Chapter 1 — The House She Left Behind

I have a small, old apartment in my name, a memory my grandmother left me. My cousin took advantage of my time on a business trip to steal the key from my mother, rummaged through my belongings and found the house ownership certificate. He used that certificate as a fake document, mortgaged it to a private lender, and withdrew 5.5 million yuan. As soon as the money was in his hands, he immediately flew his wife and children abroad. Today, the debt collector led five or six strong men to block my front door, saying that if I didn't move out, he would destroy it. My mother was so scared that she was shaking and kept begging me to think of a way. I threw a file in the broker's face: "This house was put into the clearance boundary two years ago, and the ownership has also been deregistered." “The mortgage contract in your hand is just a piece of paper.” 01 When I got home, there were three strange men waiting at the door. The hallway light is half broken, the leader is wearing a black jacket, holding a file in his hand. My mother, Ha Ngoc Tran, crouched behind the door, her face pale, her hand still holding tightly to the door chain. “Duong Duong, you're finally home.” Her voice trembled. The man in the black coat looked up at me. “Are you Duong Duong?” I stopped my suitcase by my feet. "What is up?" He slammed the file on the door. "This house has been mortgaged to our company. The borrower is overdue, the other also ran away. Today we are coming to collect the house." I do not accept applications. “Who borrowed?” “Chiang Chengze.” Hearing this name, my mother's shoulders shook. Chiang Thua Trach is my cousin. Also the son of my mother's biological sister, Ha Ngoc Mai. The man in the black coat continued. “He used the certificate of ownership of this house as collateral, borrowing 5.5 million yuan.” "Now both principal and interest cannot be paid, and no one can contact me." “We take over mortgaged assets according to the contract.” I looked at my mother. “Where is the certificate?” My mother's eyes avoided. My heart sank. This small, old apartment was left to me by my grandmother. The house is not big, the walls are peeling, the kitchen also leaks. But before she passed away, my grandmother held my hand and said that this house was left to me and not to be given to anyone. Over the years, I have always locked the certificate in the deepest drawer of my bedroom drawer. Only my mother and I know where the key is. Behind the man in a black coat, a guy with a tattoo on his arm lost patience. “Don't pretend you don't know.” “All documents and contract are there.” “If you all move out today, everyone will be able to save face.” “If you don't clean it up, we'll help you clean it up.” My mother was scared and grabbed my sleeve. “Duong Duong, don't confront them.” “Maybe your cousin was just confused for a moment.” I looked at her hand. That hand has cooked for me since childhood, paid my tuition, but also pushed me out in front of relatives time and time again to make concessions. “How did he get the key?” I asked. My mother's lips moved. "The day I went on a business trip, my eldest aunt said Thua Trach wanted to get my grandmother's old medical records." “It said the medical records might be in a drawer.” “Mom immediately gave him the spare key.” “How did you know he would search for the house certificate?” The man in the black coat laughed. "Let's leave family matters behind and then slowly quarrel." “Now the house is handled by us.” I held out my hand. “Give me the file.” He brought the contract over. The contract is very complete. Borrower, collateral address, certificate number, signature, fingerprints. There are also a few copies of my home ownership certificate. The most dazzling is a power of attorney. It is written above that I authorize Tuong Thua Trach to carry out mortgage procedures on my behalf. In the signature section is my name. The handwriting is very similar. But I never signed it. I raised my head. “This signature is fake.” The expression of the person wearing the black coat did not change. “If you say it's fake, is it fake?” “We found a broker, found an appraiser, and even went through the witnessing process.” “The real money has been transferred.” "Your relatives lied to us. Don't just say one word that it's fake and then brush it all off." My mother was impatient. “Then you guys go find Thua Trach!” "The money was borrowed by him, so why did he find us?" The tattooed guy walked up to the grave

