Chapter 9 — Trust is not for others to take advantage of

When I finished taking the testimony at the police station, it was already one o'clock in the morning. Hua Lam and lawyer Tran sat next to me. Lawyer Tran is a quiet person. As soon as he arrived, he arranged all the documents in the correct order. Copy of house ownership certificate. House purchase contract. Repair contract. Key holder authorization agreement. Property invoice. Lock management permission change history. Original video from surveillance camera. Evidence collection records from home rental platforms. Notarized copies of photos of Trieu Khai Thanh's WeChat post and Co Man's Tieu Hong Thu post. Mr. Trinh's transfer history. Officer La turned to the key authorization agreement page and looked up at me.

"In the contract addendum, the location of the camera is clearly stated."

I nodded.

"They signed the confirmation."

He asked again:

"The assets in the office cabinet, have you informed them before?"

I gave him a photo of the announcement in the WeChat group.

"This afternoon, before five o'clock, I sent out a notice, clearly stating not to open the cabinet, not to move or sell any items."

Attorney Tran added:

"This point is very important to prove the element of intention."

A young policeman came out to pour water and said in a low voice:

"Inside, we are still blaming each other."

I looked towards the testimony room. Even though it was a door away, I could clearly hear Co Man crying.

"I didn't know that house really belonged to her. I thought Khai Thanh could handle it!"

Trieu Khai Thanh's voice was even louder.

"The contract was given to me by Ha Minh! The seal was also sent by him!"

Ha Minh shouted:

"I only told you not to use the company's system, I didn't tell you to cheat!"

Officer La tapped lightly on the table. It was quiet inside for a second. Then they continued to argue. Hua Lam looked at me.

"Are you okay?"

She frowned.

"Stop trying so hard."

I looked at the paper cup in my hand.

"I must be fine."

"My house is still waiting for me to clean."

"The damage is still waiting for me to calculate."

"The cat is still deposited at your house."

"I still have to take leave from work tomorrow."

Hua Lam did not say anything more. At two o'clock in the morning, police officer La came out.

"Through initial verification, Trieu Khai Thanh impersonated a relative of the homeowner, forged a power of attorney, and received from Mr. Trinh 214,000 yuan including rent and deposit."

"Most of the assets removed from her home have been recovered."

"The jade bracelet shows signs of damage. It will have to be assessed later."

"Ha Minh is suspected of providing contract samples and scans of the company's seal. We will continue to investigate."

"How will they be handled?"

Police La replied:

"We still have to wait for the results of the investigation and conclusions of the prosecutor's office."

"The acts of fraud, theft and falsification of documents, the amount of money involved is not small."

"Remember to keep all documents carefully."

Mr. Trinh is also taking testimony next to him. As soon as he saw me, he immediately looked guilty.

"Miss Tham, I'm sorry. I really didn't know."

"You are also a victim."

He sighed.

"My wife is pregnant. We just want to rent a clean house."

"Trieu Khai Thanh said this is his sister's dowry house, so he rented it cheap because he needed money."

Dowry house. I almost burst out laughing again. Trieu Khai Thanh's mouth... It really should be evaluated. Co Man asked to meet me. Police La arrived convey.

"She said she wanted to apologize and asked for a chance."

I turned to ask lawyer Tran:

"Should we meet?"

Lawyer Tran replied:

"If you want to listen, just listen."

"No promises."

"Don't sign any papers."

"No private conversations."

I nodded. When Co Man was taken out, her makeup was all smudged. Eyeliner smudged down the corner of the eye. The hair accessories used at the wedding have not been removed yet. As soon as she saw me, she burst into tears.

"Miss Tham, I was wrong."

"Khai Thanh said the house was usable so I followed him in."

"It's also what he told me to get."

"My wedding guests have all arrived tomorrow."

"Can you temporarily not prosecute?"

"Once the wedding is finished, we will compensate you."

I looked at her.

"When you posted Tieu Hong Thu, you said that after half a year of renovations you could finally move in..."

"...you don't feel like you're wrong."

Her lips trembled.

"I... I just want to save face."

I asked again:

"What about when you took my jade bracelet?"

She replied softly:

"I just tried it on for a bit."

"What about when you put my projector in your suitcase?"

She was silent. I played the recording on the stairs.

"She's just a girl, her face is thin, if you threaten her a little, she'll shrink."

"That closet definitely has stuff."

"Posted it online, saying she ruined the wedding and bullied the newlyweds."

The recording has finished playing. Co Man's crying also stopped. She looked at me. There was no longer any self-pity in his eyes. Only fear remains.

"I'm sorry..."

"...just because the police came."