Chapter 24 — Fire Behind the Line

While waiting for the fire brigade, amid the roar of the fire coming from the downstairs and the thin smoke beginning to creep through the door, Vo Ba Tho sat down on a row of old chairs, his breathing interrupted by both fear and age. He looked at Thien Ly for a long time, his eyes filled with torment of a person who knew he might not have another chance to tell the truth.

"Thien Ly, maybe this is my last chance." He spoke, his voice shaking but strangely steady. "I want you to know the whole truth about the night your father died, before it's too late."

Thien Ly knelt down in front of him, her heart pounding, not only because of the surrounding danger, but because the moment she had been waiting for eight years was finally approaching. "I'm listening, Uncle Tho."

"Eight years ago, Tang Huu Phat came to see me, asking me to help 'handle' a small problem related to the insurance records of Vinh Thinh warehouse." Mr. Tho began to speak, his voice trembling but clear. "At that time, I did not know that he intended to burn the warehouse. He just said he needed me to be 'flexible' in assessing the damage if an incident occurred. I received a large sum of money, enough to pay off the gambling debt that I had kept hidden from my family for many years."

"I thought it was just business as usual, the kind that often happens in the industry." Mr. Tho continued, his voice filled with torment. "Declaring a little bit of property value to get more insurance money, that's not uncommon in the business world. I deceived myself that I was just 'helping a little', that no one would be harmed by it."

"But you were wrong." Thien Ly said, her voice shaking with both pain and anger.

"I was tragically wrong." Mr. Tho nodded, his shoulders shaking from sobs. "I did not know that behind the so-called 'asset falsification' was a carefully calculated plan to burn the warehouse, both to receive insurance and to free up the land for another project that Tang Huu Phat was cherishing. I was just a pawn in his chessboard, but that did not lessen my guilt."

"Then the fire happened." Thien Ly said, her voice trembling.

"That's right." Mr. Tho nodded, his eyes filled with tears. "When I heard that my father and I had died in that fire, I was so panicked that I didn't know what to do. I had no idea that anyone would die. But Tang Huu Phat called me that night, saying that if I didn't ensure that the investigation concluded on the simple cause of the accident, he would publicly reveal evidence that I had accepted bribes in advance, and my whole family would be ruined."

Trong Khiem, standing next to Thien Ly, recorded the entire testimony through a camouflage device. His face was serious but still highly focused on every detail.

"The notebook that your father and Mr. Tam Rang found in the warehouse manager's office that night," Mr. Tho continued, his voice choking, "contained evidence that the warehouse had intentionally overstated the value of its inventory for insurance purposes, a plan that Tang Huu Phat had prepared in advance. When he learned that your father had found it, he ordered his men to make sure that notebook, and anyone who knew about it, would never leave that building."

Thien Ly felt the blood in her body freeze. "You mean... your father was intentionally prevented from escaping?"

Mr. Tho nodded, tears rolling down his wrinkled face. "Pham Van Khoa, the person who started the fire that night, was ordered to ensure that the warehouse manager's office — where your father returned to look for the notebook — would be completely surrounded by fire before he could escape. It was not an accident, Thien Ly. It was a deliberate murder, disguised as a careless death in the line of duty."

Hearing this, Thien Ly felt her entire body tremble, not from fear, but from an anger so intense that she could barely breathe. For eight years, she had doubted, searched, and hoped for some truth that could explain her father's death. But nothing could have prepared her for the cruel truth — that her father had been murdered on purpose, simply because he had done his duty as an honest firefighter, with the conscience of someone who could not turn a blind eye to deceit.

She remembered every little detail over the past eight years - Mr. Tho's avoiding eyes every time someone mentioned the Vinh Thinh case, Uncle Thien's heavy silence on each occasion of his father's death anniversary, the fear that made Mr. Tam Rang bury the truth for nearly a decade. All those disparate pieces, now, finally came together to form a complete picture, even though that picture was more devastating than anything she had ever imagined.

"I have always believed that my father was not careless." She said, her voice shaking between tears that kept falling. "But I never dared to imagine that the truth would be this painful. My father was killed, just because he dared to stand up against lies."

"That's right." Mr. Tho nodded, his voice choked. "And I was silent, legitimizing his death as an accident, just to protect myself. I don't deserve your forgiveness, Thien Ly. But I hope, at least, this truth can bring you and your family a little peace, no matter how late."

Thien Ly looked at him, the emotions in her heart were so complex that she couldn't name them - both extreme indignation at the crime he had assisted, and a fragile sympathy for a man who had to live in the hell of his own conscience for eight long years. She didn't say forgiveness, because she knew she wasn't ready for it, but she also no longer felt the pure anger she had imagined she would feel in this moment.

"Your father is a good person, Thien Ly." Mr. Tho said, his voice was full of regret that could not be expressed in words. "He deserved to live, he deserved to see his children grow up. I've lived with this shame for eight years, and I know, no matter what I do, I can never atone for the mistake I made."

Trong Khiem placed his hand on Thien Ly's shoulder, feeling the intense trembling in her body. "Thien Ly, I know this is a big shock. But we have the truth, fully recorded, enough to bring Tang Huu Phat to justice for intentional murder, not simply insurance fraud or arson of property."

Thien Ly nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks, but in her eyes, besides the pain, there was also a strange relief — the feeling of someone who had finally found the answer she had been looking for all her adult life. Her father was not careless. He died for his courage, for his unshakable integrity, just as she had always believed for the past eight years.

"Thank you for telling the truth." She said, her voice choked but sincere. "No matter what happens next, I will never forget that you finally had the courage to do the right thing."

Trong Khiem, still maintaining the necessary alertness in the midst of this emotional moment, checked the recording device again to make sure all the testimony had been safely stored. "This testimony, along with Pham Van Khoa's notebook and the financial data on the USB, will be enough to convict Tang Huu Phat of intentional murder, not just insurance fraud or arson of property. This is strong enough evidence to take him to court, and no matter how good a lawyer, it will be difficult to defend."

"Then let's make sure it reaches justice, no matter what happens to me." Mr. Tho said, his voice had regained some composure, as if letting go of the burden of the secret had brought him a strange peace, even in the face of the danger of death around him.

At that moment, a loud explosion rang out from downstairs, causing the entire building to shake violently. Black smoke began to pour into the cinema room at a much faster rate, and through the crack in the door, they could see that the firelight had begun to lick its way up the stairs leading to the second floor.

"We need to move now!" Thien Ly shouted, her survival instincts and expertise immediately took over, putting aside all emotions to focus on finding a way to survive for all three people in the middle of a fire that was becoming more and more dangerous every moment.