t steps. “He used your house to borrow money.” “If we don't look for you, then who will we look for?” The neighbor's door was slightly ajar. Someone stuck their head out to look and then quickly pulled back. I closed the contract. “Did you come today to negotiate or to cause trouble?” The man in the black coat stared at me. “We just need the house.” “Give you two hours.” “After two hours, we will clean out the contents.” My mother's legs were weak, almost sitting on the ground. I helped her. She grabbed me, crying until she couldn't breathe. “Duong Duong, what should I do?” “This is the house my grandmother left me.” “Let's call aunt first.” I looked at her. “Are you just now thinking about calling?” She was stunned. I took the phone and called Ha Ngoc Mai. The bell rang for a long time. No one answered the phone. I called Chiang Thua Trach again. Phone turned off. I called the third number. It's Phuong Nghien. Jiang Chengze's wife. Phone is connected. The other end was very quiet, like being in a business class lounge at the airport. Phuong Nghien's voice was very low. “Duong Duong?” I turned on the speakerphone. “Where is Tuong Thua Ze?” She was silent for two seconds. "I do not know." “You don't know?” “A few days ago he said he was going to discuss business.” When the man in the black coat heard that, his smile became even colder. I asked. “Did he take you and the child abroad?” On the other end came the sound of children speaking English. Phuong Nghien immediately covered the microphone. But it's late. My mother's face turned pale. The eyes of the person wearing the black coat also changed. He took a step forward. “Your whole family colluded?” I didn't pay attention to him. I spoke into the phone. “Phuong Nghien, about 5.5 million yuan, how much do you know?” Phuong Nghien's voice was confused. “I just knew he was in debt.” “I advised him.” “I really advised it.” “Duong Duong, he said it was only a temporary rotation, he would return it soon.” "He also talked about the house, your family will handle it." My mother felt like she had just been slapped. “Our house is settled?” I stared at the phone. “What else did he say?” Phuong Nghien gasped. “He said the house certificate is in his hand.” "He said your mother was soft-hearted and you wouldn't really sue him." My mother let go of my sleeve, her whole body stiffened. The person wearing a black coat held a cigarette in his mouth but did not light it. “Hear that?” “Your relatives have already admitted it.” “Now it's not like we're not reasonable.” I hung up. The hallway became silent. My mother cried and shook her head. “I don't know.” “Duong Duong, I really don't know.” I pushed the suitcase against the wall. “I don't know, but I gave you the key.” She bowed her head. I looked at the person in the black coat. “What's your name?” “La Khai.” “Which company?” He gave me a business card. “Hang Thai Property.” I glanced over. “Manager La, I won't clean today.” The tattooed guy smiled coldly. “Then don't blame us for not being polite.” I nodded. “You guys just don't be polite.” “But if you touch the door, touch the lock, touch any item in my house, I will immediately report to the police.” La Khai's face darkened. “Calling the police is useless.” “The contract is here.” I stuffed my business card into my pocket. "Whether or not the contract works is not for you to decide." I turned around and went back into the house. Mother quickly followed. “Duong Duong, what are you going to do?” I opened the bedroom drawer. The inside was ransacked. Old photos, medical records, and the red cloth bag left by my grandmother were all pulled out. The deepest iron box was empty. The home ownership certificate has disappeared. But at the bottom of the iron box there is still a bag of kraft paper documents. I took it out. The mouth of the bag has turned yellow. On it were written four words. Documents on renovation of old area. Mom saw it and was stunned. “What is this?” I don't answer. Outside the door, La Khai's cold voice echoed. “Miss Duong, time starts counting now.” I tore the seal on the file bag. The first piece of paper inside was revealed. The red seal is very clear. 02 I don't take my file bag out. It's not time yet. The people La Khai led to blocked the door like a wall. My mother sat on the sofa, her fingers twisting the hem of her shirt. She always looked at me. “Dang Du

Well, what's in that bag?" I put the folder in my bag. “Something that saves lives.” Her lips trembled. “Did you already know something would happen to Thua Trach?” I looked at the ransacked drawer. “I didn't know what would happen to him.” “But I know Mom will soften.” Her eye sockets turned red. “I am your mother.” “The eldest aunt is also my mother's older sister.” “Thua Trach lost his father when he was young, and my grandmother used to love him too.” "I can't stand by and watch as he has no way to live." I pulled out a chair and sat down. “So I took the house my grandmother left me to pave the way for him.” Her face was pale. “I don't think so.” “I just gave him the key.” “How did you know he would do something like this?” There was a knock outside the door. La Khai knocked three times, neither heavy nor light. “Miss Duong, don't waste time.” “We don't want to make this unsightly.” I went to the door. "This contract belongs to you, who is the witness?" La Khai raised his eyebrows. “You want to investigate?” "Of course." He pulled another set of documents from the clipboard. "On the day of signing the contract, the borrower brings the original house certificate, a copy of her identification card and power of attorney." “At the scene there were also brokers and witnesses.” “We also called to verify.” I asked. “Who to call?” La Khai paused. “Call yourself.” I laughed. “It's me?” He handed over a note. Above is the verification phone number, but it's not mine. I turned on the phone screen for him to see. “Look clearly.” “This is my number.” La Khai's face finally changed. He took the note, frowned and looked at it for a few seconds. The tattooed guy spoke in a low voice. "Mr. Khai, has the other party ever given a fake number?" La Khai glanced at him. “Shut up.” I looked at La Khai. “Before disbursing the money, you didn't even check the owner's phone number.” “Now you're running to knock on my door?” La Khai was silent. But he quickly calmed down. “Miss Duong, even if the process is flawed, the house certificate is real.” “The collateral is also real.” "Your relatives used your house to fraudulently borrow money. Your family cannot deny responsibility." “We lost 5.5 million yuan, we can't leave empty-handed.” I nodded. “So you should call the police.” “Go find Jiang Chengze.” La Khai's eyes darkened. “He left the country.” “Of course we will look.” “But this house is the only thing that can be grasped.” Hearing about leaving the country, my mother's whole body shook. “Did it really run away?” I didn't reply. At that moment, the elevator door opened. A woman wearing a beige windbreaker ran out. Her hair was a bit messy, and she was carrying a cloth bag in her hand. My mother stood up. “Eldest sister.” Ha Ngoc Mai has arrived. As soon as she saw the people standing outside the door, she frowned. “Who are you?” La Khai gave her the contract. “Your son borrowed money and didn't pay it back.”