Chapter 4 — Voices Behind the Dark Room

Luong Duc Hai stared at me for a few seconds. "It's broken, thrown away a long time ago." I didn't say more. There are things that cannot be rushed before them. In the evening, when Luong Thua Trach went to take a shower, I found a set of spare keys in the closet in the mysterious gate. The smallest key has a blackened edge. I held it in the palm of my hand, waiting until the house was completely quiet. At one o'clock in the morning, I gently opened the bedroom door. Duong Duong did not sleep deeply. As soon as I stood up, she opened her eyes. I turned back and signaled my child not to be afraid. But she lifted the blanket, stepped out of bed barefoot, and clung tightly to my nightgown. I had to pick up the baby. When she reached the door of the storage room, her whole body tensed up. The key was inserted into the lock and turned slightly. The door opens. An old musty smell came over me. The inside is very narrow. The wall was filled with cardboard boxes, old chairs and a broken table lamp. On the floor is spread half a bamboo mat. In the corner of the projection there is a dark stain, like the mark left by dried water. My stomach rolled. Duong Duong buried her face in my shoulder, a tiny sound came out of her throat. "No lock up." I hugged my child tighter. "Mom, I don't lock up." "Let's go now." But I still saw the corner of the wall. There's a rabbit ear there. The old piece of cloth has turned yellow. I looked down at the rabbit in Duong Duong's lap. Her rabbit once lost an ear. Luu Ngoc Mai later said she sewed it up herself. I picked up the severed ear, my fingers were cold. Suddenly there were footsteps outside. I quickly stuffed the rabbit ears into my pocket and carried Duong Duong back out. Luong Thua Trach stood at the end of the hallway. His hair was still wet, and he smelled of shower gel. "If you can't sleep in the middle of the night, what are you doing searching the storage room?" I looked at him. "Duong Duong was locked here before, right?" His expression stiffened for a moment. "What are you talking about?" "Don't you know?" "How do you know?" He spoke very quickly. Too fast. I stared into his eyes. "Then help me ask your father." Luong Thua Trach angrily lowered his voice. "Dao An Ninh, don't suspect anything because the child has a problem." I pulled the nightgown around Duong Duong's legs. "She has no problem." "She was so scared that she didn't dare to speak." Luong Thua Trach's face turned pale. "Do you have evidence?" I didn't answer. Because I haven't yet. The next day, I took leave to go to the rehabilitation center. Ms. Manh looked at the rabbit ears, her expression very serious. "Don't confront directly." "It's very difficult for a child to begin to express his/her wishes. The scariest thing is being forced back to his old state." I asked her: "What if it's really a family member who did it?" Ms. Manh looked at me. "The first thing you have to do is take her away from the source of danger." "The second thing is to keep things that can prove the problem." Leaving the rehabilitation center, I bought a small surveillance camera. Not to make anyone lose face. But to protect Duong Duong. I placed it behind a potted plant in the living room, the lens pointed straight towards the balcony and storage room. That night, I intentionally said that the company had an emergency and would be home late. Actually, I was holding the computer sitting in the car downstairs. On the screen, Luu Ngoc Mai is busy in the kitchen. Luong Duc Hai sat on a red wooden chair drinking tea. Duong Duong sat on the carpet, holding the rabbit, not moving. More than ten minutes later, Luong Duc Hai stood up. He walked up to Duong Duong and bent down. The image has no sound. But I saw Duong Duong suddenly cover his mouth. My heart beat so fast it hurt. I turned on synchronous recording. The next second, Luong Duc Hai's lowered voice came from the headset. "If you dare point at me, I will lock you back up."06 When that sentence entered my ears, my whole body stiffened in the car.

On the screen, Duong Duong's shoulders shrunk into a small ball. Luong Duc Hai reached out to touch her rabbit. The girl didn't dare to avoid it, she just covered her mouth. I pushed open the car door and almost ran upstairs. The elevator goes to each floor. Every second feels like a knife cutting into my heart. When the door opened, the living room returned to normal. Luong Duc Hai sat back on the red wooden chair, as if nothing had ever happened. Duong Duong sat on the mirror, his eyes were red and scary. I rushed to hug my child. "Mommy's home." She tightened her grip on my clothes, her nails almost digging into my arms. Luong Duc Hai frowned. "Don't you say overtime?" I raised my head and stared at him. "Work ended early." His eyes stopped on my face for a moment. "Young people should not always overdo things when talking and working." I smiled. "Dad, you're right." I didn't expose him on the spot. Because I know, based on just one recording, he will still deny it. The people in this house will also cover for him. I saved the recording in three copies. A copy sent to my email. One copy was sent to Ms. Manh. A copy is saved in an old phone, placed in a drawer in the office. The next day, I sought legal advice.