Chapter 22 — Back Before The Wedding Day

On Wednesday, Khanh Linh received a panic call from her mother right in the middle of work. "Linh, a tax inspection team came to the garment factory. They said they found signs of tax evasion and asked to seal the machinery for investigation!"

Khanh Linh's heart sank. She knew immediately that this was not a random check - her parents' small garment factory had operated transparently, paying taxes in full for more than twenty years, with no reason to be targeted at this sensitive time, unless someone deliberately arranged it.

"Mom, just calm down, I'll be there soon," she said, trying to keep her voice steady even though her insides were seething with anger. She immediately called lawyer Kien on the way to the garment factory.

When she arrived, she saw two employees wearing tax agency uniforms standing in the workshop, surrounded by rolls of fabric and temporarily sealed sewing machines, while Mr. Tai stood there, his face confused, not understanding what was going on.

"Excuse me, can I take a look at the official inspection decision?" Khanh Linh asked in a calm but powerful voice that she had learned to use during nearly a year of working in a large corporate environment.

The head of the inspection team presented a document, Khanh Linh skimmed it and immediately noticed some procedural irregularities - there was no prior notice according to regulations, the reason for the inspection was written very generally and vaguely.

"As far as I know, unexpected tax audits require at least three working days' notice, unless there are signs of serious or urgent violations," she said, her voice still polite but firm. "Can you tell me what specific basis led to the decision to conduct an emergency inspection this time?"

The delegation leader was a bit confused and could not give a clear answer, only saying that they received "news from an anonymous source" about the possibility of errors in the tax declaration.

"Anonymous source," Khanh Linh repeated, her voice full of meaning. "I understand. So I hope, while waiting for verification, my family's garment factory can continue to operate normally, because there has not been any official conclusion about violations, in accordance with the law."

At that moment, Khanh Linh's phone rang - lawyer Kien called, announcing that he was on his way to directly assist. Just fifteen minutes later, Mr. Kien appeared, presented his lawyer's card, requested the inspection team to comply with legal procedures, and threatened to complain to superiors if there was any abuse of power.

Faced with the lawyer's stubbornness, the inspection team finally agreed to temporarily lift the seal, retaining only a few requests for additional documents within a reasonable period of time, instead of immediately conducting enforcement as originally planned.

After the inspection team left, Mr. Tai sat down in his chair, breathing a sigh of relief but still in shock. "What's going on? We didn't do anything wrong."

Khanh Linh sat down next to her father, held his hand, her heart ached to see the confusion on the face of the man who had always been calm and worked hard and honestly all his life. "We didn't do anything wrong," she said, her voice choked with both anger and pity. "This is the consequence of me fighting against a wrongful incident at the company. I'm sorry for letting this affect you, dad." mother."

“You don't need to apologize,” Mrs. Hanh said, although her voice was still shaking, “if you're doing the right thing, we support you. It's just... Mom and Dad are worried about you."

"I will handle everything well," Khanh Linh said, her voice determined, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to flow. "I promise, I won't let this affect the garment factory or my parents anymore."

Before leaving the garment factory, she re-checked the entire area, making sure there were no remaining traces of sealing, and told her parents to keep all documents related to today's inspection, including work records, as evidence if necessary later.

On the way back to the company, she called Bao Ngoc and told the whole incident. The other end of the line was silent for a long time before Bao Ngoc spoke, his voice full of self-blame. "This is my fault. If I hadn't gotten involved in this from the beginning, maybe you and your family wouldn't have had to endure such things."

"Don't blame yourself," Khanh Linh replied, her voice determined. "The ones to blame are those who chose the wrong path, not you. You courageously chose to stand on the right side, that's what matters."

"I want to do something to help you," Bao Ngoc said, her voice filled with determination. "I think it's time for me to reveal everything I know to the inspection team, no need to wait any longer. I don't want to see you and your family continue to suffer because of my hesitation."

"Are you sure?" Khanh Linh asked, understanding that this decision will cause Bao Ngoc to face many risks, including the possibility of losing his job, and even being held legally responsible to a certain extent. "You can wait a few more days to think more carefully, there's no need to make a hasty decision."

"I'm sure," Bao Ngoc replied, her voice without hesitation. "It's time for me to take responsibility for what I've done, and help everything be resolved once and for all. I've been thinking about this for many nights, it's not an impulsive decision."

Khanh Linh felt a strong emotion rising in her heart at her friend's incredible change — from someone who once trembled and panicked under pressure, now ready to face the consequences to protect what is right. "Thank you," she said, her voice choked up. "I will immediately notify Mr. Kien to arrange an official meeting with the inspection team as soon as possible."

That evening, when returning to the company to continue working late with Lam Quoc Bao and lawyer Kien, Khanh Linh recounted the entire incident, her voice unable to hide her anger. "They crossed the line when they touched my family. This isn't just about work anymore."

"We will include this unusual tax audit case in the additional file sent to the inspection agency," lawyer Kien said, his voice serious. "This is clear evidence of abuse of power to pressure and retaliate against whistleblowers and their families — a serious aggravating factor in the entire case."

"Do you think they will stop here?" Khanh Linh asked, her voice still a little worried.

"I'm not sure," Mr. Kien replied frankly, "but actions like this are often a sign of extreme panic, when the opponent feels all legal avenues are closing. The more they panic, the more likely they are to make mistakes and leave them behind giving us more loopholes."

Lam Quoc Bao held Khanh Linh's hand tightly, his eyes filled with anger on her behalf. "I will strengthen protection measures for your family. We cannot let them continue to use despicable tricks like this." His voice was low, both angry and sad for what she and her family were having to endure.

Khanh Linh nodded, holding his hand tightly, feeling more clearly than ever that even though the road ahead was still full of thorns, she was not alone. That night, when everyone had left, she sat alone, opened her notebook, and wrote the words full of determination: "They attacked my family. This is the final frontier of intolerance. From now on, there is no holding back anymore — we must end this matter as soon as possible, decisively and thoroughly."

Before turning off the lights and going to bed, she texted lawyer Kien, asking to arrange an official meeting between Bao Ngoc and the inspection team this week, and attached all documents related to the unusual tax audit at the garment factory. Mr. Kien responded immediately: "I will contact the inspection team tomorrow morning. With Bao Ngoc's testimony combined with the available evidence, I believe the case will soon have an important turning point."

Putting down the phone, Khanh Linh lay down on the bed but couldn't sleep. The image of her parents' panicked faces when they saw the garment factory being sealed kept appearing in her mind, making the simmering anger in her heart boil even more. She told herself that no matter how much effort and sleepless nights it cost her, she would not let the people behind this plot have the opportunity to continue to harm anyone else, whether it was her family or any potential victims in the future. Sleep finally came, fitful and incomplete, but enough for her to regain some strength for a new and challenging day that lay ahead.