The entire living room froze.

The music stopped.

The laughter disappeared.

Even the reporters who had been recording my humiliation turned their cameras toward the man standing at the door.

Co Dien.

I had not seen him for many years.

But I still remembered him.

Twenty years ago, when I was a four-year-old child abandoned at the orphanage, he was the only person who sat beside me when I cried.

He gave me half of his candy.

He told me:

“Don’t be afraid. Someone will come for you one day.”

At that time, I believed him.

Years later, the Tham family came.

They adopted me.

I thought my life had finally changed.

I thought I had found a real home.

But the moment Lam Diem Diem appeared, everything changed.

The family I had dreamed about became the family that destroyed me.

And the person who saved me now…

was the person I had not seen in years.

Co Dien grabbed my wrist gently.

Not painfully.

Just enough to pull me away from the floor.

“You don’t have to kneel.”

His voice was low.

“But they do.”

The Tham family members’ faces changed.

Tham Viet, my eldest brother, stepped forward.

“Co Dien, this is a family matter.”

Co Dien laughed coldly.

“Family matter?”

He looked around the room.

“At a family party, you put a dog chain around your sister’s neck?”

Nobody answered.

His eyes moved to the cameras.

“On a live broadcast?”

The guests became uncomfortable.

Because now everyone could see clearly.

This was not a misunderstanding.

This was humiliation.

Lam Diem Diem immediately stepped forward.

“Brother Co, you misunderstood.”

Her voice was soft and gentle.

“Sister Thoi misunderstood too.”

“She just came home after so many years. Everyone was trying to make her feel included.”

I looked at her.

Included?

A dog leash.

A maid uniform.

A dog tag.

Crawling on the floor.

That was her idea of acceptance.

Co Dien looked at her.

For the first time, his expression showed disgust.

“Lam Diem Diem.”

She froze.

“You still know how to pretend after all these years.”

The smile on her face disappeared.

The room became silent.

Tham Viet frowned.

“Watch your words.”

Co Dien turned toward him.

“No.”

His voice became colder.

“Today, everyone should listen carefully.”

He pointed at me.

“Seven years ago, you forced her to take the blame for something she didn’t do.”

The color drained from the brothers’ faces.

I lowered my eyes.

Even after seven years, that memory still existed.

The interrogation room.

The cold lights.

The questions.

The moment I signed away seven years of my life.

All because they promised:

“If you protect Diem Diem, you will become our real sister.”

Co Dien continued.

“She was eighteen years old.”

“She lost seven years.”

“And when she finally came out…”

“You welcomed her with a dog chain.”

Nobody spoke.

Because there was nothing to say.

The truth was too ugly.

Tham Viet clenched his fists.

“You don’t know the whole story.”

Co Dien smiled.

“Then tell everyone.”

He looked at the cameras.

“Tell everyone why the real evidence from that year disappeared.”

The room exploded with whispers.

My heart stopped.

Evidence?

I looked at him.

“What are you talking about?”

Co Dien turned around.

His expression softened when he looked at me.

“I promised you I would find the truth.”

My hands trembled.

All these years, I thought nobody cared.

I thought everyone had already decided I was guilty.

But he had been searching.

Silently.

Alone.

Co Dien took out a file.

A thick file.

And placed it on the table.

“Seven years ago, the school surveillance records were incomplete.”

Tham Viet’s expression changed.

“But the backup server was never destroyed.”

Nobody moved.

“The original footage shows who actually touched the cup.”

My breathing stopped.

Lam Diem Diem suddenly stepped backward.

Only one step.

But everyone saw it.

The second brother noticed too.

“Diem Diem?”

She immediately shook her head.

“No.”

Her voice became nervous.

“That’s impossible.”

Co Dien looked at her.

“Why is it impossible?”

She couldn’t answer.

The eldest brother stared at the file.

For the first time, doubt appeared in his eyes.

I looked at the three men who had once called me their sister.

The men who believed Lam Diem Diem without question.

The men who sent me to prison.

And suddenly I wondered…

If the truth came out today…

Would they finally regret it?

Or would they only regret losing the daughter they thought was perfect?

The system suddenly sounded inside my head.

【Remaining time: 6 hours 12 minutes】

I closed my eyes.

Only six hours left.

The countdown continued.

I had thought I would leave this world quietly.

Without anyone knowing the truth.

Without anyone caring.

But now…

The truth was finally standing in front of them.

Co Dien looked at me.

“Thoi Thoi.”

I looked up.

“Come with me.”

For a moment, I wanted to say yes.

I wanted to leave this house forever.

But then Lam Diem Diem suddenly spoke.

“Wait.”

Everyone looked at her.

Her innocent expression was gone.

Her eyes were cold.

“You really think you can destroy me with that?”

Co Dien narrowed his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

She smiled.

A smile I had never seen before.

“You forgot something.”

She looked at me.

Then at the brothers.

“She is not the only one who has secrets.”

My heart tightened.

Because I knew that expression.

She was not afraid.

She was confident.

And before anyone could ask what she meant…

she said the one sentence that changed everything.

“Ask Su Thoi why she disappeared from the orphanage before the Tham family adopted her.”

The entire room went silent.

I froze.

Because that was a secret even I had buried.

A secret I had never told anyone.

Not even Co Dien.

And suddenly I realized…

Lam Diem Diem did not just know my past.

She knew something about me that I didn’t even remember.