Giai Moc Vi felt that this name was definitely intentional.
She had set an alarm one and a half hours earlier, but in the end, it was turned off by Ve Dinh Tieu.
When she woke up, it was already the next morning.
After a full, satisfying sleep, she finally received a nod from the criminal investigator and took the notebook from his hand.
Inside the notebook were densely written details about the intentional injury case involving Dao Trach Uyen ten years ago.
Because the case had been tried publicly back then there was no confidential information only that the police possessed slightly more detailed data.
Due to how long it had been, video footage previously reported by the media could no longer be found.
Giai Moc Vi skimmed through the notebook, then called Dam Uyen Chi to discuss the matter at the law firm.
After reading the notes, Dam Uyen Chi was delighted, as if she had found treasure.
"Oh my god, did Officer Ve extract all of this just for you? Even though lawyers also have the right to investigate, and we could request the sentencing report from back then, we would probably have to deal with those terrifying old folks and wait forever. Now that Officer Ve gave the materials directly to us, it saves a ton of time!"
"He happened to be reviewing the case again. He said something about suspicious points and conveniently recorded some information he thought might be useful to me."
Giai Moc Vi held the notebook, took a whiteboard marker, and began mapping out the relationships.
Following beside her, Dam Uyen Chi watched her pin photos onto the board and said.
"Back then, Dao Mo Nhien's younger brother was convicted at the appellate level for using a knife to injure someone. The court upheld the local ruling. This is a done deal what suspicious points could there be?"
The cause of the intentional injury case was an economic dispute.
The victim and Dao Trach Uyen had been university classmates.
Because Dao Trach Uyen borrowed money and never repaid it, the victim mocked him everywhere during the class reunion.
According to the prosecutors' investigation at the time:
Statements from other classmates showed the victim's words were indeed harsh, which led to Dao Trach Uyen angrily threatening him with a knife. But he had been quickly stopped by other classmates.
That was the motive.
At the liveliest moment of the reunion, no one noticed the two of them leaving one after the other at 18:30.
When Dao Trach Uyen returned at 18:50 with an injury on his face, the victim's girlfriend was startled and asked where her boyfriend had gone.
At the same time, a scream of "Help!" came from outside.
Everyone rushed out and found the victim lying in an alley beside a tobacco shop on the south street of the intersection, stabbed multiple times and barely breathing.
The wounds were located on the right side of the waist and the left side of the abdomen.
And the knife embedded in the victim
was the very knife Dao Trach Uyen had held during the reunion.
A bookstore owner on East Street testified that between 18:30 and 18:45, sounds of fighting and arguing could be heard outside his store.
Judging from the voices and timing,
it was clearly the victim and Dao Trach Uyen.
And the tobacco shop owner further confirmed that the injured man cried out "Dao Trach Uyen" when he was stabbed.
There was a timeline, a weapon, and a motive.
The prosecutors easily identified Dao Trach Uyen.
After pinning down all the connections, Giai Moc Vi crossed her arms, examining the network she had drawn.
"Dao Mo Nhien's younger brother insisted he was innocent during the first trial. So when the court handed a ten-year sentence, he immediately appealed."
Giai Moc Vi analyzed:
"At the time, their Friendship Restaurant was on West Street, the bookstore where the fight happened was on East Street, and the stabbing site was on South Street. Three locations in total."
As she spoke, she found a blank space on the whiteboard, drew a cross-shaped intersection, and marked the three places.
Dam Uyen Chi was convinced by her drawing skills.
"You draw so well! It looks like you've been to the scene yourself!"
Hadn't Giai Moc Vi been to the scene?
The location of the intentional injury case ten years ago was right next to the Ferris wheel that Ve Dinh Tieu took her to yesterday.
The Ferris wheel happened to overlook the entire scene.
Unexpectedly, it helped Giai Moc Vi recall certain things.
Standing close beside her, Dam Uyen Chi frowned in thought:
"Huh? That's strange~ Why are the fight location and the stabbing location different?"
"According to the prosecutors, the victim liked smoking. After fighting with Dao Trach Uyen, he might have gone to the tobacco shop on South Street to buy cigarettes. Meanwhile, Dao Trach Uyen grew angrier and followed him from East to South, stabbed him, then returned to the Friendship Restaurant."
Giai Moc Vi drew a '5-minute' timeline from East Street to West Street.
"But there's a problem the surveillance camera at the Friendship Restaurant shows Dao Trach Uyen returned at exactly 18:50."
