Chapter 4 — World Chess Game

That statement made everyone stunned. Truong Vi immediately looked at me.

“What do you mean?”

I took out my phone, opened a video, and gave it to him.

“This is the last segment saved on the cloud from my car's dash cam.”

“The time… was half an hour before the accident.”

The picture is a bit shaky, but the sound is very clear. It's a conversation between Tham Hao and a girl.

“Mr. Hao, please run slowly, I'm afraid…”

"What are you afraid of? Show me how to develop speed!"

“Stop joking around, stop the car, you're really angry!”

"Angry? Don't you like this naughty style of me?"

The conversation was vague and full of mystery. But that's not the point. The point is... there was not only Tham Hao in the car. There is one more person. A woman. But from the time he called the police until he faced everyone, Tham Hao never mentioned the existence of this person. What is he hiding? Truong Vi's face became more and more serious. Lawyer Tan also approached, his eyes behind the glass flashing sharply. Vuong Cam's face turned pale.

"You... where did you get this video! It's fake! It's all fake! There's no one else in my son's car!"

She rushed up to grab the phone, but lawyer Tan raised his hand to stop her.

“Mrs. Tham, obstructing the investigation… is not a small matter.”

Her voice turned cold. Truong Vi stared at the screen, suddenly as if he discovered something, his pupils shrank sharply. He pointed to the bracelet on the girl's wrist in the video, his voice shaking.

“It's her!”

“I know her!”

"Her name is Ly Thien, she's a new intern at my dad's company!"

“The day of the accident, my father had arranged to meet a customer, but she was the one who drove him!”

"Why was she in your cousin's car? Where is my father? Where was he at that time!"

Truong Vi's emotions were completely out of control. He rushed forward and grabbed Tham Hao's collar.

"Say! Before my father got into trouble, what did you guys do!"

Tham Hao was scared to death, a strong smell rose up. He... was so scared that he peed his pants. Lips trembling, eyes panicked, stammering:

“No… not me…”

“It was… it was her… it was Ly Thien who gave me the car keys…”

“She said… if I just help her do something…”

“Besides… she will…”

Speaking of this, he suddenly seemed to see something extremely terrible. His eyes widened, he trembled and pointed behind me, screaming a sound that no longer sounded like a human voice.

"Ghosts! There are ghosts!"

06 Fatal recording Tham Hao's scream was so loud that it seemed to tear his eardrums. Everyone was startled and instinctively turned their heads to look behind me. But behind me… just an empty wall. Nothing.

“What are you screaming about!”

Uncle Tham Chi Cuong was both angry and frantic, raised his hand and slapped Tham Hao hard in the face. The slap made him jump, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare, cowering on the ground, holding his head and trembling.

“Don't look for me… it's not like I'm going to kill you… don't look for me…”

He babbles without beginning or end, the previous sentence does not connect the next sentence. Everyone could see… he was about to have a mental breakdown. Truong Vi clenched his fists, his knuckles cracked, but in the end he still let go of his collar. A person about to go crazy... it's useless to ask. He turned to me, his eyes complicated. There is gratitude, there is scrutiny, there is also doubt.

"Miss Tham, thank you for providing the clue.”

“This… I'm afraid it's more complicated than we thought.”

“We will go investigate the girl named Ly Thien.”

I nodded.

“That's what I should do.”

“Not only for your father… but also for myself.”

“I don't want to have to bear the blame for others for no reason.”

Lawyer Tan stood next to me, gently pushed his glasses, smiling at me.

“Miss Tham, you are very smart.”

“Your choice today… was the right one.”

They prepare to leave. Things have reached this point, continuing to stay no longer makes sense. My parents and my uncle's family looked at their backs and breathed a sigh of relief. It was as if disaster had just left the door. I called them again.

“Mr. Truong, wait a minute.”

Truong Vi turned back, his eyes full of doubt. I walked over and gave him a USB.

“What is this?”

“That car's dashcam data, all cloud backups in the last month.”

“I haven't had time to look at it all yet, maybe… there's something you need in there.”

Truong Vi received it and held it tightly in his hand.

“Miss Tham, I acknowledge this favor.”

“If we find out the truth, about my father's compensation… we won't make things difficult for you anymore.”

I didn't say anything, just nodded slightly. After seeing them off, the living room fell into dead silence again. Vuong Cam looked at Tham Hao lying on the ground, tears flowing again. The eldest uncle squatted in a corner, smoking one cigarette after another. My parents sat on the sofa, looking tired as if they had aged ten years. No one mentioned making me pay anymore. The appearance of Ly Thien... made everything completely out of their control. Now, the only thing left… is fear. My father looked at me, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, and in the end he just sighed.

“Nguyet Nguyet… please go back to your room to rest.”

His voice for the first time… carried weakness and concession. I didn't reply. Just walked to the tea table, collected the laptop, and pulled the suitcase back.

“Where are you going?”

My mother stood up in panic.

“Hey girl, it's not over yet, what are you planning to do?”

I stopped walking and turned to look at them. Looking at faces that were once familiar... are now strange and scary.

“Disturb?”

I smiled softly.

“I'm not causing trouble.”

“I leave this house.”

“Dad, you said it yourself, tell me to get lost.”

“Today… I will leave you to see.”

My father's face immediately turned red.

“What don't I dare?”

I asked back.

“This house… is there anything else worth staying in?”

“Are the times being squeezed out, or are the sacrifices being taken for granted?”

“Dad, mom… I've had enough.”

"From today, I - Tham Nguyet - no longer have anything to do with you, nor do I have anything to do with this house anymore."

Having finished speaking, I pulled my suitcase, without turning around, walked straight towards the door.

“Stop!”

My father screamed and rushed forward to block me. He still thinks... just shout and I will stop like before. You are wrong. My hand grabbed the door handle. Just as I was about to open the door, the phone suddenly rang. I hesitated for a second... then still picked up the phone.