Chapter 21 — From Grandmother to Capitalist Queen

Co Dinh Xuyen's eyebrows frowned. He glanced at the other end of the hallway — the elevator had gone down, the number stopped at basement B1.

“Have you met Lam Tri Y?”

“She told me… you want me to quit at the end of the month.” To Van Tinh's voice was hoarse, "Is it true?"

Co Dinh Xuyen was silent for a few seconds.

"Van Tinh, we'll talk about this later. This is not the place to talk."

“Is it true?” She raised her voice, her questioning echoing throughout the hallway.

Co Dinh Xuyen's jaw tightened. He stepped forward, bent down to help her up, his voice was low: "Yes. But I will give you the compensation you deserve—"

“Compensation?” To Van Tinh shook his hand away and staggered back a step, "You said you loved me! You said you would divorce me to marry me! Now you say 'compensation' to me?"

“Van Tinh, calm down a bit—”

“I'm very calm!” Her voice became sharp, tears welled up again, "Co Dinh Xuyen, I got pregnant because of you! Do you want me to have an abortion?"

Co Dinh Xuyen's face changed. He looked around at both ends of the hallway — fortunately, no one was passing by at this hour.

“I did not force you to have an abortion.” His voice became even more oppressive, "If a child is born, I will be responsible for the child support. But Van Tinh, you should not hide from me the story of your relationship with Tham Nhat Minh."

To Van Tinh's body stiffened.

“You… how do you know?”

“You know how, it doesn't matter.” Co Dinh Xuyen's tone became cold, "The important thing is - you have an old relationship with Dinh Huy's people, but you didn't declare it when you accepted the job. In any professional company, that is a serious violation of the rules."

"I have never smuggled any information to Tham Nhat Minh! I swear!"

“You swear?” Co Dinh Xuyen sneered, "Van Tinh, it's not that I don't trust you. But in the commercial world, 'swearing' doesn't work. If your appearance makes the relationship between investors and companies complicated, then I have to resolve that complexity."

To Van Tinh looked at him, as if looking at a stranger. This man, three days ago, whispered in her ear, "You are my sunshine." Now he stood in front of her, neatly dressed, with a cold expression, using the cold business language of "resolving complications" to cleverly chase her away. She suddenly remembered Lam Tri Y's words — *"A relationship without a foundation of trust is like a house without a foundation, one blow of the wind and it collapses."* Her house really collapsed. Not even a single piece of intact tile remained.

“Okay.” She wiped her tears, her voice suddenly became calm, "I'll go. But I have one condition."

“What conditions?”

“The child I will give birth to. You must pay support — not alms, but according to legal standards. In addition, I want an arrangement fee. Five million yuan (about 17 billion VND).”

Co Dinh Xuyen's eyes narrowed.

“Five million yuan?”

“Don't you think it's worth it?” To Van Tinh looked at him, for the first time there was toughness in her eyes, "Co Dinh Xuyen, if you don't agree, I will go to the press. The founder of Dinh Xuyen Group had an affair, got his lover pregnant, then forced his lover to quit - how much this story is worth, you should know better than me."

Co Dinh Xuyen's face changed.

“You're threatening Older brother?"

"You taught me." To Van Tinh curled her lips and gave a bitter smile, "You once said that in trade negotiations, the person with the cards in hand has the right to speak. Now I have the cards in my hand — your child, and your scandal.”

Co Dinh Xuyen was silent for a long time.

“Okay. Five million yuan. But you have to sign a confidentiality agreement and never mention this to anyone."

“Successful communication.”

To Van Tinh turned around and walked towards the other end of the hallway, her steps were a bit unsteady, but her back was very straight.