Chapter 11 — 38 Million Yuan and Family Drama

In the end, Hua Dao was sentenced to fifteen years in prison on charges of embezzlement and fraud, a combination of many crimes. Giang Triet, as an accomplice, also received an eight-year sentence. I went to the prison once and visited Hua Dao. Separating us is a thick layer of heavy glass. I looked at her. His blue and white prison uniform, his hair cut short, his once proud and radiant face were now only haggard and yellow. She looked at me, her eyes filled with countless emotions: jealousy, unwillingness, and most of all... hatred.

“You must be very pleased now, right?”

She held the phone and asked in a hoarse voice. I calmly looked at her, gently shaking my head.

“I'm just taking back what belongs to me.”

“And using these same hands, turn it into a better version.”

"I don't have time to be proud. I'm very busy."

My calmness seems more unacceptable than any sarcasm. She was agitated, clutching the receiver tightly, her voice low but angrily hissing:

"If it wasn't for you! If you hadn't ruined my project, the one who was being praised by everyone would have been me!"

I looked at her, there was no longer any resentment in her eyes, only a little pity.

“You still don't understand yet?”

“The thing that made you lose everything, wasn't me.”

“It's your own jealousy and greed.”

"Since childhood, she has been jealous of me. Even though the whole family favors her, she still thinks that I took away things that should belong only to her."

“You want to prove that you are better than me, you want to stomp on me mercilessly.”

“But you chose the wrong path.

She thought taking a shortcut would help her reach her destination sooner. But she didn't know that— All the gifts that fate gives, from the beginning, have a hidden price to pay." I hung up the phone, stood up and left. Under her last look of hatred, I turned around and left. I cannot forgive the hurt she caused me. But I… learned to let myself go. Leaving the prison, the bright, warm sunlight outside covered him. I started coming home to eat occasionally. Parents no longer maintain the same superior, controlling and biased attitude as before. In their eyes, there was something I had never seen before. It's guilt, it's reserve, it's fear, even... it's a bit of dependence, I hope I won't be distant anymore. Our relationship became more formal and distant. Perhaps, it is the respect in that distance that is the best ending for this relationship. Because there are cracks, once they appear... they can never be repaired. But life—must continue to look forward. Two more years passed. Under my leadership, Tinh Dieu Group has risen to become the absolute leader in the domestic industrial sensor industry. I - as Chairman of the Board of Directors - was invited to an exclusive interview by the country's leading financial magazine. My image appears prominently on the cover. On the day the magazine was released, Ms. Linh gossiped that: Giang Triet was released from prison. It is said that thanks to good rehabilitation, his sentence was reduced. He changed a few jobs, but none of them lasted long. Because past scandals have spread throughout the world, no one dares to hire a person with a record of commercial fraud. Currently, he is working as a low-level salesman for a small company, struggling to make ends meet, living a hard and miserable life. Hearing that name, My heart doesn't waver at all. It's like hearing a story from a past life - distant, vague, no longer relevant. I stood next to the ground-level glass window in the office, looking down at the vibrant city below. I suddenly remembered the night before the wedding. Remembering the figure of 18,000 yuan monthly salary that Giang Triet once threw at me with contempt. Now, my value can no longer be measured by that small number. It has even reached a level where money is no longer an appropriate measure. But that… doesn't matter anymore. The important thing is - I used my own hands to get to where I am today. I finally understood a truth: A person's value is never a number assigned by others. It's not something that's determined by the favoritism of parents, or the pampering of a man. A person's value can only be created and defined by themselves, using their whole life. Outside the window, traffic is still busy, the streets are not sleeping. The phone on the table suddenly rang - it was an international call from a new partner in Europe. I walked over, picked up the phone, a calm, decisive and confident voice rang out:

“Hello, I am Hua Niem.”

My life - controlled by myself. My values – defined by myself.