. His life... is over. The house he dreams of. The future he thought he had in his hands. They all melted into foam the moment they opened that door. Police sirens sounded from afar, gradually getting closer. Very quickly, the shrill sound stopped in front of the villa door. Several police officers in uniform rushed in.

"Police! Who reported the crime?"

Chu Minh Hien seemed to see a life buoy and tried to stand up.

"Me! I'm the one who reported!"

“Up… upstairs!”

The police immediately ran to the second floor. Seeing the scene in the room, everyone's face changed. They quickly sealed off the scene.

"Secure the scene! Everyone stand still!"

An older policeman stepped forward and looked at Chu Minh Hien.

"Are you Chu Minh Hien? Is the victim your ex-wife?"

“Yes… yes…”

“When will you divorce?”

“This afternoon…”

“After the divorce, she moved house to you?”

“Yes… effective today…”

The policeman's eyes immediately turned cold.

“Follow us back to work.”

Chu Minh Hien's legs were soft and he almost fell down again. He knows... I could jump into the river Can't wash it off anymore. At the same time. The ambulance also arrived. Medical staff carried the unconscious Truong Lan onto a stretcher. Forensics and technicians began examining the scene. The entire Chu family... became a mess. Sitting in a hotel thousands of kilometers away. Look at the livestream sent by you. In the video, police lights flash continuously, neighbors poke their heads in to hear what's going on. Chu Minh Hien was handcuffed and absent-mindedly escorted to a police car. I took a sip of wine. The corners of the lips curled slightly. A smile... it's been a long time since I've had it again. Chu Minh Hien, this is just an appetizer. Do you think I just want you to be a suspect? What I want… more. I want you to personally turn what you cherish most... into trash. I want you and that greedy family… to be crucified forever on a pole of shame. Locked in the very "home" you crave. Forever... unable to raise my head. Chu Minh Hien was kept in the interrogation room for eight hours. The cold white light shined straight down, making his face look even more haggard. He repeated the same sentence over and over again.

"I do not know."

“I really don't know anything.”

“When I arrived… that thing was already there…”

He didn't dare use the word "corpse". I don't even dare to remember that scene. The police interrogated Vuong, a veteran investigator. His eyes were sharp as knives, not missing any changes on Chu Minh Hien's face.

"This afternoon, you and the victim just filed for divorce."

“She left empty-handed and gave me a villa worth tens of millions.”

"According to our investigation, your marriage is not happy. She did not agree to a divorce, so you forced her to sign."

“We… are in a broken relationship…”

"Just after moving house for you, you turned around and died right in that house. Do you think this is reasonable?"

Police Officer Wang's voice, each word was like a hammer hitting his nerves. Chu Minh Hien had no words to argue. He knows, whether legally or logically... he is the biggest suspect. His life seemed to have come to an end. Just as he was about to collapse, the interrogation room door opened. A young police officer walked in, leaned close to Police Officer Vuong's ear and whispered a few words. Officer Wang's expression immediately became extremely strange. From surprise... to disbelief... then turned into a kind of crying and laughing, mixed with anger and helplessness. He picked up the documents on the table and looked at them again. Then he raised his head and looked at Chu Minh Hien with completely different eyes. There are reviews. There is pity.

“Chu Minh Hien.”

“Your ex-wife, To Tham… is an artist?”

Chu Minh Hien was stunned.

"Artist? Her? She's just a housewife..."

“So how do you explain this?”

Officer Wang pushed a stack of printed papers towards him. That's my social media page. Above are all the works I posted over the past half year. Each work revolves around family, marriage, and bondage. The style is dark, strange, full of visual impact. Latest post… was yesterday. A piece of my autobiography.

“My new work, ‘Dowry’, has completed its final stage of staging.”

“It wants to talk about, when a woman gives everything for marriage, what will she get in return in the end.”

“Maybe one epic death, can also be a mythical rebirth.”

“Tomorrow, it will welcome its first, and only, audience.”

“Looking forward to their reaction.”

Chu Minh Hien's eyes gradually widened. His mouth opened… but no sound came out. Officer Wang tapped lightly on the table.

“We just contacted To Tham's lawyer.”

"The lawyer said that she is currently elsewhere getting inspiration for her work, and expressed regret that you guys had invaded her 'art scene'."

“She also said, everything in the master bedroom… is her unfinished work.”

“That ‘body’, is a hyper-realistic silicon figure, custom-made from abroad, 1:1 scale.”

“And ‘blood’… is a prop used in movies.”

“About the tie…”

Police Officer Wang stopped for a moment, his smirk almost spilling out of his eyes.

“She thought it was the clearest symbol of ‘bondage’ and ‘violence’.”

“Chu Minh Hien, the forensic and technical assessment reports are also available.”

"There were no human organs at the scene. The so-called blood was also confirmed to be a prop."

“In other words…”

“There was no murder.”

“It was all just an artistic performance by your ex-wife.”