Chapter 10 — Never Blame a Janitor

Three days after Dac Long sent photos of a strange man to Ho Trong Nhan, an emergency call rang out in the middle of the night, causing him to jump out of bed immediately. It's a habit he hasn't broken in the past eight years - sleeping with his phone always on the loudest ringer, ready to wake up in a split second if there's any movement.

"Mr. Long, I have verified that man's identity," Ho Trong Nhan's voice rang out over the phone, somewhat urgently compared to his usual calmness. "His name is Bui Quoc Cuong, he served in the armed forces before being discharged, and is currently working for a private security company called An Toan Phat. I have checked carefully, this company signs a long-term security service contract directly with Tang Phat Group, specializing in security for senior members of the Tang family, including private protection for Tang Bach Nguyen's family."

Dac Long sat up straight on the bed, a cold feeling running down his spine even though the room had no wind. "So it's as I feared. Tang Bach Nguyen sent someone to follow me."

"Not only that," Ho Trong Nhan continued, his voice increasingly heavy. "I had someone secretly check Bui Quoc Cuong's recent activity schedule over the past three months. He not only spied on his house once. There were at least four other times he appeared near the Sunrise Saigon School area, and twice near Tam Duc hospital during the days Thu was in the hospital. This shows that the surveillance began even before the bullying incident at the picnic, possibly right from when Khai Phong transferred to the same class as Thu two years ago."

That information made all the disparate pieces in Dac Long's mind suddenly come together into a complete picture, and that picture made him shudder because of the level of cruelty and calculation of the person behind it. It is not a coincidence that Tang Khai Phong studies in the same school and class as his daughter. It was no coincidence that the bullying began to escalate right around the time his family showed signs of being noticed. It was all part of a carefully calculated plan, possibly prepared long before the incident at the lake occurred.

Dac Long's voice had regained its familiar calmness, even though a violent storm was still brewing in his heart. "I need to see lawyer Bach tomorrow morning. We need to speed up our approach to the old shareholder he is persuading. If Tang Bach Nguyen really has begun to doubt me, time is running out."

The next morning, at a quiet coffee shop hidden in a small alley in District 3 - where lawyer Lam Gia Bach has chosen to be a secret meeting place for the past eight years because few people pass by and the owner is a trusted old acquaintance - Dac Long sat across from his old college friend, who has now become one of the most famous corporate dispute lawyers in Saigon under a different name in his public practice records, with the real identity of assisting Dac still remaining. Long is always kept absolutely confidential.

"Mr. Huynh Bao Toan, the shareholder I was persuading, finally agreed to meet face to face," Lam Gia Bach said, opening his laptop, showing Dac Long detailed notes about the approach that lasted nearly a year. "He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hac Thinh, still holding that position for the past eight years even though the real power is almost completely in the hands of Tang Bach Nguyen through colluding shareholders. I believe he never completely believed in the legality of the resolution to transfer shares that year, but due to lack of concrete evidence, he chose to stay silent for many years to preserve his position."

Dac Long's voice became hoarse when mentioning his wife's name. "Does he know anything about the night that happened with Thao Ngan?"

Lam Gia Bach shook his head. "I don't think so. According to what I found out, Mr. Toan only participated in the voting stage of the share transfer resolution, and had nothing to do with the group of people who broke into the villa that night. It may have been a separate group that Tang Bach Nguyen outsourced, completely separate from the shareholders participating in the financial conspiracy."

Dac Long nodded, although in his heart he still felt a pain that would never go away when talking about his wife's death. He knew that even if he found out the whole truth, even if he reclaimed the entire Black Thinh empire, nothing could bring Thao Ngan back. But at least, he can ensure justice is served, ensuring his daughter no longer has to live in fear and concealment for the rest of her life.

"Do you think Mr. Toan will agree to testify publicly?" Dac Long asked.

