Chapter 7 — Female Lawyer and Torn Will

Tue Minh met Dam Anh Vu in the late afternoon, when he had just finished his shift at the group's warehouse. She invited him to a quiet cafe nearby, away from the prying eyes that might appear in the grounds of the family villa.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Mr. Vu asked as he sat down, his eyes still maintaining the familiar alertness, although less distant than when they first met.

Tue Minh took a deep breath, trying to find a way to express it as gently as possible, even though she knew there was no way to make such a great truth completely comfortable. "Mr. Vu, I need to ask you something about your family — about your mother, and about your father, whom you've never known."

Anh Vu's face looked a little confused. "My father died in a car accident when I was very young, I hardly remember anything about him. My mother also rarely talked about him, probably because she was too sad. Why do you ask about this?"

"I believe that your father, whom your mother calls by a certain name, is actually the second son of Mr. Dam Vinh Thanh - the person I am representing to handle the will dispute," Tue Minh said, her voice gentle but clear, carefully observing every reaction on his face.

Mr. Vu sat silently for a long time, as if unable to process the information he had just heard. "Are you saying... I'm Mr. Vinh Thanh's grandson?" he asked, his voice shaking, half incredulous and half as if he were trying to piece together the fragmented memories in his head.

"That's what we have collected through investigation, based on Ms. Sau Cam's testimony and old witnesses who knew your mother," Tue Minh replied. "But to have solid evidence, we need you to agree to do a DNA test, comparing it with the remaining biological samples of the Dam family."

Mr. Vu stood up, walked to the coffee shop window, looked out at the flow of people outside in silence for a long time. Tue Minh did not push, giving him enough time to digest this shocking information in his own way.

"Why did he hire me as a warehouse manager, instead of telling the truth from the beginning?" Mr. Vu asked at the end, his voice carrying a bitterness that was hard to hide. "If he knew I was his grandson, why did he let me be a regular employee for the past five years, instead of treating me like a family member?"

"I think Mr. Vinh Thanh is trying to atone for his mistakes in his own way," Tue Minh explained, trying to help him see the problem from a different angle. "He respected my mother's last wish, that I should not know about the Dam family until I was old enough. And perhaps, he also wanted to truly understand who I was before deciding to reveal the truth, instead of simply giving me a title and fortune."

"But he died before he could tell me anything," Anh Vu said, his voice choked. "I worked next to him for five years, talked to him about all sorts of things in life, without even knowing that he was my biological grandfather. Do you know what that feels like?"

Tue Minh remained silent, no answer could ease that pain. She could only sit there, listen, let him vent all his pent-up emotions.

"I understand this is too difficult to accept," she said after a long moment. "But I believe that this truth also brings you something valuable - you are not alone in the world as you once thought. You have a family, a history, and more importantly, you have the right to know and decide for yourself your relationship with that family, in the way you feel is most correct."

Mr. Vu turned back to look at her, his eyes were still full of confusion but less intense. "I need time to think about doing a DNA test," he said. "But I... I also want to know the truth, no matter how complicated it is. Perhaps, that's what my mother would also want, if she knew who my father really was in that family."

"You can think carefully, no need to rush," Tue Minh said. "But I need to warn you about something — if the test results confirm that you are Mr. Vinh Thanh's true grandson, you could become the main heir according to the new will, which would put you at the center of a legal dispute and possibly potential dangers from those who do not want this fact to be recognized."

Mr. Vu nodded, his expression much more serious. "I don't care much about property, Miss Minh. I just want to know the truth about my parents, about why they have to live such a difficult life, while this family is so rich. If knowing the truth means I have to face danger, I still accept it, because I believe my mother deserves to be vindicated, even though she is no longer alive to witness it."

That statement deeply touched Tue Minh, and she realized that Anh Vu had the same integrity and courage that perhaps Mr. Vinh Thanh saw when he decided to hire him to work, even though he never made the real reason public.

As soon as Tue Minh left the coffee shop, she received a call from Mr. Doan, his voice full of worry. "Ms. Minh, lawyer Cao Nguyen Bang has just filed a request for the court to immediately recognize the will from five years ago as the sole legal basis, on the grounds that the new will has been destroyed and its contents cannot be validly restored. The preliminary hearing will take place within the next two weeks."

That news made Tue Minh feel more pressured by time than ever. Two weeks is too short a time to complete piecing together the entire will content, confirm Anh Vu's DNA, and collect enough evidence to convince the court of the validity of the new will.

"I will prepare all the documents before that deadline," she told Mr. Doan, her voice determined even though she was worried inside. "But I need you to assist me in applying for a court order allowing the collection of DNA samples from living members of the family, so that they can be compared with Mr. Vu's sample, in case necessary."

That evening, when Tue Minh called Duy Bach to update the situation, he asked to meet her to make detailed plans for the coming days. They met in her office, spread out all the documents and evidence they had collected on the table, and together meticulously reviewed every detail.

"We have Ms. Sau Cam's testimony about the relationship between Mr. Vinh Thanh, Quoc Viet and Ms. Diem," Duy Bach listed, marking each point on a large whiteboard. "We have pieces of the will that have been assembled, although not complete. We have Quoc Hung's unusual financial records, showing strong motives. And now, we have Anh Vu's agreement to cooperate to confirm the bloodline."

"But we still lack the most important piece of the puzzle — concrete evidence about who tore up the will, and whether Mr. Vinh Thanh's death was really related to that or not," Tue Minh added, her eyes staring intently at the board, trying to find the missing link.

"I think the answer may lie in the phone call that Thanh Nha accidentally heard from Kim Yen," Duy Bach said. "If we can determine who Kim Yen was talking to, we can find out who helped her disable the camera system and break into her office."

"I will find a way to approach Kim Yen more directly," Tue Minh said, her eyes shining with determination. "Perhaps it's time we need a bolder strategy, instead of just gathering indirect evidence from those around us."

Duy Bach looked at her with both worried and admiring eyes. “Whatever strategy you choose, let me stay by your side,” he said, his voice sincere. "I don't want you to have to face these dangerous people alone again, especially after the recent threats."

Tue Minh smiled slightly, feeling the warmth in his words amidst all the surrounding tension. "Thank you, Duy Bach," she said, calling his name for the first time without his job title. "I truly appreciate your companionship throughout this journey."

Their eyes met for a moment longer than usual, a connection that went beyond investigative work slowly growing between them, silently but surely, amidst all the dangers and secrets surrounding this complicated case.