Chapter 10 — You Are The Most Expensive Mistake Of My Life

“Hello, is this Ms. Tham Duyet?” On the other end of the line was an old man's voice, hoarse.

“It's me, may I ask?”

“I… I am Uncle Vuong.” His voice was a bit agitated, "Do you remember? I still carried you when I was a child."

I searched my memories, but couldn't remember this person at all.

“Sorry, maybe you called wrongly.” I was about to hang up.

“Don't, don't hang up!” He quickly said, "I am a friend of Tham Chan Hoa, a friend of your biological father!"

My heart skipped a beat slightly. The name Tham Chan Hoa is like a thorn. Even though it no longer stings, every time it is touched it still makes my heart ripple.

“What's the matter with you?” My voice turned cold.

“It's like this, Miss Tham.” His voice became ingratiating, "I heard you found the property your father left behind and made a fortune, right?"

I frowned. How did this news finally get out? The only people who knew about it were me, my mother, Co Ngon and the police. The police couldn't reveal it, and Co Ngon couldn't even reveal it.

"I heard that Mr. Tham owed a lot of money in the past. Now that you have inherited the property, should you pay the debt on his behalf?" At last he revealed his purpose.

“Repay debt?” I laughed coldly, "How can I repay the debt for him?"

"Father owes his son, that's moral!" His voice immediately became eloquent, "In the past, we lent him money out of respect for our friends! Now that he has run away, are you a girl and want to cheat?"

“Do you have proof he owes money?” I asked back.

"I... of course I do! I have the loan papers!"

“That's good.” I calmly said, "Bring that paper to court to sue me. If the court says I have to pay, I won't owe a dime. If the court says I don't have to pay, stop calling and bothering me. Otherwise, I will sue you for extortion."

After speaking, I didn't wait for him to react, immediately hung up and blocked the number. Co Ngon stood next to him, obviously listening to everything. He held my hand: "Are you okay?" I shook my head and smiled: "It's okay, there are probably a lot of people like this." The fortune Tham Chan Hoa left behind is like a big cake. There will always be countless people who smell the scent and come. I must prepare for a long battle. Co Ngon looked at me with both admiration and sadness in his eyes.

“You are stronger than I thought.”

“Because I have you by my side.” I looked at him and said very seriously.

The sunlight shines in from the window, warm and bright. I know, the road ahead may not be smooth. But as long as we stand together, there will be nothing we can't overcome. The call from "Uncle Vuong" was just the beginning. The following days, I continuously received many similar calls. All claimed to be "friends" or "creditors" of Tham Chan Hoa. The story is a little different, but the purpose is the same — asking for money. The amount ranges from several tens of thousands to several hundred thousand. Some people speak politely, some people directly curse and even threaten right on the phone. I did as Co Ngon told me, without arguing with them at all. Either hang up and block the number, or just say one sentence: "Please go to court." At first I thought these people were just trying their luck and wouldn't actually sue. But I underestimated their greed and brazenness. A week later, I actually received a court summons. The plaintiff is a man named Ly Dai Phu, he prefers Tham Chan Hoa Twenty years ago, I borrowed five hundred thousand from him and still haven't paid it back. He asked me, as the heir, to pay both principal and interest a total of one million two hundred thousand. Attached to the summons is a copy of a loan note. The paper looked quite old, the paper was yellowed, and had Tham Chan Hoa's signature and fingerprints on it. I showed everything to Co Ngon to see.

“This signature… looks real.” I'm a little worried.

Co Ngon looked carefully for a moment, then the corners of his lips curled up again.

“The signature may be real, but this paper is fake.”

"Fake?" I was surprised, "What does it look like?"

“Look here.” He pointed to the line "five hundred thousand", "the word 'five' has a newer ink color, and is slightly smudged, showing that it was added later."

He continued: "I guess at that time Tham Chan Hoa really borrowed, but the amount was very small, maybe only a few hundred or a few thousand. Mr. Ly arbitrarily added the word 'thousand' to trick you." I suddenly understood. The human heart is truly bottomless.

“So what to do now?”

“Don't worry, leave it to me.” Co Ngon smiled lightly, "On the day of court, we give him a 'surprise'."