Chapter 13 — A Diary, A Fallen City

"Hua Tinh! Wait for me!"

Chu Minh Khai staggered to his feet and frantically chased after me. I don't turn around. Passing a corner filled with old tires, I saw the backup plan Old Hac left behind — a motorbike hidden in the darkness. I jumped into the car, put on my helmet, and turned on the gas. Chu Minh Khai also just had time to rush forward. He clung tightly to the back seat, his eyes filled with panic and pleading.

"Take me away! I beg you! They won't forgive me!"

I looked at him. The man who once pushed me into the abyss... was now dragged into the chess game by me.

“Get in the car.” I said cold as ice.

As if his life had been saved, he quickly climbed up. I tightened the throttle. The car sped away like an arrow cutting through the wind, engulfing the night. We did not take the main road, but followed the bumpy road close to the edge of the wharf, avoiding the approaching police car. The sea breeze roars in my ears. Behind was a sea of flames rising high and the shrill siren tearing apart the dark night. Chu Minh Khai hugged my waist tightly, his body shaking like a leaf.

“Thank you… thank you…” his voice trembled.

“I didn't save you.” I interrupted, my voice cold and cruel. "I just don't want you to die that easily. What you owe me... is still unpaid."

Chu Minh Khai fell silent. We drove for a long time in the dark, until the fire behind us completely disappeared, before stopping in a deserted alley. I got off the bike, took off my helmet and threw it to him.

“From now on, we are debt-free.”

"Zhao Hong Wei will not let you go. The police may also come. Take care of yourself."

Having finished speaking, I turned around and left.

“Wait!” Chu Minh Khai called out.

He looked at me, his eyes extremely complicated.

“Did you… really give them the notebook?”

“Think for yourself.” I don't turn around.

He froze, then his face immediately changed.

“It's fake… you gave them a fake notebook!”

"You're crazy! When they find out, they'll kill you!"

“It has nothing to do with you.” I said emphatically.

I don't want to waste another sentence, walking straight into the darkness. Behind him, Chu Minh Khai's voice broke, almost screaming in despair:

"You can't fight against them! Zhao Hongwei's power is much greater than you think! You're looking for your own death!"

I don't turn around. When I returned to the safe room I had rented in advance, it was almost dawn. I showered and changed into clean clothes. Sitting on the bed, I began to piece together everything that had happened tonight. The first step of the plan… was a success. I used a fake notebook to temporarily distract the opponent, gaining valuable time. But Chu Minh Khai's words are not wrong. This… is just the beginning. Zhao Hongwei will sooner or later discover that the notebook is fake. At that time, he will use all his strength to hunt me down without hesitation at any cost. I must find a force strong enough... to confront him, before he strikes. At that moment, my phone rang. It's lawyer Phuong. His voice… carried obvious excitement and shock for the first time.

"I found it! I found out what happened to your father that year!"

“He… is not the corporation's accountant at all!”

“He's a police officer, installed as an insider!”

The two words "insider"... were like a bomb exploding in my ears. The gentle, quiet, even somewhat weak father in my memories... was actually a police insider? This… what maybe?

“I'm still listening.” My voice was dry.

"This information is classified as top secret. I had to rely on my teacher's connections to find out part of it." Lawyer Phuong spoke slowly.

"Your father... is actually a high-ranking officer of the economic investigation team. Fifteen years ago, he accepted a secret mission, using a fake identity to infiltrate the Hong Trinh Group."

“The goal… is to collect evidence of Zhao Hongwei's crimes.”

“That notebook… is all the core evidence he collected over the years, at the cost of his life.”

Every word… is overthrowing my entire life. I used to think I grew up in a normal, peaceful family. Unexpectedly... that father always walked on the edge of a knife. Face the bottomless depths of evil... and death can strike at any time. As for me and my mother... are his only weaknesses.

“So… that accident?” I asked with a trembling voice.

“Zhao Hongwei discovered him.” The lawyer's voice lowered. "According to what I found, at that time your father was preparing to collect the net. But something went wrong... his identity was revealed."

"Zhao Hongwei staged the accident, disguising it as an unexpected incident... to kill her parents, to destroy the notebook."

“But he couldn't find it.”

“The police... couldn't find it either.”