Chapter 9 — This House, I Will Not Give Up

Every piece of red-stamped paper, every uniform, every sentence "suspected of committing a crime", "cooperating in investigation" was like a wall, hitting him straight. For the first time…He was silent. I stood there, watching it all happen right before my eyes. Chu Kien Quoc opened his mouth, and after a long while, he managed to get out a few words:

"This... can't be. Are you playing tricks?"

The word "she" carries resentment, stabbing straight at me. I finally took my eyes off the seal and looked straight at him.

“I just did what a citizen would do.”

My voice is not loud, but every word is clear.

"Your son transferred the marital assets, withdrew all the money from the joint account, and secretly mortgaged this house behind my back. In the loan contract, he lied about the purpose, saying it was money to repair the house. That is loan fraud."

I stopped for a moment, my eyes turned cold.

"Chu Diem and Hao Hao used that money to fill their so-called projects, and also mobilized outside capital at high interest rates. That is illegal capital mobilization."

I looked at each of them.

"You want the house, you want the money. Even if you never consider me a family member in your heart, before you reach out, you should at least think about whether... the law will cut you off."

Zhou Kien Quoc felt guilty when I looked at him and instinctively wanted to refute, but couldn't find the words. In the end, he could only lift the bag from under his feet and angrily threw it on the ground.

"You really are a piece of cake. How has our family treated you poorly? Since the wedding day, we have not let you lose face. Now that you are pregnant with the Chu family's child, and dare to send your husband to prison, aren't you afraid of retribution?"

I let out a soft sigh. I called, then laughed myself. The smile brings with it a bit of fatigue.

"Up until now, you have never considered me your daughter-in-law. Then from today, I will no longer consider you an elder."

"Before the law, there are only plaintiffs and defendants. There is no question of who is being treated well or not."

I placed my hand on my stomach, as if I was comforting the baby, but also to reassure myself.

"As for the child... he doesn't owe you Chu family anything. I will raise him and keep him away from you."

As soon as Chu Diem heard that, he said:

"On what basis do you say that? That's the grandson of the Chu family!"

“Child custody will be decided by the court upon divorce.”

I looked at her, my eyes cold and calm.

"Chu Khai transferred common property, intentionally mortgaged the house, and was also involved in illegal acts. All will be recorded in the records."

“Don't worry, when there is a verdict, I will show it to you first.”

The policeman looked at his watch and interrupted.

"Family matters must be resolved on their own. As for violations of the law, the police and courts will handle them. Now, everyone is requested to leave here immediately and not to gather and cause obstruction."

A few words made everyone speechless. Chu Kien Quoc snorted, his face extremely gloomy, but did not dare to touch the seal anymore, just turned and shouted: Chu Diem was not willing, turned his head to look at the door, then looked at me, his eyes were filled with resentment, fear, and a bit of belated confusion.

“You just wait.”

She gritted her teeth and finished speaking, turning around to carry her luggage. Hao Hao didn't say anything, just sighed, as if he finally understood— This... is not something that can be overcome with a few harsh words. They were dragging a bunch of luggage, it was tight object squeezed into the elevator. Like a defeated army. The hallway was immediately empty. Only the closed door remained, and two seals stuck on it, silently like a cold declaration. The court staff took back the file and nodded at me.

"If there is any problem, just contact me. This time you did it right, filed the property preservation application in time, the house was kept. The next thing is to wait for the session to open."

I nodded my thanks. Waiting for everyone to leave, I leaned my back against the wall. The feeling of tension from before... slowly subsided. My palms were sweaty and the back of my shirt was also wet. I closed my eyes for a moment. This is not the end. Just a stop. The real battle… lies in the courts. In every file, every page of judgment. But at least— I'm no longer a soft persimmon that people can squeeze. When I got home to my mother, I told him everything. After listening, he just sighed.

“I trust them too much.”

“I know.” I whispered, "So I want to correct my mistake. As long as I have one chance, I don't want to give up."

He didn't blame me anymore and started teaching me step by step. How to organize bank statements. How to get a notarized home purchase contract. How to extract recordings and messages, select the beneficial parts. Even that part— I hid in the fire escape and overheard their conversation.

“That recording is very important.”

He pointed at the computer screen.

"My father-in-law clearly said 'the house will be left to his youngest son as a wedding house', and also said 'let me go to my mother's house to stay for a few days'. These sentences are enough to prove that they intend to collude and appropriate common property."

“But at that time I was so scared, I could only write half…”

I have some regrets.

“Half is enough.”

He smiled lightly.