Chapter 1

“How do you poison your husband without anyone finding out?”

It was eight in the evening. I was browsing a forum called “The Housewives' Help Station” when I came across a post with that title.

The author was a full-time homemaker too. She described in detail how she secretly added poison to her husband's food every day, slowly killing him without anyone knowing.

There were plenty of comments. Some people thought she had gone too far, but others cheered her on, praising and encouraging her.

Bang!

I had just left a comment when someone hammered on our front door.

The sound struck straight at my heart, jolting me out of my thoughts. I hurried from the study to the living room without even stopping to put on my slippers.

My daughter's bedroom door was open a crack.

Through it, I could see her eyes, full of terror, like a frightened fledgling's.

“Go to bed!” I called.

Bang!

The next instant, the front door burst open.

A man reeking of alcohol staggered in.

My daughter slammed her door in fright.

I stepped forward to support him.

Because that revolting drunk was none other than my husband, Đại Dũng.

He sagged against me, a dead weight that nearly crushed the breath out of me.

Enduring the stench of alcohol, I tried to help him to the bedroom.

Instead, he shoved me away and raised his hand.

Smack!

The slap cracked through the apartment like a firecracker.

My frail body couldn't withstand it. I fell sideways onto the sofa, my vision darkening, my mouth filling with the metallic taste of blood.

“You useless bitch! Can't you pour me a glass of water?”

He pointed at my face and roared, “I work my ass off to earn money, and you can't even do one tiny thing right! Lazy freeloader! I must have been blind to marry a wasteful bitch like you!”

I held my burning cheek, misery choking me.

How much longer did I have to endure this life?

“Let's... get a divorce...”

It took every scrap of courage to say it.

The word “divorce” sent him into a frenzy.

He lunged at me, forced me onto the floor, straddled me, and clamped both hands around my neck.

“Mention divorce again and I'll kill you! I'll kill you!”

He seemed beyond reason. His hands tightened.

I struggled in agony.

But my strength drained away, and gradually my body stopped responding.

Everything went black.

I knew nothing more.

Someone was crying.

Heartbroken sobs.

I opened my eyes wearily and coughed violently.

The digital clock glowed a dim red on the wall.

Ten at night.

My own husband had almost strangled me to death.

I managed to turn my head.

My daughter crouched beside me, her eyes swollen from crying.

With the last of my strength, I lifted an arm to stroke her head and forced a smile that looked worse than tears.

“I'm all right... Go to bed...”

After soothing her, I lay still on the sofa.

The forum post flashed into my mind.

“How do you poison your husband without anyone finding out?”

I quickly pushed the thought away.

I didn't have the courage.

Besides, if I really did it, what would become of my daughter, Lạc Lạc?

She might spend the rest of her life in its shadow.

But I had truly had enough of this life.

At seven the next morning, Đại Dũng got up for work.

Despite my pain, I made his breakfast.

“I'm off, sweetheart.”

He smiled at me and even kissed me before leaving.

I felt nothing.

Whenever he went out, he looked like the perfect husband.

But every night, after coming home drunk, he became a devil.

A beast in a smart suit.

That was him.

After he left, I called my mother and told her everything.

She offered a few words of comfort.

The moment I mentioned divorce, though, she objected.

“You have to think of your child. She's already this old. She can't grow up without a father.”

Then came her advice.

“I lived through the same thing. Say something nice. Learn to keep him happy. If he's happy, he won't hit you.”

Her lack of support didn't disappoint me very much.

It was exactly what I had expected.

At eight that evening, Đại Dũng came home.

As usual, he was blind drunk.

This time, I had a glass of water ready and was waiting by the door.

The moment he entered, he kicked me to the floor.

Then he straddled me and rained blows on me.

“You filthy bitch! How dare you go looking for another man?”

He screamed as he hit me.

“Why were you seeing another man? Huh? You slut! Trying to make a cuckold of me, were you?”

I cried and said I hadn't done anything of the kind.

He wouldn't stop.

Physical pain and despair swirled together in my mind like a chaotic dirge.

Before I passed out, I dimly heard Lạc Lạc crying, “Mom!”

He got off me.

I forced my eyes open and saw him turn toward her.

At last, I was angry.

Strength surged into me from somewhere.

I scrambled up, hurled myself at him and knocked him down, then seized my daughter's hand and ran.

We escaped that apartment and went to my mother's.

At last, I had a peaceful night's sleep.

This wasn't the first or second time.

I had fled to my mother's countless times.

Every time, Đại Dũng came to apologize. Relatives urged me to forgive him, and again and again, I did.

But once there had been violence, there would be more.

The next morning, before he had even come for me, my mother was urging me to go home.

“What married couple doesn't fight?”

“You quarrel, then make up in bed.”

And, “Wasn't your father the same when he was younger? His temper's improved with age, hasn't it? Besides, think about our family's situation. Can you really get divorced?”

Perhaps I was sick of her nagging.

Perhaps I had lost all faith in my own family.

