Chapter 19 — Marriage Is A Trap

Company related to Thinh Dat Materials. Also the company of Vuong Chi Cuong's cousin. In that moment… All the tangled threads finally connected together. To Hoa Anh. Vuong Chi Cuong. Phuong Dao. Luc Canh Tham. This was never just a simple affair story. It's a game of chess. And the starting point of that chessboard... is To Hoa Anh. My aunt. What she wanted wasn't just for my reputation to crumble. It's about wanting me to completely disappear from the publishing industry. Only then... To Thi Van Hoa will no longer have any competitors. And my ex-husband. My marriage. Phuong Dao's appearance... It's all just part of her layout. I sat in front of the table, looked at the names on the white paper and slowly read out each word.

“To Hoa Anh.”

Twelve years now. That year she told me to go my own way. As a result, on that road... She dug one hole after another waiting for me. If that's the case... Then don't blame me for not accepting this aunt anymore. The next morning, I did three things. First thing. Call Tan Loc.

“Help me investigate the money flow between To Hoa Anh and Vuong Chi Cuong.”

“To Hoa Anh?”

“Your biological aunt?”

Tan Loc did not ask anything more. The second thing. I called Lam Kha.

“Contact editor-in-chief Trieu.”

“Strongly increase new book promotion campaign.”

“Budget doubled.”

"Double?"

Lam Kha took a deep breath.

“Miss To, the current budget is—”

I interrupted her.

“I want this book's sales to exceed 1,000,000 copies within a month.”

“One million copies?!”

“This target…”

“Can you do it?”

The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds. Then Lam Kha replied in a low voice:

“I will try.”

Third thing. I sent Co Dien a message.

"The woman over fifty years old that Phuong Dao mentioned, I can roughly guess who it is."

“I need your help with something.”

The other party responded very quickly.

“Help me investigate the connection between To Thi Van Hoa and the Thinh Dat company system.”

“Give me two days.”

Two days later, Co Dien emailed all the documents to me. In the past three years, To Thi Van Hoa had seven transactions with five companies in the Thinh Dat system. Among them are three fake contracts. Money through those contracts flowed from To Thi Van Hoa to Vuong Chi Cuong's personal account. In other words... To Hoa Anh used To Thi Van Hoa's money to support Vuong Chi Cuong. Vuong Chi Cuong used that money to arrange for Phuong Dao to approach Luc Canh Tham. Through Luc Canh Tham, Phuong Dao obtained internal documents of Hang Vien Real Estate. And the ultimate goal... Is for To Hoa Anh to get a sum of money enough to save To Thi Van Hoa's life through Hang Vien's land. The real focus of the entire plan... Is that land. It's just a convenient "by-product" to handle. I finished reading the document and then turned off the computer. Then pick up the phone and call a number. Some are twelve years old and I have never clicked again. The bell rang five times. The other end of the line picked up the phone. It's To Hoa Anh's voice. A little older in memory. But the intonation does not change. The other end of the line was silent for a long time.

“What are you calling for?”

“Review old stories.”

"There's nothing old between you and me to talk about."

“Let's talk again then.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know everything.”

“To Thi Van Chemistry.”

“Thinh Dat.”

“Vuong Chi Cuong.”

“Phuong Dao.”

The other person's breathing immediately changed.

“What are you talking about?”

I leaned back in my chair, my voice extremely calm.

“That year, you told me to go my own way.”

“I'm gone.”

“Going further than you think.”

“So far…”

“I had to turn around and deal with you.”

“To Niem, are you crazy?”

“I don't understand what you're saying.”

“So you say it another way.”

“Vuong Chi Cuong has been arrested.”

“Phuong Dao was also arrested.”

“The things they revealed…”

“Very soon it will point to you.”

“I want to talk to you before the police come to the door…”

“Or after that?”

The other end of the line was silent for more than ten seconds. Finally, To Hoa Anh asked in a low voice:

“What do you want?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.”

“At To Thi Van Hoa's office.”

“Let's meet.”

“You want to come here?”