Chapter 8 — The Gift I Left After My Divorce

Those words, through the phone, were like a knife stabbing straight into Chu Minh Hien's heart. On the other side... absolute silence. I can almost see his expression right now. Terrifying. And finally… realizing it all, blankly. A secret he never knew. But it is the root of everything. It's also a wound... that never heals inside me. The baby has not yet been born... is my final limit. And they… stomped on it.

“What…what did you say?”

He finally found his voice again, but trembled soundlessly.

“Kid… I don't know… I really don't know…”

“Of course I don't know.”

I laughed coldly.

“I just know my lover needs money, my mother needs a big house.”

“My life and death, the child's life and death... what does it have to do with you?”

“Chu Minh Hien, what you ruined… was not a marriage.”

“It's a human life.”

“Do you think that one human life… can be compensated by using a house?”

He was completely silent. There was only the sound of chaotic gasps.

“I called you… not to hear you apologize.”

My voice became calm again. A kind of calm without temperature.

“I called… to tell you my next step.”

“I started an art foundation.”

"Specializes in helping women who are hurt in marriage and forced to leave empty-handed."

“The first project… is to buy houses that have been labeled ‘problematic’ or have been discriminated against.”

“We will buy it at a very low price, then renovate it into a studio for artists, or a public exhibition space.”

“Your house… is very representative.”

“I asked a lawyer to submit a purchase proposal.”

“Price… one-tenth of the market.”

“One hundred fifty thousand.”

I say every word clearly. A number... full of humiliation.

“You… you were dreaming!”

Chu Minh Hien seemed to have his tail stepped on and screamed.

“I would rather burn it than sell it to you!”

"Really?"

I smiled slightly.

“You may not sell.”

“Then it will forever lie dead in your hands.”

“Every month you have to pay the loan and management fees.”

“And you… lost your job.”

“My mother needs money for medical treatment.”

“My sister is divorcing and also needs money.”

“Chu Minh Hien… try to calculate, how long can you resist?”

I spell out each point. Obviously, not a single thing was left out. Each one… was pressure on him.

“I can tell you one more thing.”

“Buying that house… was just the first step.”

“Once I have it, I will keep it as it is, turning it into a permanent exhibition.”

“I have already thought about my name.”

“‘The Grave of the Greedy’.”

“I will tell the whole story of you and your family.”

“Put it right in front of the door.”

“So that anyone who walks in... will know what happened to this place.”

“At that time... you Chu family will truly be 'famous'.”

There was a loud banging sound on the other side. He must have thrown something.

"To Tham! You're crazy! You're a devil!"

I hung up. I know… he will agree. He had no other choice. Sell it to me for one hundred fifty thousand, although it's humiliating... but at least you have the money to hold on. If not... they will be dragged down the cliff by that house. My final blow… he won't be able to take it. He is the type of person who is extremely dignified. Letting the whole family become a public laughingstock… is more painful than being killed. And I win. In a way he couldn't understand…nor resist. I do not use violence. Don't use dirty tricks. I just… fueled his greed. Then he stood and watched... he blew himself up.