Chapter 12 — It's Too Late, Doctor Vu

Dinh Vu did not ask Mien's former homeroom teacher directly for fear of revealing the family's privacy. Instead, he asked an acquaintance working in the education industry to contact the old school's board of directors, citing the need to transfer school records, from there he was able to track down the new preschool where Mien was studying, then silently watched from afar on a pick-up and drop-off afternoon to determine exactly where the mother and child were living. The entire journey of skillful questioning took nearly a week, and when he finally had the address of Lam Nhi's new apartment in hand, he found himself facing another fear, greater than the fear of not being able to find her.

He didn't come right away. For two days in a row, he stood in front of an old apartment building in Cau Giay during a rare lunch break between work schedules, wondering whether he should knock on the door or not, whether his sudden appearance would hurt Lam Nhi even more. But in the end, when he had enough initial evidence about Vuong Ba Qian and Vuong Tuyet Nhung, he decided he couldn't wait any longer — every day that passed was a day she had to live with a false truth, and he couldn't let that continue.

Friday night, after finishing his shift, Dinh Vu brought a thick file and a laptop containing all the collected data, driving to the small apartment. He stood in front of the faded green painted door, took a deep breath before knocking.

Lam Nhi opened the door, and the moment she saw him standing there, her face was briefly stunned and then quickly turned cold and defensive. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you. Just fifteen minutes." Dinh Vu said, his voice trying to stay calm even though his heart was filled with emotions when he saw her at such a close distance for the first time in nearly a month.

"I don't think we have anything more to talk about." Lam Nhi replied, still holding the door tightly, with no intention of inviting him in.

"I know you think so. But I have evidence, Nhi. Evidence shows that night was a deliberate set-up." He spoke quickly, afraid that if he was late, she would slam the door right in his face.

Lam Nhi paused, her eyes showed a moment of wavering, but then she shook her head, her voice still determined. "Do you think I'll believe anything you say now? After five years of hearing promises, now another story is made up to make you forgive me?"

"I'm not asking for your forgiveness right now." Dinh Vu replied, his voice becoming earnest. "I just ask you for fifteen minutes to see what I've found out. After that, if you still want me to leave, I won't bother you again, until you're ready."

Lam Nhi was silent for a long time, her eyes searching his face, looking for something — perhaps sincerity, perhaps a sign of another elaborate lie. Finally, she sighed and opened the door a little wider.

"Fifteen minutes. Mien is sleeping, please speak quietly."

Dinh Vu entered the small apartment, looked around at the simple but neat and cozy space in Lam Nhi's own way - a few small potted plants on the windowsill, a picture drawn by Mien stuck to the wall with tape, an old sofa covered with a clean beige sheet. On the simple plywood shelf, he noticed a few familiar girls' toys neatly arranged, along with a small photo frame of the mother and daughter smiling brightly at a picnic that he couldn't remember clearly, perhaps because he was busy with a shift at the time and wasn't present. That small detail made his chest tighten — his wife and children's lives still went on, there were still happy moments even without him there, which both made him relieved to know they were okay, but also made him painful because he realized how many years he had missed when he could have been by their side.

He felt the pain in his heart when he saw his wife and children having to live in such a modest space, while his large villa remained empty every night, with only the sound of his own lonely footsteps echoing on the wooden floor. He realized that, even though this apartment was much smaller than what Lam Nhi used to have, it still exuded a genuine warmth that luxurious villa, no matter how fully equipped, could not compare, because simply, there was no need to hide anything here.

He sat down on the sofa at her cold invitation, opened his laptop, and began systematically presenting each piece of evidence — the disabled camera data from Vuong Ba Khiem's administrative account, information about Vuong Tuyet Nhung and his family relationship and debt with him, and even the analysis of motives related to the investment deal that Khac Son helped him clarify.

Lam Nhi sat opposite, listening in silence, her face did not show much emotion, but her hands clasped tightly together on her thighs betrayed the tension she was trying to suppress.

"So you want me to believe that everything I saw that day was just an act staged by someone?" She spoke up when he finished, her voice still filled with skepticism. "Don't you think that sounds too convenient for you, Dinh Vu? A perfect story to explain all the mistakes, blaming all the blame on some mysterious plot?"

"I understand why you're suspicious." Dinh Vu replied, his voice was not angry at her skepticism, only patience and understanding. "If I were in your position, I would probably react the same way. But Nhi, ask yourself - if you really had a relationship with that woman, why do you have to find out about her identity, about her relationship with Vuong Ba Khiem, about her motives related to the investment deal? If it was really an affair, you just need to admit or deny, there is no need to investigate so deeply."

Lam Nhi was silent, what he said had some logic that she couldn't completely deny, but the wound in her heart was still too fresh, too painful to open her heart to trust immediately.

"I need time." She spoke finally, her voice tired. "I'm not saying I don't believe anything you just said, but I can't believe it right away either. Too much has happened, Dinh Vu. You can't expect me to let go of all the hurt after just one evening with a few documents on the computer."

"I understand." Dinh Vu nodded, although he couldn't help but feel disappointed because he had hoped for more in this meeting. "I won't force you. I just hope you keep these documents to think about further." He gave her a printout summarizing what he had presented. "And Nhi, whether you believe me or not, I still want you to know one thing — I have never, and will never betray you. Whatever happened that night, it was not my choice."

Lam Nhi took the documents, didn't say anything more, just sent him out the door in silence. Before walking out, Dinh Vu stopped and turned his head to look towards the bedroom where his daughter was sleeping.

"Can I look at you for a moment? Just stand at the door, I won't wake you up."

Lam Nhi hesitated for a moment, then nodded, leading him to the slightly opened bedroom door. Dinh Vu stood silently looking at his daughter who was sleeping soundly, her small face peaceful in the gentle night light, his heart choked with longing and regret. He didn't dare go in, just stood there for a long time, then softly whispered "I'm sorry" before turning and leaving.

Closing the door behind him, Lam Nhi leaned her back against the door, closed her eyes, letting the complicated emotions roll in her heart - the doubt, the unresolved pain, but also a fragile glimmer of hope that she didn't dare admit to herself. She picked up the document he left behind, sat down at the dining table, and began to read each page more carefully, even though she still said she wasn't ready to trust.

She read until nearly one o'clock in the morning, looking over and over again lines of technical data that she didn't completely understand, unfamiliar names like Vuong Ba Khiem, Vuong Tuyet Nhung, numbers about share ratios and voting rights. There were passages that she had to reread three or four times to grasp the meaning, and each time she read, a part of her was a little more shaken by the logical argument that Dinh Vu presented. But as soon as that feeling was rekindled, the image of a strange woman coming out of the bedroom with a terrifyingly natural expression came rushing back, extinguishing all the wobbles that had just formed.

She closed the documents and put them in a drawer, telling herself that even though what he said was reasonable, she still needed time, needed more solid evidence before allowing her heart to open again. That night, for the first time since leaving the villa, Lam Nhi couldn't sleep for another reason - not because of the pain and despair like before, but because a question began to appear in her heart that she hadn't dared to face: if everything Dinh Vu said was true, then she had unjustly left the man she loved the most, and pushed the whole small family into an unnecessary separation.