Chapter 2

6

I held back my anger.

Why should I tell an outsider something so private?

But she wouldn't let it go. She said she had investigated and found that Xuyên Xuyên had never been at that orphanage.

I began studying the woman before me.

For a moment, she felt strangely familiar, as though I had met her somewhere.

Her relentless questioning quickly drove that feeling away.

She threatened to call the police immediately if I refused to cooperate.

She strongly suspected me of trafficking children.

I was speechless.

Agreeing to let her interview me at home had been a terrible mistake.

I had adopted Xuyên Xuyên openly and legally, with all the proper paperwork. How could that be faked?

I sneered inwardly.

Reporters would do anything for clicks these days.

“Well? Guilty conscience?” she asked provocatively.

I couldn't be bothered arguing.

If she wanted proof, I would show her.

People like her wouldn't give up without solid evidence.

“Fine. Wait here.”

I rose and went to the study.

I kept important papers in a filing cabinet. All I needed was the adoption certificate.

I opened it and began searching.

Normally, everything was well organized. Today, no matter how many times I looked, the certificate wasn't there.

Strange.

I distinctly remembered putting it here.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to stay calm.

Had I remembered the wrong place?

I opened several other drawers and searched them too.

Nothing.

This was getting troublesome.

Lâm Nhiễm was still in the living room. If I couldn't find the papers, she might really call the police.

It took only a few words to start a rumor and endless work to set it straight. I wanted no part of that trouble.

I grew more irritated.

Where had the documents gone?

There were only two of us in the house. Xuyên Xuyên had no reason to take them.

Then her voice came from the living room.

“Have you found them, Mr. Lưu?”

At the same moment, footsteps sounded on the stairs.

Xuyên Xuyên.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he appeared at the living room doorway.

“Dad, why haven't you come up yet?”

His voice was still hoarse from sleep.

My heart tightened.

Why had he come down now, when I hadn't found the papers?

“I still have something to do. Go upstairs and have your nap, all right? I'll come when I'm finished.”

I tried to keep my voice calm.

He nodded obediently and turned toward the stairs.

But as he turned away, I saw something that made my scalp prickle.

His eyes seemed to meet Lâm Nhiễm's for an instant.

Then the corner of his mouth lifted.

A smile.

A smile that had no place on an eight-year-old's face.

It was strange. There was even a hint of...

Triumph?

Goose bumps rose all over me.

I must have imagined it.

I suppressed my alarm and forced myself to stay calm.

But terrifying thoughts began flooding my mind.

Could Xuyên Xuyên really have befriended someone dangerous online, just like the child in my story?

And could Lâm Nhiễm be that online friend?

Otherwise, why would a stranger, a reporter I had never met, dig so deeply into my private affairs?

Why would she know details of his adoption?

This was more than curiosity.

I shuddered.

No.

She definitely had another motive.

I had to get rid of her as soon as possible.

Then I would question my son and find out what was going on.

I quietly considered my options.

“Your son is very sweet,” she said suddenly, her tone suggestive.

I gave her a cold glance and bluntly dismissed her.

“Ms. Lâm, you don't need to concern yourself with my son. If there's nothing else, please leave.”

She ignored me entirely and returned to the adoption certificate.

“Have you found it?”

Her voice was so mild that the earlier tension might have existed only in my imagination.

It made me angrier.

This woman wouldn't leave even when told.

If she wanted to drag things out, I could do that too.

I told the truth.

“No.”

Then my voice hardened.

“But that doesn't mean I have anything to hide. I offered to show you because the papers do exist. I just can't find them at the moment.

“An honest man has nothing to fear. Surely you understand that better than anyone?”

I stared at her defiantly.

Instead, she looked as though I had confirmed her expectations.

“Mr. Lưu, it seems you really have forgotten a few things. Why don't we make a phone call to refresh your memory?”

She smiled, but every word pressed me harder.

What was there to fear in a phone call?

I wanted to see what else she could try.

She took out her phone, dialed, and deliberately put it on speaker.

The call connected quickly.

A middle-aged woman's voice came through, very familiar.

Yes.

I remembered.

Ms. Trương, the orphanage director who had personally handled the adoption.

“Hello. Is this Xuân Huy Orphanage?”

Lâm Nhiễm got straight to the point.

“Yes. Who is this?”

The voice came clearly over the speaker.

“Lâm Nhiễm, from Mystery magazine. I'd like to verify something.”

She glanced at me.

“Was there once a child named Xuyên Xuyên at your institution, adopted by a man named Lưu...?”

She paused deliberately and looked at me.

“Lưu what?”

“Lưu Vĩ,” I answered irritably.

“Yes. Adopted by Lưu Vĩ?”

There was a long silence.

Then Ms. Trương remembered.

“Oh, Lưu Vĩ. Yes, that's right.”

“Do you remember approximately when he adopted the child?”

“Well...”

She seemed to be trying to recall.

“It's been so long that I don't remember the exact date. But I do remember that the child had only just arrived when Lưu Vĩ came to arrange the adoption.

“I even remarked on their connection. It was almost as though they'd arranged it beforehand!”

She added that last part with a laugh.

I was stunned.

What?

I had come to adopt him as soon as he arrived?

Nonsense.

I remembered clearly. Xuyên Xuyên had been at the orphanage for several months before I went through the adoption procedure.