Chapter 6 — The whole family shares my money

Then lean to one side. Chau Lam walked in from behind me. She was dressed neatly, carrying a briefcase in her hand. “Chau Lam, of Qi Vien Law Office, lawyer representing To Tinh.” She put the business card on the tea table. The sister-in-law's expression changed in an instant. But it quickly recovered. "Okay. Both sides have lawyers. Fair." Everyone sit down. Dad spoke first. His voice was deeper than last time. "Today we have to say it clearly. The compensation for the clearance is in Tinh's name, we know. But when this house was bought, it was not entirely her own effort." He turned to "lawyer Trinh". “Lawyer Trinh, please speak.” The man stood up and opened his briefcase. Take out a piece of paper. “This is a capital contribution certificate.” He read the content. “In May 2019, To Kien Quoc contributed 150,000 yuan for To Tinh to buy house number 3-602, Cam Vien area in the east of the city.” The paper has To Kien Quoc's signature. There is also a handwritten date. May 18, 2019. I looked at that piece of paper. Then look at dad. “Did you ever spend 150,000 yuan?” Dad nodded. “When did you give it?” "The year you bought the house. Don't you remember?" "I don't remember. Because that never happened." "I..." "Dad. The down payment for my house is 320,000 yuan. I saved 240,000 yuan myself, borrowed 80,000 yuan from colleague Truong Thien. I paid this 80,000 yuan in installments over three years. The payment history is here." Chau Lam took out a bank statement from his pocket. "This is To Tinh's bank statement for the whole year of 2019. Each income and expenditure is recorded." “There was no amount of 150,000 yuan transferred from Su Jianguo.” She placed the statement on the table. Pushed in front of "lawyer Trinh". "In addition, To Tinh's house purchase contract only has her name on it. On the loan contract there is also only her name. The down payment was transferred from To Tinh's own account, with no contributions from a third party." She took out a file again. “This is a copy of the house purchase contract.” “This is the loan approval document.” “Here is the bank document for the down payment.” Three documents. Placed one after another on the table. Then, she looked at “lawyer Trinh”. "Please ask, does this 'capital contribution certificate' have supporting bank transfer documents? How was 150,000 yuan transferred to To Tinh? Which bank? What time? What is the transaction code?" “Lawyer Trinh” was stunned. “Then it was…cash.” “150,000 yuan in cash?” "Correct." “Do you have a receipt?” "...This capital contribution certificate is..." "The capital contribution certificate is a document created by an individual, not a bank document. Anyone can write a piece of paper and say they have put in money. But what is recognized by law is the transfer history." Chau Lam pushed his business card forward again. "I am a lawyer at Qi Yuan Law Office. Which law office do you belong to?" "Lawyer Trinh's" throat moved slightly. “I… do private practice…” “What is the license number?” Silent. “Are you a lawyer?” Still silent. The sister-in-law's face changed. Chau Lam turned to her sister-in-law. "The 'lawyer' you invited cannot provide a practicing license. This 'certificate of capital contribution' also does not have any banking history to prove it." “If people use fake capital contribution certificates in legal proceedings, it can be considered falsifying evidence.” The living room was silent. “Lawyer Trinh” bowed his head and took the paper back. Sister-in-law's lips trembled. The brother looked down at the ground. Second uncle, aunt and uncle all looked at the scene before them. No one said anything. Dad sat in a chair, his face gray. He didn't look at anyone. "Okay." I spoke up. “The fake lawyer also invited.” “False evidence was also brought out.” "What other tricks are there? Take them all out." No one said anything. “Then it's my turn.” I took out my phone. “Dude, can your TV show your phone screen?” The brother did not react. Sister-in-law also did not react. "It's okay. I read it directly." I opened the first snapshot. "This is everyone's family group. The group name is 'Relief story'. In the group there are four people: dad, mom

Hey, To Loi and Hua Man.” “Without me.” I held up my phone for everyone to see. The second uncle stopped by to see. His face changed. “I will read from the beginning.” “The first text message was sent by my sister-in-law: ‘To Loi said Tinh's house is about to be demolished, we have to discuss it first.’” “Mom replied: ‘That's right, last time he said compensation money was about to be paid.’” “Dad replied: ‘I can't let him take all this money alone.’” I read each message one by one. Every time I finish reading a news story, I turn my phone toward my relatives. Let them see for themselves. Group discussions. Four versions of the plan. From dividing by per capita, dividing by level of contribution, until the final zero. Each message is verbatim. Each message has a name. Who said it, when it said it, everything is clear. Read the message from her sister-in-law: "She is not married and has no children, so what does she need so much money for?" She sighed.