After Bob had buried Hung's body in his backyard, he kept his promise and came back into the house to 'deal with' Mai. Without taking heed of Mai's status of being pregnant, Bob savagely grabbed her hair and mercilessly pushed her into the dark, humid dungeon where she had spent most of her days after their marriage.
"I warned ya before!" hissed Bob sinisterly. "If ye don't behave like how a good wife should behave, you and me are gonna end up like in the old days during our honeymoon. Remember this sweet little room where you've spent in? Looks like we need to relive our honeymoon times again. Ahahahah!" Bob slammed the door of the dungeon shut and spat on the ground before he climbed up the ladder back to the living room. Nonetheless, this time, Mai did not cry and beg like she used to. Furthermore, there was a tinge of determination in her eyes which had not hitherto been present.
The morning before Mai was due to give birth, she was let out of the dungeon before Bob drove to work. A few hours after Bob's departure and after Mai had finished her lunch, the doorbell suddenly rang. Presuming that it was Bob, who had begun the practice of returning home suddenly at expected times to check in on Mai ever since he caught Hung and Mai redhanded, Mai quickly rushed to answer the door, but only to discover that it was a police officer.
"Are you Mrs Summerton, Bob Summerton's wife?" enquired the police officer after holding out his police badge.
"Yes, yes, I am," answered Mai as she looked searchingly at the police.
"I am here to inform you some sad news," responded the police officer. "Unfortunately, your husband has been killed on the construction site this morning. According to witnesses, a heavy metal rod used for the construction of pillars of a skyscraper was hurled up by a quote unquote mysterious gust of wind, and pierced through the heart of Bob Summerton, your husband. As the cause of his death appeared to be quite extraordinary, the police is currently investigating the case. As his wife, we would require you to aid us in our inspection by answering some questions. We have here a Vietnamese translator, so don't worry if you don't understand everything that I've said."
After the translator has translated the officer's words, Mai instantly sensed that it was the ghost of Hung who had come back for revenge.
After receiving news of her husband's sudden death, the widow Mai moved back to live with her parents and brother in the small, tattered and dilapidated apartment in New York. Her family was so glad to see her back and only then did Mai begin to slowly tell them her sufferings after her marriage.
"Trời ơi, Mai! Why didn't you tell us before?" enquired her mother, with apologetic tears tumbling down her cheeks like waterfalls. "We didn't know that he treated you so cruelly. If we had known, we wouldn't have let you marry that scoundrel."
"Mai, I have something to confess to you, please do forgive us," said Mai's father. After seeing Mai's questioning look, he continued. "In fact, it was us who paid Vinh to visit our house and fake Hung's death. We thought it was just a frenzy of yours and we thought you'd forget him in no time."
"It was my idea," confessed Mai's mother. "I knew that if we don't get him out of your mind, you would never agree to come to America with us. But we didn't know that you two were truly in love and we didn't know that Hung was so deeply in love with you such that he would come all the way here as a clandestine worker just to see you again."
"We're really sorry, Mai! We beg your pardon, please forgive us!" apologized Mai's father.
Like the obedient daughter she was, Mai swallowed her tears and said. "It's not your fault. If anyone was to be blamed, it should be me. I should have acted like a good daughter and broken up with Hung immediately after you told me we were going to immigrate to America. I knew you only did this solely for my own good. Of course I forgive you, mother and father. Let us start over our new life here."
~To be Continued~
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