Chapter 15 — Music Without Chorus

Three days after meeting Duc Minh, the independent mix was leaked. It's not the final version, but it's clear enough for the listener to recognize Gia Linh's voice and the spaces between verses. Below the file, the poster wrote: "Khai Nam's secret album, created with stolen data."

Linh called An before calling the company. “I didn't post.”

“I know.”

“But people think I did it.”

“Don't answer right away.”

“I want to answer.”

“Let's wait for Hanh to confirm the source.”

Linh breathed heavily. "I always say to wait. If you wait, someone else will speak for you."

“If you answer without knowing, they will use your statement as evidence against us.”

“So you have to shut up?”

“No. You have to tell me exactly what you know.”

Linh was silent, then agreed. An understood that she was asking a young person to endure patience that she herself did not have.

Tung retrieves the file source. The leak was uploaded from a server in Singapore, but the file was exported from a machine in the Milky Way. The trail leads to a sub-admin account, not Quang or Duc Minh. Account name "GiaLinh_demo".

“They want to blame Linh,” Tung said. “Or there is someone in the company who wants to destroy Quang.”

Nam will come immediately. An showed me the diary. He looked at the account name and shook his head.

“That account was created by the communications department to receive Linh's files.”

“Who has the password?”

“Quang, Duc Minh, head of communications and Linh's assistant.”

“Linh is not there?”

"Are not."

An looked at him. “Are you sure?”

“I helped create the account.”

“Do you keep the old password?”

"Are not."

“You have to make it clear.”

Nam turned his face. "I have an old notebook in which the password structure is written. The complete password is not written down."

“Do you still have it?”

"Have."

“Give it to Hanh.”

Nam took the book from the car. The old pages are full of musical notation, machine names, room numbers. An noticed that on the last page there was a line: "Do not use artist names for admin accounts." Below, other handwriting reads: “It's too late.”

Hanh asked Tung to compare the writing. The second line is from Duc Minh. The book proves that he knew about the risk of the account being used to blame, but it is not proof that he leaked the files.

While waiting, Quang invited Gia Linh to the press conference. The content claims that the leaked version is an “unlicensed demo released by a disgruntled employee.” The company wanted Linh to stand next to him and say she was not involved in the dispute.

Linh sent an invitation photo to An. “I don't want to stand next to him.”

“You can refuse.”

“Contract fines are very heavy.”

Nam said: "I will pay part of it."

Linh interrupted. "I don't want you to pay. I want to choose for myself."

An looked at her through the screen. "So I came, but brought a lawyer. I said I did not create a leak, did not confirm the right to use Le Chi's voice, and did not agree with the company's statement."

Linh smiled sourly. “I'm teaching you how to work with traps.”

“I'm also studying.”

The press conference took place in a hotel room. Quang stands in front of the Milky Way backdrop, behind is a photo of Gia Linh. Linh stepped up but did not stand in the position the company had prepared. She placed a piece of paper on the podium.

“I'm not the one who created the leak,” she said. "I only recorded the main vocal part according to the producer's instructions. Then I discovered another layer of vocals was added. I asked the company to pause and provide usage rights documents."

Quang raised his hand to stop, but Linh continued. "I cannot confirm who that voice class belongs to without the owner speaking up. Me I do not accept the use of my name as a substitute for someone else's name."

The meeting room is noisy. The journalist asked about Khai Nam and Mai An. Linh did not answer for them. She only said she was responsible for the portion collected and was working with a lawyer.

After the press conference, Quang called An. “Are you satisfied? You dragged a young singer into trouble.”

“She chose it herself.”

“You think that option has no price?”

"Have. You are collecting money at that price.”

Quang said more quietly: "If you withdraw your name, I can protect Linh."

“You are using others to bargain with me.”

“I'm suggesting a solution.”

“Your solution always requires someone to shut up.”

An hung up the phone. She did not feel relieved. Linh may lose the contract, Nam may be sued, Mach Nuoc may not be able to pay the rent. But silence has a price, it's just that it sends bills to people who aren't in the room.

That night, Le Chi sent a new audio file. She clearly stated that the file was recorded by herself with an old camera and was not edited. In the file, she said: "I don't want you to use my voice as proof of everything. Use documents, witnesses, and uncut audio. If published, let listeners know I have agreed to this publication.”

After the words there is a very short melody, without a chorus. An placed his hands on the table. Its vibrations resemble the sound of water at a ferry dock, unlike the company's demo.

After hearing this, Nam's eyes turned red. “She still composes.”

“And still don't want us to finish instead.”

“Can we use this passage?”

“Not yet, if there are no terms.”

Le Chi attached a written permission to use the recording in the album on the condition that her name, Lam's and the original composer's names are fully recorded; All revenue from this section goes to the community music teaching fund that she manages. She did not ask to appear.

An read the terms and sent it to Hanh. Hanh replied that it could be used as a legal basis, but needed confirmation of Lam's family's identity and rights.

