Chapter 6 — Back Before The Wedding Day

On Monday morning, Khanh Linh arrived earlier than usual and stopped by the office of lawyer Le Trung Kien, an old friend of her father's from when they were in the same village school, who has now become a famous independent lawyer in the corporate sector. In her previous life, she never thought of finding a private legal advisor, always had absolute trust in Bao Tin Group's legal department - something she now realizes was a fatally naive mistake.

"Hello, Uncle Kien," Khanh Linh said, sitting in the chair opposite his neat desk. "I would like to ask you for private advice on some work-related legal issues, completely independently, without going through the company's legal department."

Mr. Kien raised his eyebrows and looked curiously at the young girl in front of him. "Mr. Tai's daughter is now a creative director, but has she thought so far that she needs a personal lawyer? What's your problem?"

"There are no specific problems yet," Khanh Linh replied, choosing her words carefully, "but I want to prevent them early. The fierce competition in the fashion industry, disputes over intellectual property rights, unclear capital contribution contracts are risks I don't want to encounter. I want you to help me periodically review all documents and contracts I sign, and advise on how to safely store evidence if a dispute occurs."

Mr. Kien nodded, impressed by the unexpected maturity of the girl he still remembered as an innocent child running around the garment factory. "Okay, I'll help you. But you're so careful, there must be a reason you haven't finished telling me, right?"

Khanh Linh smiled slightly, neither denying nor confirming. "I just believe that prevention is better than cure, uncle."

Leaving the lawyer's office, she stopped by the bank and quietly opened a separate savings account under her own name, completely separate from all joint investments that Dang Khoa later asked her to contribute capital to - a real estate investment fund with the name of "huge profit opportunity" but was actually a disguised money laundering channel that Mrs. Kim Chi used to transfer family assets, and was also part of the evidence of embezzlement that Khanh Linh was accidentally involved in in her previous life when she signed her name as co-owner of the joint account. with Dang Khoa.

"This time," she told herself as she walked out of the bank, "all the money I earn will be in my own name, not shared, not pooled with anyone until everything is really clear and transparent."

Arriving at the company, Khanh Linh spent the morning working with the design team, completing more sketches for the spring collection. In the early afternoon, Lam Quoc Bao officially accepted the job and was assigned to the project finance department right below the design department. He stopped by to say hello to Khanh Linh before starting work.

"Thank you again for this opportunity," he said, his eyes still holding the familiar calmness but with a rare bit of excitement. "I will try to do well, without betraying your trust."

"I believe you can do it," Khanh Linh replied, smiling. "If there are any financial data related to the project that show any unusual signs, no matter how small, please notify me immediately. This project is still young and needs caution from everyone."

Lam Quoc Bao was a bit surprised by that careful instruction, but also nodded in agreement. "I understand, you can rest assured, I will transparently report any problems I discover."

Afternoon, While working in the design room, Khanh Linh received a text message from her mother informing her that the results of the general examination were available, and that she would come together to receive the results at the hospital this weekend. Her heart tightened with anxiety — this was the decisive moment, whether her early intervention could change her mother's fate in time or not.

She tried to focus on work to dispel her anxiety, but her mind kept spinning with thoughts about the strange woman at the gala, about the mysterious conversation related to the capital contribution contract that Mrs. Kim Chi mentioned. She decided that she would spend time tonight looking up more information about Bao Tin Group's recent business partners, looking for clues about the woman's identity.

During lunch break, Khanh Linh went down to the company canteen and happened to meet Lam Quoc Bao sitting alone at a table next to the window, in front of him was a simple office lunch and a stack of unfinished financial reports. She walked over and sat down opposite him.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" she asked, placing the tray of rice on the table.

"Not at all, please," he replied, neatly folding the report, his eyes clearly showing respect for the person who created the opportunity for him. "I'm reviewing the project cost structure. There are a few items that I find a bit difficult to understand. Maybe because I'm still new and don't understand the internal process well."

"What item is that?" Khanh Linh asked, attention immediately focused on his answer.

"There was an expense for 'external design consulting' worth quite a bit, but I couldn't find a detailed contract or invoice to go with it, only a brief note approved by the chairwoman's assistant," he said, his voice cautious. "It may just be a mistake in document storage, but I feel it is necessary to ask for clarification before including it in the official report."

Khanh Linh felt a cold current run down her spine. This was exactly the type of small loophole that had been taken advantage of in her previous life, transformed into a series of false payments, eventually adding up to a huge amount of embezzlement that fell all on her head. "You did a good job paying attention to this detail," she said, trying to keep her voice calm even though many thoughts were racing through her mind. "Just take full notes, don't rush to approve or ignore any items that lack documents, even if someone pressures you to do it quickly. If necessary, just let me know in advance, I will clarify with you."

"You're so careful. Maybe it's because the design work needs to protect brain matter, right?" Lam Quoc Bao asked, his eyes a bit curious but not probing.

"There's that part," Khanh Linh replied, smiling slightly to avoid further questions, "but mainly I think, with a big project like this, the more transparent it is from the beginning, the more trouble it will avoid later for everyone, including you and me."

The two continued to dine in a comfortable atmosphere, discussing more about the budget orientation for each item of the collection. Khanh Linh finds that Lam Quoc Bao is not only good at financial expertise but also has a certain sophistication in the way he looks at problems - he always asks the right questions, does not rush to conclusions without enough evidence, a quality that she appreciates more than ever after everything she has been through.

Late in the afternoon, Bao Ngoc stopped by Khanh Linh's desk, holding a stack of newly completed color coordination drawings wall. "Linh, can you help me look at these color combinations? I want to hear your opinion before submitting them."

Khanh Linh looked through each drawing, impressed by her friend's clear progress in color thinking. "Very beautiful, especially this color palette inspired by Western sunsets, I really like the way you mix orange and charcoal tones together."

Bao Ngoc brightened at the sincere compliment. "Really? I was afraid people would criticize me for being too bold."

"Being bold makes your mark," Khanh Linh replied, smiling encouragingly. She realized that, when given the opportunity to express herself fairly and be recognized properly, Bao Ngoc seemed more confident and brighter than the image of someone who always lived in her friend's shadow in her previous life. Perhaps, she thought to herself, if this balance could be maintained, the future might turn in a completely different direction.

That evening, sitting alone in her room, Khanh Linh opened her laptop and began looking up information about Bao Tin Group's business partners in recent months. After more than an hour of searching, she discovered a name appearing in a few small economic articles - Ms. Trinh Ngoc Lan, president of a newly established private investment fund, had several unclear transactions suspected of being related to money laundering but there was no official conclusion from the authorities.

"Maybe it's her," Khanh Linh whispered, writing down the information in her notebook. "It is necessary to further monitor the relationship between Ms. Kim Chi and this woman in the near future."

She closed her laptop, looked out the window where night had long since fallen, worried about her mother's upcoming medical examination results, and felt a certain peace of mind knowing that she was gradually, step by step, rebuilding a solid foundation for her life that this time she was determined not to let anyone easily destroy again.