The sound of the machine stopped.

For the first time in six days, I heard someone outside who was not Luc Thua Chau.

A stranger.

A rescue worker.

Someone who still believed there was a person alive beneath the concrete.

“Mr. Luc, the life detector clearly shows movement below. Why are you stopping the rescue?”

There was silence.

A long silence.

Then Luc answered.

His voice was no longer gentle.

“No one is alive down there.”

My heart froze.

Even after everything, hearing him say those words still hurt.

Not because I loved him anymore.

But because for seven years, I had shared my life with a man who could look at me as if I was already dead.

The rescue worker argued.

“The equipment doesn’t lie. There is a heartbeat.”

Luc became nervous.

“You don’t understand the structure of this building. Digging now could cause another collapse.”

A lie.

Another perfect lie.

I reached for my phone.

Four percent battery.

I turned on the recording again.

I needed proof.

Not for revenge.

For survival.

Outside, another voice appeared.

“Mr. Luc, the missing person list says only one worker was trapped here. Who is below?”

My breathing stopped.

Luc did not answer immediately.

That hesitation told me everything.

Then Wen Wei spoke.

“Why are you asking so many questions? Just continue the rescue.”

The rescue worker became suspicious.

“Miss Wen, why are you here?”

No answer.

I smiled weakly in the darkness.

So they were scared.

For the first time, they were scared.

A few minutes later, I heard footsteps moving away.

But Luc stayed.

I could hear him standing above me.

“Kieu Lam.”

His voice changed again.

The fake tenderness returned.

“Wife, I know you’re awake.”

I closed my eyes.

I said nothing.

“Kieu Lam, listen to me.”

A pause.

“You know I love you.”

Those words almost made me laugh.

Love?

The same love that poisoned my water?

The same love that waited for my death?

“I never wanted this to happen.”

I looked at the half bottle of water beside me.

My fingers tightened.

“You just wanted my shares.”

Silence.

A dangerous silence.

Then his voice became colder.

“You heard everything.”

I didn’t answer.

Because I finally understood.

The man outside was no longer pretending.

“You should have signed the documents.”

My chest tightened.

“I gave you a chance.”

A chance?

He called giving me poison and waiting for my death a chance?

“You forced me.”

His words echoed through the rubble.

“Your father should have left those shares to me. I built that company with you.”

I whispered:

“My father built it.”

Luc stopped.

Then I heard him laugh quietly.

“You were always too stubborn.”

The old Luc was gone.

The husband who held my hand at our wedding.

The man who promised to protect me.

Gone.

“I loved you once.”

I closed my eyes.

“No.”

My voice was weak but clear.

“You loved what I had.”

The silence afterward was unbearable.

Then suddenly, something crashed above.

A loud explosion.

The rescue workers had started again.

Luc shouted:

“Stop! Stop immediately!”

But this time, nobody listened.

The sound of machines grew louder.

Closer.

Closer.

The concrete above me began to shake.

Dust fell over my face.

For the first time in six days, I cried.

Not from pain.

From hope.

Someone was coming.

Someone was finally coming.

Luc realized it too.

His footsteps became frantic.

“Kieu Lam!”

His voice was filled with panic.

“Don’t say anything to them.”

I almost couldn’t believe it.

Even now.

Even when he was exposed.

He was still thinking about himself.

“Tell them you fell.”

“Tell them there was an accident.”

“Tell them nothing happened.”

I slowly grabbed my phone.

The recording was still running.

I whispered:

“Why?”

Luc became silent.

“Because if they know the truth…”

I smiled.

A weak smile.

“But they already will.”

A few seconds later, the concrete above me moved.

A small opening appeared.

Light entered.

Real light.

Not the fake hope Luc gave me every day.

A rescue worker looked down.

His eyes widened.

“There’s someone alive!”

More voices followed.

“Get medical equipment!”

“She’s been trapped for six days!”

They finally found me.

But before they pulled me out, one rescue worker looked at the documents hidden beside me.

Then he looked at Luc.

“Mr. Luc… why was her name removed from the missing list?”

Nobody answered.

Because the truth was already there.

The recordings.

The documents.

The poisoned supplies.

Everything.

As I was lifted onto the stretcher, Luc tried to approach me.

“Kieu Lam, listen to me…”

I turned my head away.

The rescue worker asked:

“Do you know this man?”

I looked at Luc Thua Chau.

The man who waited for me to die.

The man who almost succeeded.

Then I answered quietly:

“Yes.”

A pause.

“He was my husband.”

Everyone became silent.

Then I added:

“But he hasn’t been my family for a long time.”

And as the ambulance doors closed…

I saw Luc’s face for the first time.

Not a powerful businessman.

Not a perfect husband.

Just a man who finally realized the woman he tried to erase…

Was the only person who could destroy everything he built.