In the end, I could only take Lạc Lạc by the hand and return to the home I dreaded.

Perhaps I was used to this life.

Or perhaps neither my daughter nor I had ever truly had a home.

Eight in the evening.

My heart pounded. My body had developed a conditioned response.

But the doorbell never rang.

My husband, who always came back on time, didn't appear.

Where had he gone?

“Could you confirm whether this is your husband?”

Five in the morning.

Thanh Thủy Park.

As a full-time homemaker, my life revolved almost entirely around three places.

Home. The supermarket. My daughter's school.

I almost never went anywhere like Thanh Thủy Park.

Yet early that morning, the police had called me there.

Long stretches of yellow tape cordoned off the park.

On the path leading up the hill behind it, a clear plastic sheet covered something.

Underneath were pieces... what might be called parts of a person.

Now reduced to a heap of mangled flesh.

I gagged.

Acid rose in my throat, and I vomited on the spot.

As the police questioned me, I fought down the nausea and identified the body.

Yes.

That heap was my husband, Đại Dũng.

He had been missing for two days.

Those two days had been the happiest of my married life.

I hadn't expected to see him again like this.

My legs gave way. Fortunately, a policewoman caught me.

Who could have been so ruthless?

Not only killing him, but cutting him into pieces?

Only his head was relatively intact.

Otherwise, even I might not have recognized him.

Once I had calmed down a little, the police began asking about him.

Their initial theory was revenge, so they wanted to know whether he had made any enemies.

I thought and thought, but couldn't give a definite answer.

With no leads for the time being, an officer surnamed Trần drove me home.

Besides taking me back, he wanted to examine my husband's personal belongings for clues.

He was thin, but calm and steady.

Something about him made me feel safe.

He was in charge of the case.

He assured me that they would find the killer and get justice for my daughter and me.

At the apartment, he looked around and remarked on how clean it was.

Lạc Lạc was in her room, bent over her homework.

His arrival didn't seem to interest her.

I explained that she was a little autistic and didn't like talking to strangers.

He was understanding, though he watched her for a while longer.

After sitting with us and asking a few more questions, he got up to leave.

I had funeral arrangements to make. He didn't want to disturb me any further.

I also needed to find a job.

I had to support myself and my daughter.

Strangely, although Đại Dũng had earned a good income, there was almost nothing saved in his bank account.

That was one reason we were now so short of money.

The police noticed the problem too.

Their investigation showed that all his money had gone to a woman.

Discovering that he had been cheating stirred nothing in me.

He was dead.

None of that mattered anymore.

Officer Trần said they were investigating her and would let me know as soon as they had results.

Meanwhile, my mother-in-law kept calling.

She demanded that I leave the apartment.

According to her, Đại Dũng had bought it. Now that he was dead, I should get out.

At last, unable to stand her harassment, I blocked her number.

I hadn't expected to come home that very evening and find the person I least wanted to see.

“Mom... what are you doing here?”

I hated this woman.

In her eyes, her son had been the finest man in the world.

Sure enough, the moment she saw me, she rushed over, clawing and hitting me.

“You wicked bitch! Why did you kill my son? I'll kill you!”

I shoved her away.

My first thought was to shut Lạc Lạc's bedroom door so the noise wouldn't frighten her.

But my mother-in-law wouldn't stop.

She kept calling me a murderer.

“How could I have killed him?”

She lunged at me again and pulled up my sleeve, revealing the bruises on my arm.

“Here's the proof! Proof you killed my son!”

I trembled with rage.

I couldn't understand it.

I was the victim. Yet she could accuse me of murder without a moment's hesitation.

“Đại Dũng told me. You've wanted a divorce for ages, you vicious woman.”

“He beat me. Wasn't I allowed to want a divorce?”

“If he hit you, you deserved it!”

She went on berating me.

“Why would he hit you if you'd done nothing wrong? Everything he did was for this family. And you did something so monstrous! You'll come to a terrible end!”

She spat curses at me through gritted teeth.

I stood there, unable to make her listen to reason.

She came at me again like a rabid dog, pulling my hair and hitting me.

Then the bedroom door opened behind us.

Lạc Lạc rushed out, shoved her grandmother away, and clung to my legs, sobbing.

“Mom didn't do anything wrong! Dad deserved to die!”

My mother-in-law froze as if struck by lightning.

For a long time, she stood motionless.

When she recovered, her face was more hateful than ever.

“You wicked woman! Look what you've taught that child! A sin... such a sin...”

After her rampage, it was as though I really had become a murderer.

Wherever I went, people pointed and whispered.

I could only endure it.

I knew that was her plan.

She wanted to force me out of the apartment.

How could she?

It was marital property, belonging to both Đại Dũng and me.

Even with him dead, it still belonged to Lạc Lạc and me.

Yet I was forced to leave, at least temporarily.

At eight in the morning, Officer Trần knocked on my door.

He asked me to assist with the investigation and took me to the station.