Chapter 1 — Twenty Years of Payment

“Miss, the balance is 6,115,000 yuan (≈ 21.4 billion VND), are you sure you want to deposit the entire fixed term?”

The teller shook his hands and looked at me like he was looking at a crazy person. I clenched my teeth and looked in the mirror—my face was so pale it was scary.

"Send. Send for 20 years. The kind that... no one can pull out."

As soon as I walked out of the bank, my phone rang.

“Lin Khe, that's the money I used to buy your life, do you dare lock it up?”

The familiar voice was chilling. It's my husband—the one who just "died in action" half a month ago. On the phone, he laughed hoarsely. Behind me was the sound of my daughter crying. He's not dead. He just wanted to kill his wife to get the insurance money, then change his identity and run away with the money. But he miscalculated one step. I... will also block his life for these 20 years.

"Miss, this amount of money is very large. If you deposit it for a 20-year term, withdrawing it midway will lose a lot of interest..."

The staff's voice trembled. I stared at the glass counter, my nails digging into my palms.

"I confirm. Send."

“Twenty years?”

She pushed her glasses and asked again.

"Yes. 20 years. Except for me—must have ID card and facial recognition—no one is allowed to touch this money."

Every word I said was cold as ice. The employee swallowed and bowed his head to work. The sound of typing on the keyboard echoed in the VIP room, deafening and suffocating.

“Done, miss, this is the savings book.”

I received the paper, my fingertips shaking slightly. As soon as I stepped out of the bank, hot air rushed in. The phone in my pocket vibrated continuously.

“I heard.”

"Lam Khe, you're really brave. You dare touch my money."

The voice was low and familiar. My whole body stiffened.

"Tham Tu? Haven't you..."

“Died in the fire half a month ago, right?”

He laughed, his voice hoarse and creepy.

"You... aren't dead yet? So who is that body?"

"Not important."

His voice suddenly tightened.

"The important thing is that more than 6 million yuan—6,115,000 yuan (≈ 21.4 billion VND)—is money I exchanged online. You dare to lock it for 20 years?"

I tightened my grip on the phone.

"That's your salary and insurance money. Tham Tu, you're breaking the law."

“Breaking the law?”

He smirked.

“Lin Khe, you are so naive.”

A heart-wrenching cry rang out.

“Mom… mom… save me… dad is so scary…”

It's Doa Doa's voice. My heart felt like it was being squeezed.

"Doo Doa! Tham Tu, you animal, what have you done to her!"

“Don't get excited.”

His voice was slow, filled with arrogance.

“As long as you go back to the bank, cancel the term, transfer all 6,115,000 yuan (≈ 21.4 billion VND) to the account I designated... she will be fine.”

“That's my biological daughter!”

“Biological daughter?”

He laughed coldly.

"Waiting for me to bring money abroad, change my identity... many people want it, but they don't have it."

His words chilled me to the bone.

"Lin Khe, I'll give you a word. Cancel the deadline. Otherwise... prepare to pick up your daughter's body."

“Am I dreaming?” I laughed, my voice hoarse.

"Tham Tu, I have locked up this money. Unless I die... in that case, don't touch it."

I hung up. Leaning back against the stone pillar outside the bank, breathing heavily. Tears fell endlessly, but in my eyes only madness remained. You think you won? You calculated wrongly. I'm not just Doa Doa's mother. I'm also someone who can drag him to hell with me. The phone lights up again. One message:

“Go back.”

I turned my head in surprise. A sports car parked on the side of the road, the window slowly rolled down. My best friend—To Man—wore sunglasses and smiled sarcastically. She opened the car door, her high heels touched the ground with a "squeak" sound.

"To Man? Why are you here?"

"Tham Tu told me to come pick you up. He said you didn't listen."

To Man took off his glasses, his eyes full of contempt.

“You… and Tham Tu… have been together since the beginning?”

“What if it doesn't?”

She smiled faintly, playing with her nails.

“Do you really think a poor guy like him can suddenly have more than 6 million yuan?”

Each sentence and each word cut like a knife.

"Lam Khe, stop struggling. Withdraw the money. Maybe Tham Tu will leave you... an intact corpse."

"I?" I laughed coldly.

“He still wants to kill me.”

"Right."

To Man leaned close to my ear, her voice cruel.

"Kill his wife to get the insurance money. His most perfect plan. You... are just a prop."

“Be good.”

“Come with me to the bank, sign.”

I stared at that face. A "chunk" sound rang out, crisp and cold. To Man's head tilted to one side, half of her face immediately became red and swollen.

“You dare hit me?!”

“I beat a beast like you.”

I leaned closer, lowered my voice, every word seemed tinged with the smell of blood.

"Go back and tell Tham Tu, my money is locked up. If you want to get it... use your life to exchange it."

To Man was so angry that he trembled, pointed straight at me and shouted:

"You're crazy! Don't you need your daughter's life anymore?"

“I need it.”

I bent down to pick up the savings book, shaking it gently in front of her.

“But I want to see you two… being suffocated to death by more than 6 million yuan.”

Having finished speaking, I turned around and walked straight into the stream of people on the street.

"Lin Khe! You will definitely regret it!"

To Man's scream behind him was like tearing the wind. I don't turn around. From the moment I discovered that Tham Tu faked his death... I no longer knew how to write the word "regret". I hailed a taxi and dialed a phone number.

"Hello, General Co, I'm Lam Khe. Tham Tu is not dead yet... your old debt, it's time to calculate it."

The other end of the line was silent for three seconds. Then, a low male voice rang out:

“Where is he?”

“In my hell.”

I hung up the phone and watched the street scene recede outside the window. Twenty years. In these twenty years, I will let him... stand in the mud, watching the amount of 6,115,000 yuan rot.

“Driver, go to central hospital.”

I have to get something. Something… enough to make him completely collapse. The hospital hallway reeks of disinfectant. I pushed open the door to the treating doctor's room.

"Miss Lam? Why did you come back?"

The doctor raised his head, a bit surprised.

"I need a copy of Tham Tu's autopsy report. Especially the DNA comparison part."

I stood in front of the table, my face pale, but my eyes were terrifyingly determined.

"But Mr. Tham's future has already been taken care of..."

“There are some details… I want to confirm.”

The doctor sighed, opened a drawer, took out a file and gave it to me.

"At that time, the fire was too big and the body was seriously damaged. We mainly relied on personal belongings and initial characteristics to confirm. DNA was used, but the sample was damaged, the accuracy was only about 90%."

I curled my lips.

“So what about the remaining 10%?”

"In theory... there's still a possibility that it wasn't that person. But at that time, Ms. To was very certain that it was him Tham.”

I laughed coldly. Of course, sure. Because that corpse... was most likely a substitute prepared by them.

“Thank you, doctor.”

I took the report, turned around and left. The phone rang again. Tham Tu's patience... has run out.

“Lin Khe, you have 40 minutes left.”

“Shen Tu, I'm on my way to the bank. But I have one condition.”

I spoke as I walked, my voice cold and calm.

“You are in no position to bargain.”

I smiled faintly.

“Then I tore up the book and confessed. Tell the police this money is dirty money, so they can seal it. At that time… not only will you lose everything, but your plan to fake your death will also be completely exposed.”

The other end of the line... was silent. He is considering. A selfish person like him... will not let himself fall into a dead end.

“What do you want?”

His voice gritted out every word.

“I want to hear Doa Doa's voice. I have to make sure she's safe.”

“Mom… mom… I'm scared…”