"That was the hardest part," Lam Gia Bach sighed. "He is seventy-two years old, his health is no longer good, and he is truly afraid of Tang Bach Nguyen's current power. I think he is willing to provide information, documents, even indirect evidence, but in order for him to testify directly before the board of directors or in court, we need to ensure his absolute safety, and perhaps, need the appearance of yourself - the only person with enough legal and moral qualifications to confront him. facing Tang Bach Nguyen directly."

That sentence made Dac Long ponder for a long time. I know, at some point, I won't be able to continue hiding in the shadows of others. He will have to step into the light himself, to face the man who destroyed his life head-on, even if that means completely giving up eight years of anonymity, even though it could put his daughter in greater danger than ever.

"Not now," he said finally, his voice determined. "I need more evidence, I need to make sure everything is ready before publicly confronting him. If I reveal myself too soon without enough strength to completely defeat him, he will have the opportunity to erase all traces, and this time, I will not have a second chance to protect my daughter."

On the way back, Dac Long stopped by Ho Trong Nhan's office again, bringing with him all the latest information from lawyer Bach. All three of them - although not sitting in the same place, continuously talking on the phone that afternoon - reviewed the overall plan together, clearly identifying what was missing, the risks to anticipate, and the most appropriate time for Dac Long to officially re-export.

But even as they are carefully calculating each step, a worrying truth still hangs over everyone's heads: if Tang Bach Nguyen has truly begun to doubt the true identity of "Tran Van Phuc", then he may also be preparing his own moves, and in a confrontation where the opponent may strike first, caution can sometimes become a fatal weakness.

Before leaving Ho Trong Nhan's office, the three of them spent nearly an hour discussing plans to mobilize more witnesses. Lam Gia Bach brought out another list, including former accounting and legal staff who worked at Hac Thinh during the period of the incident, who left the company immediately after the transfer of power for many different reasons, most of which were unclear.

"Among these," Lam Gia Bach pointed to a circled name, "there is a person named Phan Trong Nghia, who used to be the head of the general accounting department, the person who directly processed the fake loan documents that year. He quit his job just two weeks after the share transfer resolution was passed, and is currently living in seclusion in Da Lat, almost cutting off all contact with old friends in the industry."

"What do you think he knows?" Dac Long asked, his eyes flashing with a fragile hope.

"I'm not sure, but his unusual haste in leaving the company makes me believe that he knows more than he has ever declared," Lam Gia Bach replied. "I will send someone to contact him carefully to avoid making him panic and run away or alert the other side."

Ho Trong Nhan nodded in agreement and noted down the entire approach plan in his workbook. The meeting ended with an atmosphere that was both tense and somewhat cautiously optimistic — after eight years of groping in the dark, pieces of the overall picture were finally starting to emerge, even though the road ahead was still full of thorns and unpredictable uncertainties.

On the way back, Dac Long stopped by the school to pick up Anh Thu later than usual, just in time to see his daughter waiting for him at the back gate, holding a small painting she had just completed during Art class, her face beaming to show him the small award she had just received. Looking at his child's carefree smile, Dac Long temporarily put aside all heavy worries and spent the rest of the evening just being with his daughter, cooking together, watching her favorite cartoon, trying to keep their small house as an absolutely peaceful place as it has always been for the past eight years.

But that peace only lasted until Anh Thu fell asleep. That evening, when returning to the living room, Dac Long received a strange text message from an unfamiliar phone number, just a few short words but enough to make all the blood in his body freeze: "Long time no see, Mr. Long. How are you?"

He stared at the phone screen, his hands shaking from a feeling of both anger and coldness. After eight years of absolute silence, his old enemy finally spoke. He read and reread that short message dozens of times, trying to analyze every word, every punctuation mark, as if trying to find some hidden clue about the true intention behind this seemingly harmless greeting. But no matter how he analyzed it, he could only be sure of one thing: the war he had been quietly preparing for the past eight years was no longer a distant prospect in the future. It has officially begun.