"Hmm, meaning…" Dam Uyen Chi murmured.
"It means if he finished fighting at 18:45, then followed the victim to the tobacco shop and stabbed him at 18:50, he could not have returned to the restaurant at 18:50, because it takes five minutes to get back."
As she spoke, she drew another five-minute timeline between South Street and West Street.
The entire case
was missing five minutes.
Where did it go?
Giai Moc Vi pondered.
Ve Dinh Tieu might not have fully thought through this part, which was why he said that the case only increased her chance of winning to 90%.
But why did he think her current case was connected to the intentional injury case from ten years ago?
Giai Moc Vi sat back in deep thought.
Dam Uyen Chi nodded repeatedly:
"That's true, but what does Dao Trach Uyen have to do with the divorce case we're handling? Are you planning to start with Dao Mo Nhien and have her testify for us? But that case ended long ago, and Dao Trach Uyen is about to be released anyway…"
Giai Moc Vi slightly turned her chair and gazed out the window.
"That's why Dao Mo Nhien needs money."
Money to support her brother and herself.
Money that could help her brother after he was released, and even overturn the case.
And there was someone who could give her that money the wealthy wife desperate for a divorce.
Giai Moc Vi took out her phone and called Doctor Ha.
At the café, when they saw Dao Mo Nhien leisurely arriving late, Dam Uyen Chi stood up and bowed politely.
Giai Moc Vi sat upright by the window, evaluating Dao Mo Nhien with surprise as she took the seat opposite her.
Doctor Ha had arranged the meeting.
Dao Mo Nhien froze for a moment upon seeing two unfamiliar women, but when she noticed the scales-and-sunflower badge on Giai Moc Vi's collar, her expression darkened.
After some hesitation, she still sat down.
Normally, lawyers wouldn't wear the badge outside work partly out of fear of retaliation from extremists and partly because losing such a "small pin" would require submitting apology letters and permission forms to the Bar Association, which would prevent them from attending court temporarily a huge hassle.
But today was special.
It was Giai Moc Vi's first time taking a commission and speaking directly with a key witness, so she wore the badge.
"Are you the lawyers hired by Mr. Lam?" Dao Mo Nhien asked outright.
After Lam Pham and his wife divorced, he hadn't been able to contact Dao Mo Nhien.
But the moment she saw Giai Moc Vi, she knew they were sent by Lam Pham meaning she understood his situation very well.
From her investigation, Giai Moc Vi had already confirmed that there was nothing between Lam Pham and Dao Mo Nhien.
So she said directly:
"Ms. Mo Nhien, we hope you can testify in court and tell the judge the nature of your relationship with Mr. Lam"
Dao Mo Nhien cut her off:
"Mr. Lam indeed tried to seduce me before. He was unfaithful in his marriage. When I worked part-time at the restaurant, he tried to harass me many times. In court, that is all I will say."
The coldness in her tone made Dam Uyen Chi choke and instinctively look at Giai Moc Vi.
Giai Moc Vi's expression did not change. She simply continued listening.
"Did Doctor Ha invite me here just to talk about this? Don't waste your time on me. I'll be leaving now."
She stood up, not even removing the backpack from her shoulder clearly unwilling to argue with the two lawyers.
Giai Moc Vi remained calm. Just as Dao Mo Nhien was about to leave, she said:
"Ms. Mo Nhien, do you know that your brother will be released from prison next month?"
Dao Mo Nhien paused, suspiciously glancing at her.
Observing Dao Mo Nhien's expression, her eyes narrowed not surprised, but confused why Giai Moc Vi brought it up.
Good.
She knew.
She knew her brother would be released early.
Dao Mo Nhien let out a mocking laugh.
"You don't think mentioning my brother will make me testify for you, right? I have nothing between me, Mr. Lam, and my brother."
Giai Moc Vi remained unbothered:
"Ms. Mo Nhien, you've lived for years under the guilt of your brother injuring someone. You devoted nine years of your life caring for the victim. You never kept any savings for yourself everything went toward medical expenses."
"After your brother is released, of course you want him to survive in society, right? Did someone promise you money quite a large sum if you framed Lam Pham?"
Dao Mo Nhien's face turned pale. Her tone became frantic:
"Are you investigating me?"
Good.
She was angry now.
Meaning Giai Moc Vi was right.
To seize the moment, Giai Moc Vi threw something onto the table.
It was a prison visitation slip.
When Dao Mo Nhien saw the name of the prison and the inmate written on it, her face drained of blood, her whole body rigid with emptiness and fury.