Chapter 11 — When the Spider Plant Turned Black

Tran Ngyen, if you tell me right now who that person is, you might still have a chance to prove that you have not been hiding things from me all along.

His lips pressed into a thin, unyielding line. At the far end of the corridor, a door clicked open. A young police officer emerged, holding a transparent plastic evidence bag containing several screenshots retrieved from his mother-in-law's phone. He looked at me, then shifted his gaze to Tran Ngyen.

The two of you, come over here and verify these.

My heart plummeted. Tran Ngyen's complexion was even more ghastly than my own. Spread across the tabletop were printed chat logs between the mother-in-law and a contact saved simply as Aunt Willow. In the first image, the mother-in-law had written: *She refuses to drink it, can we use it for a foot soak instead?* The other party replied: *Soaking is too slow, drinking it works much faster.* The second image showed the mother-in-law asking: *How long before we see results?* The response read: *Just wear her down first, then we will administer the fertility-boosting tonic; the husband's family needs to cooperate too.* The tips of my fingers suddenly lost all warmth. The officer flipped to the third screenshot. This one had not been sent by the mother-in-law. It was a bank transfer receipt sent to her by Tran Ngyen himself. The memo field contained only four characters: *Praying for offspring and nourishment.* Those four characters glared up from the table, draining every drop of blood from Tran Ngyen's face. *Praying for offspring and nourishment.* I stared fixedly at the screenshot, my fingers curled so tightly they felt entirely rigid, incapable of movement. The officer turned to him. Did you make this transfer? Tran Ngyen's throat bobbed.

Yes.

My mother let out a cold laugh.

Just a moment ago, weren't you claiming you knew nothing about this?

Tran Ngyen immediately looked over at me.

Ha Vu, please let me explain.

Go ahead, explain, I said. His lips were dry and parched, and it took a great deal of effort for him to force the words out.

My mother said she found someone who knew how to nourish the body, and that person demanded payment, so I transferred the money for her.

Did you bother to ask what kind of nourishment it was?

I did.

What did she say?

She said your constitution was cold and it was difficult for you to conceive, so we needed to strengthen your body first.

I stared straight at him.

And the substance used for the foot soak was something I wasn't allowed to know about?

Tran Ngyen's voice dropped to a murmur.

I thought it was just some old folk remedy, and that you would find it troublesome. My mother was afraid you wouldn't cooperate.

A faint, bitter smile touched my lips.

So the two of you conspired to trick me into cooperating.

He furrowed his brow, as if the word trick grated harshly on his ears.

It wasn't a trick, we just wanted things to go more smoothly.

My mother slammed her hand down heavily on the table.

More smoothly? Smoothly enough to sneak substances into my daughter's soup?

Tran Ngyen snapped his head up.

I genuinely knew nothing about the bowl of soup.

The officer pushed the second screenshot directly in front of him. This Aunt Willow person stated that drinking it works much faster. Did you read that?

Tran Ngyen vehemently denied it. No, I never check my mother's phone. The young officer pressed further. Then have you ever been in contact with this person?

No.

Take out your phone.

Tran Ngyen hesitated for a fraction of a second. That single fraction of a second was all it took for my heart to sink even deeper into despair. The officer watched him closely.

It would be in your best interest to cooperate with the investigation.

Tran Ngyen placed his phone on the table, his fingers trembling visibly as he entered the unlock code. There was no contact named Aunt Willow in his address book. However, when the officer scrolled through his transaction history, another transfer came to light—one executed two days prior to the fertility nourishment payment. The recipient was also Aunt Willow, and the memo was simply labeled tea money. Tran Ngyen's breath hitched. I asked, Was this transaction also requested by your mother? He replied quietly, My mother doesn't know how to use mobile banking, so she asked me to do it for her. I continued, Both times she asked you, once for tea money and once for nourishment, and you still expect me to believe you knew nothing? He looked at me, a flash of exasperation finally breaking through the depths of his eyes.

Ha Vu, I admit I was wrong, but can you please stop treating me as if I am utterly despicable?

My mother coldly chimed in.

It is not that we are treating you that way, it is that you brought this entirely upon yourself.

Tran Ngyen gripped his phone tightly.