Chapter 14 — Love Awakens After Leaving

Threat

Van Khanh was not someone who easily ignores anything unfavorable to her, and during recent weeks, she had clearly noticed a change in Bach Vu's attitude. He became more distant during official meetings between the two families, often using the excuse of being busy with work to shorten the time he spent with her, while spending much more time with the assistant that she always despised.

Not only that, her father, Mr. Tong Ba Nghiem, had also been unusually worried lately, constantly calling to ask about the progress of wedding preparations, urging to speed up the date of signing the cooperation contract and engagement contract, with a hasty attitude that was completely different from his usual leisurely appearance. Van Khanh, even though he didn't know the exact cause, was sharp enough to sense that something was going wrong behind the scenes.

"You have to hurry this up." Mr. Tong Ba Nghiem advised his daughter on the phone during a late night call, his voice carrying a rare tension. "The project in the west of the city is having difficulty with capital flow. I need this cooperation agreement to be signed as soon as possible. I can't wait any longer."

"Don't worry, dad, I'll take care of it just fine." Van Khanh replied, even though in her heart she also began to feel the pressure that was weighing on her whole family. She clearly understood that if this engagement broke down, not only would her marital future be ruined, but her father's business career would also be in jeopardy, dragging down the honor of the entire Song family that she was always proud of.

One afternoon, Mr. Tong Ba Nghiem's private lawyer's office called to inform him of something unusual: an old business lawyer had discreetly inquired about the transaction history of the investment fund jointly named in the marriage contract, and about the shell company with the same address as a subsidiary of the Tong group. Following several layers of bridging relationships in the corporate lawyer world, which rarely keep secrets for long, the person behind that question turned out to be an old friend of Ha Duc Long - head of the legal department of Doan Gia Group. Mr. Tong Ba Nghiem immediately connected the phone to his daughter. His voice could not hide the rare confusion.

After hearing this, Van Khanh's face darkened. With just those few fragmentary details, she was sharp enough to piece together the rest - that Bach Vu, along with the head of the legal department and the special assistant, must have been secretly investigating the very clause that her father had worked so hard to install in the marriage contract.

She hung up the phone, stood up and walked to the window of her private room to look down at the busy street below, in her mind starting to plan out the next steps that needed to be taken to ensure that the engagement could not be shaken by any obstacle. Anger flared up in Van Khanh's heart. She understood immediately that, if that investigation was successful, not only would the engagement contract be broken, but the plan her father had worked so hard to arrange would also go up in smoke, dragging the entire financial future of the Song family into deep trouble. And in her mind, the person most responsible for uncovering this conspiracy was none other than Vu Tuyet Nhi - the assistant she had always considered an insignificant obstacle, not worth worrying about.

Van Khanh decided to take action. First, she secretly hired a private investigation company famous among the upper class, specializing in handling sensitive cases that require absolute confidentiality. Within just three days, a thick report was sent to her, detailing every detail of Tuyet Nhi's background — from the fact that her mother was the longtime housekeeper of the Doan mansion, to the address of the small room where mother and daughter lived in the backyard, and even her daily schedule, including the fact that she was often seen walking from an intersection a few hundred meters from the mansion's side gate every evening.

Van Khanh read each page of the report with a triumphant smile gradually appearing on her lips. She understood that she held in her hands a weapon powerful enough to completely defeat the opponent she had always underestimated. She arranged to meet Tuyet Nhi privately at a luxury cafe near the group's headquarters, under the pretext of discussing more details of the engagement, but as soon as they both sat down, her attitude changed completely, without any polite cover left.

"Do you think I don't know what you're doing behind my back?" Van Khanh opened her mouth, her voice was sharp, her eyes looking at Tuyet Nhi were full of hostility.

Tuyet Nhi remained calm, even though her heart was immediately on high alert. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Stop pretending to be innocent." Van Khanh sneered, her voice full of contempt. "I know you and Mr. Vu are investigating something related to my family's contract. Who do you think you are, daring to meddle in other people's affairs like that?"

"If there are any issues related to the transparency of the contract, it is the legal department's responsibility to clarify, not a personal matter between you and me." Tuyet Nhi replied, her voice still remaining calm and professional, even though her heart was beating faster than usual.

"What responsibility? I clearly see that you are intentionally sabotaging my engagement to have the opportunity to approach Mr. Vu." Van Khanh leaned forward, his voice low but full of menace. "Do you think a girl from an ordinary background like you can compare to me? Do you know who I am? I can destroy your career with just one phone call."

"If you want to say something, just say it directly." Tuyet Nhi replied, trying to keep her voice steady, even though her hands were tightly clasped together under the table to hide the tremor that had begun to spread to each finger tip.

Van Khanh smirked, her eyes flashing with dangerous triumph. "I've asked someone to investigate you, Ms. Tuyet Nhi. Do you think I don't know that your mother is a housekeeper in the Doan family government? Do you think I don't know that you, the daughter of a servant, have to crawl into a small room behind the backyard door every night to wash clothes for the man you secretly love?"

Tuyet Nhi felt like her whole body froze, the blood seemed to stop flowing in her veins. She did not expect Van Khanh to investigate so deeply, and also did not expect the secret she had tried to keep secret for the past three years to be exposed so nakedly, right in front of the woman she considered the biggest threat.

"Sister..." Tuyet Nhi tried to speak but her voice was stuck in her throat.

"Don't deny it." Van Khanh interrupted, her voice filled with cruel pleasure. "If you don't want the whole corporation and Hanoi's elite to know your true identity - a servant girl pretending to be a high-ranking assistant to deceive the general director's feelings - then you'd better stop that nonsense investigation, and disappear from Mr. Vu's life as soon as possible."

"Do you think you can use my background to threaten me?" Tuyet Nhi asked, her voice trembling but still trying to keep her remaining pride.

"I don't think, I'm sure." Van Khanh stood up and looked down at Tuyet Nhi with eyes full of superiority. "In this upper class world, honor and status are everything. Once the truth about you is exposed, not only will Mr. Vu feel deceived, but also Mr. Chi Kien will not be able to accept that his son is romantically involved with the daughter of a servant in his own house. You should know your own things, don't make me have to take action."

Having finished speaking, Van Khanh turned and left the cafe, leaving Tuyet Nhi sitting there alone, her trembling hands clutching the glass of water that had cooled since then. She looked out the glass window, the city was still bustling as usual, but in her heart, the whole world seemed to have just collapsed. The secret she had tried to protect all these years was now in the hands of someone willing to use it to destroy her without hesitation.

Tuyet Nhi sat there for a long time after Van Khanh left, no longer paying attention to the curious eyes of the surrounding guests at her blank expression. She remembered every cold threat just now, every detail of her private life that she thought she had kept completely hidden, now exposed to someone who was willing to take advantage of it to destroy her. She wondered if the private investigation company had discovered anything else — if they knew about the close childhood relationship between her and Bach Vu, or if they just stopped at the current status of her and her mother.

The phone in her pocket vibrated, it was a text message from Bach Vu asking about the progress of a work document. She looked at the phone screen, her fingers trembling, not knowing how to answer. It felt like all the foundations she had built up over the past three years were shaking violently at the risk of complete collapse in just a moment.