Chapter 19 — Love Awakens After Leaving

False Evidence

A week later, Duc Long completed most of the legal investigation, collecting enough evidence to show that the shell company behind the suspicious investment fund in the marriage contract had direct contact with the Tong group, and had been involved in at least two similar incidents with other partners in the past, although it had never been brought to public light because the parties involved all chose to settle quietly to avoid scandals affecting business reputation.

The engagement ceremony between Bach Vu and Van Khanh, which had been frantically prepared for weeks before with each invitation card and each flower basket hand-selected by Tuyet Nhi, finally took place as planned, but in an atmosphere far more awkward than anyone could have realized. Bach Vu, at that time, had devoted most of his attention to the silent investigation, only standing next to Van Khanh with minimal formalities in front of the camera and then leaving as soon as possible, not for a moment revealing the feelings that a groom-to-be should have. Because the engagement was already a fait accompli, this family meeting was no longer to discuss the engagement, but to finalize the official wedding date - the last step before the engagement turned into an irreversible legal bond, and also a timeline that both Duc Long and Bach Vu clearly understood they had to pass before it arrived.

At the same time, Van Khanh, after realizing that Bach Vu's attitude was becoming more and more distant and wary, began to really panic. She called her father continuously, reporting unusual signs, and Mr. Tong Ba Nghiem, in desperation due to increasing financial pressure, made a reckless decision - instructing his daughter to find a way to plant more false evidence to separate Bach Vu and Tuyet Nhi before all plots were completely exposed.

"You have to do something now, you can't let things continue going this way." Mr. Tong Ba Nghiem spoke on the phone, his voice was full of urgency and cruelty of a person on the same road. "That assistant is the biggest danger. Her influence in Bach Vu's eyes must be eliminated as soon as possible."

Van Khanh, even though she was a little hesitant in her heart about what her father asked, in the end still decided to follow the plan, partly because she was afraid of her family's uncertain future if the project in the west of the city failed completely, and partly because her self-esteem was severely hurt at being robbed of the attention of the man she considered her own by an "ordinary" assistant.

She hired a famous image editing expert in the underground media, creating a series of sophisticated fake messages, the content of which showed that Tuyet Nhi was secretly negotiating with a competitor of Doan Gia Group to sell inside information in exchange for a large sum of money. Accompanied by a few cleverly cropped secretly taken photos, showing Tuyet Nhi meeting a strange man at a discreet cafe - actually just an image of her exchanging regular work with a partner taken from a different angle and time, then subtly edited and spliced together to create a shady feeling.

She spent an entire evening sitting in her private room, reviewing each completed fake photo over and over again, convincing herself that this was a necessary action to protect her family's future, even though deep down, a part of her conscience still glimmered with a feeling of insecurity at the cruelty of the plan she was about to carry out. She remembered Bach Vu's steady eyes when he spoke up to defend Tuyet Nhi at the dress fitting that day, and that bitter feeling of jealousy once again overwhelmed all remaining hesitation in her heart.

Van Khanh chose the time carefully — right before an important family meeting scheduled to officially announce the wedding date, when senior members of both families were present. She sent those fake "evidence" to Mr. Chi Kien's email, along with an anonymous letter accusing Tuyet Nhi of taking advantage of her assistant position to profit and betray the trust of the entire Doan family.

The morning he received that email, Mr. Chi Kien finished reading it, his face darkened, a feeling of anger mixed with disappointment surged strongly. Over the years, he had always appreciated Tuyet Nhi's dedication and ability, and even thought about promoting her to a higher management position in the future. Receiving such evidence made him confused, even though deep down he still had some doubts about their authenticity.

He summoned Bach Vu to his private office immediately, placed the printed document in front of his son, his voice was stern like never before. "Look at this. If this is true, how do you think we should handle it?"

Bach Vu picked up the document, skimmed it, and right from the first lines, he felt the fakeness in it. Not only because he absolutely believes in Tuyet Nhi's qualities, but also because with the eyes of someone who had handled countless real and fake documents and contracts during the seven years of running the group, he immediately recognized that a few details in the photos showed signs of unnatural editing, the light and shadows did not match each other at some angles.

"This is false evidence, father." Bach Vu said, his voice decisive. "I can confirm this, and I think I know exactly who was behind it."

"You said it was fake?" Mr. Chi Kien frowned, not completely convinced. "Do you have any evidence to confirm that, or is it just because you have personal feelings for her that you defend it?"

"I'll prove it to you, dad, but I need a little more time." Bach Vu replied, his eyes were steadfast and unwavering. "And dad is right, I have feelings for Tuyet Nhi, I won't hide it anymore. But that feeling is not the reason why I believe she is innocent, but the ability and integrity she has shown over the past three years is the most convincing evidence."

Mr. Chi Kien remained silent, looking at his son with complicated eyes, both surprised by the unexpected frankness and worried by the rapid changed happening at this sensitive time. "Okay, I'll give you time to come to the family meeting tomorrow to prove it. But if you can't provide convincing evidence, I'll have to handle it according to the correct process. We can't let this affect the reputation of the entire group."

Leaving his father's office, Bach Vu immediately called Duc Long to come over. Together, they reviewed all the fake photos and messages, compared them with the original data to find the clearest counter-evidence. Duc Long quickly contacted the group's digital image analysis expert, requesting an urgent check of the authenticity of all documents.

"We have less than twenty-four hours to fully prepare counter-evidence before the family meeting." Duc Long said, his voice tense but determined. "If not in time, the consequences will be very serious, not only for Miss Nhi but also for your reputation before the council."

"We'll make it in time." Bach Vu replied, his voice did not waver. "I will not let anyone ruin Tuyet Nhi's honor with such dirty lies, no matter who that person is."

While waiting for the test results from the image analyst, Bach Vu and Duc Long also took the opportunity to complete the dossier on the share appropriation conspiracy, rearranging the entire thing in a clear chronological order, along with the most authentic evidence of the connection between the suspicious investment fund and the shell company of the Tong group. The two worked through the night, only resting briefly a few hours before sunrise, determined not to leave any loopholes that could be exploited by the other side in the upcoming decisive family meeting.

Near morning, the image analysis expert sent back a detailed report, firmly affirming that all the photos and messages in the denunciation documents were digitally edited products, with clear traces of professional editing software left in the file's metadata. Bach Vu looked at the report, a feeling of relief mixed with anger rose in his heart - relief because there was finally enough evidence to protect Tuyet Nhi's honor, anger at the unlimited cruelty that Van Khanh was willing to use just to achieve his goals.

That night, when Bach Vu reported the entire incident to Tuyet Nhi, she was silent for a moment, feeling a strong sense of anger and hurt at Van Khanh's cruelty, but at the same time, she also felt a deep warmth knowing that Bach Vu had not hesitated for a second to stand by her side, ready to confront even his father to protect her honor.

"I'm sorry for making you deal with this." Tuyet Nhi said, her voice trembling.

"Don't apologize." Bach Vu held her hand tightly, his eyes were steadfast like an unshakable commitment. "This is not your fault. Tomorrow, at the family meeting, we will together expose the entire truth, not only about this false evidence, but also about the stock appropriation scheme that has been hidden for so long."