Immediately after that, a new file appeared in the group's public folder. No one created it. File name: "Le Chi — last sentence". When An opened it, only Nam said: "If you announce it, my mother will lose her house."

Nam turned pale. “That's my voice.”

An stops the file. “When did you say this?”

“The day I signed the contract.”

“Who wrote it?”

“Duc Minh.”

The file deleted itself after ten seconds, but Tung was able to back it up in time. Hanh said this was intimidation and manipulation, not copyright material.

Nam sat still, his hands shaking. An wanted to put her hand on his shoulder, but stopped. She didn't want intimacy to turn into a reward for a truth that came late.

“Tomorrow,” An said, “I'll tell my mother everything in the report. Don't hide hospital bills."

“My mother passed away.”

“So tell the record.”

Nam nodded. Outside the door, the sound of the car was still running. The track doesn't have a chorus yet, but their story is already starting to repeat one thing: every time someone tries to force it toward a pleasant conclusion, another grain of truth emerges.

I did not delete the leak from my device. Isolate the hash code, record the time of discovery and send it to Hanh. The platform has received a removal request for violating Le Chi's personal rights, but cannot delete all copies.

Linh watched the number of shares increase and her hands shook. “I don't want everyone to hear this version.”

“I am not responsible for someone spreading it,” An said. “You just need to make it clear that you don't agree.”

“If I talk, they'll say I'm promoting.”

“Let's say it once, then stop."

Linh wrote: "I do not release and do not allow the use of leaked versions. I asked to verify the permissions of every voice class in there. I hope people don't continue to share." She posted without the name An or Nam.

Some people still shared, but the comments started asking about permissions. That question doesn't fix the damage, but it draws attention away from blaming Linh.

Tung discovered that the leaked version was not a file taken from Mach Nuoc. It was exported before the audition, from the label's device, and then renamed. The account “GiaLinh_demo” is only used as a distraction.

“Maybe Duc Minh leaked to destroy Quang,” Tung said.

“Or Quang Leak to force us to react,” An replied.

“We don't have enough data.”

“So don't choose the story.”

Nam came with a box of documents. He received a letter from Linh's mother, telling her that her family could lose tuition if the contract was canceled. Nam offered to help by paying studio fees, but Linh refused.

“I don't want to depend on someone who was silent because of money,” she said.

Nam listened, then asked what support she wanted. Linh said we need a transparent contract. Hanh helped draft an independent agreement in which Linh owned the vocals and had the right to withdraw the recording if the data source changed.

An read the agreement and discovered that a sentence about editing rights was too broad. She changed it to "technical editing does not change the expressive content". Spiritual notes.

The new recording took place in a small room at a university, where students could listen to it. No factory equipment used, no Le Chi recordings. Linh sings a song about returning a name tag to someone who has passed away. She did not mention Lam directly, but in the notes she noted the inspiration.

Nam doesn't play music. He sat in the last row, writing the time. An is in charge of sound, Vy controls the machine. When Linh lost her breath in the last sentence, An asked if she wanted to take it back.

“No. That mark is mine.”

"Okay."

After the recording session, a student asked why the song didn't have a chorus. Linh replied: "Because there are things that if repeated will turn into slogans."

An looked at Nam. He didn't smile, but nodded.

Hanh received a mediation offer from the Milky Way. The label wants the group to delete critical posts, in exchange for a commitment not to sue Linh and to allow Nam to release a small album. The clause does not mention Le Chi or Lam.

“They want to turn everything into a transaction,” Tung said.

“Trading is sometimes necessary,” Hanh replied. “But don't delete the rights part.”

Nam asked: "If I accept, Linh will be safe."

An turned. “Are you trying to use me as a price?”

“I want to reduce the damage.”

“Whose loss?”

Nam did not answer. Linh said first: "I don't want to be protected by other people disappearing. I will bear my own contract.”

Nam bowed his head, then refused the name deletion clause.

While waiting for negotiations, An received the file "Le Chi - last sentence". Tung was able to save part of it before the file deleted itself. Nam's voice talked about hospital fees, but in the background there was Duc Minh's voice instructing an employee to set a password. The sound is not enough to be conclusive evidence, but it is enough to show that the threat was created from Nam's private data.

Hanh added this behavior to her profile. Nam wrote a confirmation, clearly stating that he did not allow the recording of the conversation.

“Do you want to announce it?” An asked.

“No. It's a private matter between me and my mother.”

“So keep it on file.”

Nam nodded. An understands that protecting private rights Privacy is as important as disclosing wrongdoing. They cannot reclaim Lam's name by using other people's lives as entertainment evidence.

That night, Gia Linh sent word that she wanted to meet Le Chi when she was ready. An conveyed his words, no promises. Le Chi replied: "One day, if she wants to sing for herself, I will listen."

An put down the phone. The leaked version is still floating around the internet, but the group has a new version with clean sources and another voice that cannot be replaced.