Chapter 10
Edward Quan ·
“Mr. Zhao, can you explain why this agreement was drawn up many years after its stated signing date?”
Zhao Ming lowered his head.
“I don’t remember.”
“And there is no evidence at all of the two hundred thousand yuan changing hands?”
“I trusted her then.”
“You are husband and wife. But trust cannot take the place of evidence.”
His mother suddenly stood up.
“They signed that agreement themselves. How can you call it fake?”
The judge once again told her to sit down.
Zhao Xue glared at me, her eyes full of resentment.
After mediation, she stopped me outside the courthouse.
“You just had to drive Mingming this far?”
“He sued me with a forged agreement.”
“He only wanted to keep a home for the children.”
“If he sells my apartment, they’re the ones who won’t have a home.”
“Would giving him half of it kill you?”
“It would cost me and my children our home.”
She lowered her voice.
“Do you know how much my family owes?”
“That’s your problem.”
“Mom gave me her apartment because I was struggling. You have a home now. You should help the Zhao family.”
I looked at her.
“Who taught you that your difficulties are my obligations?”
She went pale.
“You’ll regret divorcing Zhao Ming.”
“I could say the same to you.”
She turned and walked away.
That evening, Zhao Ming sent a video.
His mother sat on a hospital bed with an IV in her wrist.
She looked into the camera.
“Mingming, I don’t want to be a burden. Bring the children back, and then I can stop worrying.”
After the video, he sent a message.
“Mom’s in the hospital now. Are you still going to carry on?”
I didn’t reply.
The next morning, the hospital called. I had been listed as her contact at admission.
When I hurried over, a nurse handed me a stack of bills.
“The family asked you to sign first.”
I checked the contact details.
My phone number was indeed there.
“Who brought her in?” I asked.
“Her son and daughter.”
“Where are they?”
“They left after paying the deposit. They said you’d come to look after her.”
I turned away and called Zhao Ming.
He didn’t answer.
Zhao Xue rejected my call.
From the ward doorway, I could see my mother-in-law sitting up.
The moment she saw me, she dropped back onto the bed.
“You’re here.”
“I’m not signing for the bills.”
“I’m ill in the hospital, and you won’t even care for me?”
“The hospital will follow its procedures.”
“I’m your mother-in-law.”
“You have a son and a daughter.”
She gripped the edge of the quilt.
“You want to watch me die here?”
I looked at her.
“The doctor says your blood pressure is only slightly elevated.”
Her expression stiffened.
The nurse came over and told her that the tests showed nothing serious. She could rest at home.
She immediately complained of a headache and demanded to stay.
After the doctor refused, Zhao Ming finally called back.
“Wanqing, Mom needs to be observed for a few days.”
“Then come and do the paperwork.”
“I’m working.”
“Your daughter is nearby too.”
“She’s busy.”
“Then tell Zhou Kaichuan to come.”
“You’re her daughter-in-law. What’s so hard about signing your name?”
“I’m not fulfilling your duties to your mother for you.”
I hung up, took my bag, and left.
At the hospital entrance, my lawyer called.
“The court just notified me. Zhao Ming has withdrawn his claim to joint ownership.”
“He withdrew it?”
“He has also submitted new material arguing that you are unfit to raise the children alone.”
“On what grounds?”
A pause.
“He alleges long-term emotional problems, frequent verbal abuse of older family members, and attempts to prevent the children from seeing their father.”
I tightened my grip on the phone.
So his real trump card was an attack on my mental state.
9.
He had submitted a stack of chat records.
There were messages I had sent while arguing with his mother, along with screenshots of calls from him that I had refused to answer.
Some exchanges had been stripped of context, making it look as though I had abused his mother without provocation.
My lawyer warned me:
“They may request an inquiry into your psychological condition.”
“I’ll cooperate.”
“You need to be ready to demonstrate that you have always cared for the children. And try to avoid arguing with them in private.”
“I understand.”
I exported the full chat history from the past twelve years.
There were his mother’s refusals to help after the birth, her demands that Zhao Ming send money to Zhao Xue, and a recording of him acknowledging that my father had bought the apartment.
One message was from Zhao Ming.
“Your dad bought the apartment for you. I’ve never said I wanted a share.”
It dated from our second year of marriage.
There was also a message his mother had sent him.
“You’re living in her apartment. Put up with her for now. Once she has children, the place will belong to my grandchildren sooner or later.”