Chapter 12 — Debt Book at the End of the Alley

Nam arranged to meet Dieu at a small cafe a few streets away from the alley, choosing that place instead of going to the restaurant as usual, perhaps because he wanted a more private space for the upcoming important conversation. Dieu arrived on time and saw him already sitting at a hidden corner table, his face carrying a rare tension.

"Let me order you something to drink," Nam said when he saw her, trying to keep his voice normal even though he clearly had something heavy in his heart.

“Just black coffee,” Dieu replied, sitting down, her eyes searching his expression.

After the waiter brought the drinks and left, Nam started talking, his voice was low and slow as if he was trying to choose each word carefully. “I learned more about the connection between my company and Kim Phat,” he said. “And I have to tell you the truth, it's not as simple as I hoped.”

Dieu squeezed the coffee cup in her hand, mentally preparing for what she was about to hear. “You say it.”

"Kim Phat," Nam said, his voice heavy, "is a company established by a group of shareholders who are indirectly related to the parent corporation of the company you work for. Not an official subsidiary, but with a complicated cross-ownership relationship, enough to say that, in essence, they share common interests with the Ben Cat Riverside project."

Dieu felt like there was a heavy rock pressing on his chest. “So does that mean your company intentionally gave people loans, knowing in advance they couldn't repay them, to force them to sell land at cheap prices?”

“I can't confirm that it was an organized intention from the beginning,” Nam replied, his voice cautious. “But looking at the way things turned out — the time of the project survey coincided with the time many households in the area started borrowing from Kim Phat — it is difficult to consider it just a coincidence.”

Dieu was silent for a moment, trying to suppress the anger rising in her heart. "So how long have you known about this? Since before I met you, or did you only know after I told you about your mother's loan?"

“I swear I don't know the specifics,” Nam replied, his voice urgent. "You only participate in the technical survey, measurement, and preparation of current status documents. The financial part, the part related to Kim Phat, is completely in another department, much higher level than your position."

“But you still work for that company,” Dieu said, her voice unable to hide the bitterness. "I'm still contributing to a project that could cause your mother to lose her shop, and cause many other families in the alley to lose their homes."

Nam bowed his head, not refuting that accusation. “You're right,” he admitted, his voice heavy. "I didn't think clearly when I accepted this job. I simply thought it was a normal urban development project. I didn't expect it to be complicated and could harm the people I knew, the people I considered part of my childhood."

They sat in silence for a long time, the air between them as heavy as a dark cloud about to rain. Dieu looked out the cafe window, trying to organize her thoughts.

“So what are you going to do now?” she asked finally, her voice less harsh but still serious.

“I don't know for sure,” Nam replied honestly. "But I know I can't continue to turn a blind eye. I will try to dig deeper and collect more specific evidence about the connection between the two companies. If it is true that there is an illegal collusion, I I'm willing to give you that information, even though it could cause me to lose my job or even get into legal trouble."

“Why did you do that?” Dieu asked, her eyes searching, half believing, half doubting. “Just because of old childhood friendships?”

Nam looked at her, his eyes were so sincere that it made Dieu pause. “Not only that,” he said, his voice small but firm. “I... I have never really forgotten you, this alley, even after six years of separation. When you know your work can harm the people you love, you can't pretend it's nothing."

Dieu felt a stream of complicated emotions welling up in her heart - both touched by that unexpected confession, and still had the necessary caution in the current situation full of conflicting interests. She didn't respond right away, just took a sip of coffee to have time to sort her emotions.

“I need time to think about whether or not I should trust you completely,” she said finally, her voice frank. “Not because I doubt your feelings, but because the current situation is too complicated, too much is at stake.”

“I understand,” Nam nodded, not showing any signs of being annoyed by her caution. “I will prove it with actions, not just words. Can you give me that chance?”

Dieu nodded slowly, not completely sure but also not wanting to close that door completely. “Okay. But Mr. Nam, if you find any evidence, you must let me know immediately, do not hide anything, no matter how small."

“I promise,” Nam replied, his voice steady.

They broke up afterward, each with their own heavy feelings. On the way home, Dieu kept thinking about the conversation just now, about the thin line between trust and caution, between old feelings and the opposing interests that were threatening to separate them. She knows that the road ahead will be even more challenging, not only with debt, with her mother's health, but now also with her own heart.

When she arrived at the shop, she saw Uncle Tu waiting, his face looking somewhat impatient. “Have you met Nam? Can we talk about anything?”

Dieu recounted the entire content of the conversation, from confirming the connection between Kim Phat and the real estate company, to Nam's promise to find more evidence. After Uncle Tu heard, his face was both relieved and worried.

“So we have another insider helping,” he said, “but you also have to be careful not to put all your trust in someone who is still working for the other side. Who knows, maybe they'll find out and make things difficult for him, or worse, use him to get information back from me."

That warning made Dieu suddenly pause, realizing the realistic perspective that she, while caught up in the emotions of the conversation with Nam, may have overlooked. “You're right,” she admitted. “I will be more careful and not share all the information I have right away.”

“It's not about not trusting him,” Uncle Tu explained further, his voice gentle. “It's the principle of caution that is needed in this situation. Just let him prove himself through his actions, like he said, and then decide how much to trust."

Dieu nodded, feeling more secure with Uncle Tu by her side, always giving practical and alert advice amid her emotions. easily influenced. She looked at him, old questions arose in her heart about the real relationship between him and her mother, about the strange key, about the letter mentioning "the baby" — but she decided to put it aside for now, prioritizing solving the more urgent threat at hand.

That night, when he went to the hospital to visit his mother, Dieu told her part of the story, carefully choosing his words so as not to cause too much excitement. She talked about meeting Nam again, about the possibility of a connection between the loan and the real estate project, carefully observing her mother's reaction to find more clues.

Her mother, when she heard Nam's name, her eyes flashed with a familiar complexity - both warm as if remembering something good, but also flashing with a trace of anxiety that was hard to name. She tried to speak, but as always, only fragmentary sounds came out, not enough to form a complete sentence.

“Mom, don't try too hard,” Dieu said, holding her hand. “I'll figure it out myself, mom just needs to focus on getting better.”

She nodded, closed her eyes, looking tired after that unsuccessful attempt at communication. Dieu sat back for a while, watching her mother fall asleep, her heart filled with a fierce determination - no matter how many obstacles the road ahead had, no matter how many heartbreaking secrets she needed to face, she would not back down, until she found the complete truth and protected what was left of her family.

On the way home, she stopped by the small park at the end of the alley and sat down on the familiar stone bench where she used to sit and study every afternoon when she was in school. The night wind blew gently, carrying the faint scent of milk flowers from the rows of trees along the path, a scent associated with childhood memories that she had forgotten during the six years she lived in the city.

She took out her phone, looked at Nam's last text message, and read and reread his promise. She didn't know whether she was being too gullible or not, but there was a part of her that still wanted to believe that, amidst all the calculations and overlapping interests surrounding her, there was still a little bit of sincerity that could be held on.

She sat there for a while longer, letting the night breeze relieve some of the tension that had accumulated throughout the day, before standing up and walking slowly back to the small house where a new day, with many new challenges, was waiting for her as soon as morning came.