Chapter 18 — The Husband's Secret

Writing line by line, I discovered that these days were as short as a nightmare, but they crushed my half-life confidence. At dawn, the phone rang. It's a message from Aunt Khuong. Boss, I want to meet you once. I looked at the screen and didn't answer. A few minutes later, she sent it again. I know you won't believe me. But there is one thing I must tell you. The compatibility test of Tham Du does not only have one direction: Vien Vien. I sat up. Respond immediately. What do you mean? Aunt Khuong sent a photo. The photo is an old test result sheet. My mother-in-law's name is written on it. The written notes column and initial screening are suitable for conditions for in-depth assessment. The date is from two years ago. My finger stopped. Two years ago. At that time, Yuan Yuan was not yet born. At that time, they knew Tham Du needed to test his relatives. And also know that my mother-in-law has suitable abilities. But she did not continue with the in-depth assessment. Aunt Khuong sent it again. The old lady then refused to be re-examined. She said she couldn't risk it. She said there couldn't be only one sick person left in the Tham family. I looked at that line, my chest choked. It turns out there isn't a way. It's that they don't have the heart to go that route themselves. They were willing to let Vien Vien go for screening. But I'm not willing to personally take another blood test and do another evaluation. I asked Aunt Khuong. Why are you speaking now? She responded very slowly. Because I'm afraid. Because I also helped them deceive you. Because tonight Tieu Du asked me if my sister ran away because of you. I don't know how to answer. I closed my eyes. That child's voice rang in my ears again. Am I very evil? The boy is not bad. The bad guys are the people who use your illness as a pawn. I sent the photo to Attorney Trinh. Lawyer Trinh immediately called back. Her voice was much deeper. "This is very important." "If true, this proves that they had other relatives' options, but still surpassed the mother to promote newborn screening." "This will affect the court's verdict." I asked. "Can Aunt Khuong testify?" Lawyer Trinh said. "We have to see if she dares or not." I looked out the window. The night in the south is very quiet. In the distance, occasional car lights pass by. I texted Aunt Khuong back. Nine o'clock tomorrow morning. Meet at the lawyer's office. She answered with one word yes. But at eight thirty the next morning, Aunt Khuong did not appear. Her phone was turned off. At ten minutes past nine, Lawyer Trinh received a phone call from the police station. Said someone found a bag downstairs in the old apartment building. In the bag was Aunt Khuong's citizen identification card and a note written to me. The piece of paper has only one sentence. Boss, I'm sorry, I can't testify anymore, they've already taken Tieu Du away. 17 When I got to the police station, Aunt Khuong's bag was placed on the duty desk. It was a dark gray canvas bag with white frayed corners. The police officer said a cleaning staff at the apartment complex found it behind a flower bed. There is no phone in the bag. No wallet. Just my ID card, a bunch of keys, a pack of tissues, and a note written for me. Boss, I'm sorry, I can't testify anymore, they took Tieu Du away. The writing on the paper is crooked, as if the writer was standing and writing quickly. I stared at those words, my heart clenched. Lawyer Trinh took a photo of the piece of paper, then asked the police officer to make a record of handing over the evidence. She asked if there were cameras around. The police officer said there was one at the gate of the apartment complex, but a camera in the flower bed downstairs was broken and could only look up the surrounding routes. I asked, could Tieu Du be taken away?

where to go. No one could answer immediately. Lawyer Trinh said, don't run around. She told me to call Tham Nghien. The phone rang for a long time before someone picked up. Tham Nghien's voice was very tired. "Diep An." I asked him. "Where is Tieu Du?" He was silent for two seconds. "In a safe place." I said. "Aunt Khuong has lost contact, she said you guys took Tieu Du away." Tham Nghien's breath was low. "She shouldn't interfere." My fingers were cold. "She just wants to tell the truth." He said. "The truth can't save Tieu Du." I said. "Lies can't save Tieu Du." saved.” The other end of the line was silent for a long time. He opened his mouth, his voice was low as if coming from his chest. "Four o'clock in the afternoon, at the Family Reconciliation Center." "Come, let's talk clearly about Vien Vien's visitation." I asked. "You still want to take her to the hospital, right?" He said. "I want to see my daughter." I said. "Tham Nghien, please explain clearly about forging signatures, secretly taking samples, and arbitrarily opening the door late at night first." He doesn't deny it. receive. He just said. "Diep An, Tieu Du doesn't have much time left." I hung up. Listening further, I'm afraid I won't be able to help but tremble. Lawyer Trinh looked at me. "What did he say?" I reported what he said. Her expression darkened. “He avoided Aunt Khuong.”