Chapter 12 — Never Blame a Janitor

Nguyet Ha lightly tapped her finger on the closed file on the table, hesitant to let go of the last professional excuse that kept her close to the father and daughter. Anh Thu's next follow-up appointment took place on schedule two weeks after the previous visit. Nguyet Ha, after a general check-up and confirming that the girl's physical and psychological health was completely stable, decided to close the routine monitoring file, only advising a re-examination if any unusual signs reappeared. But instead of ending the relationship there, she realized she didn't want to let things stop so suddenly.

"If you don't mind," she said to Dac Long as she saw father and son out of the clinic, "I still want to keep in touch, just to see if Thu's situation is stable in the long term. Sometimes psychological trauma at this age can recur later."

Dac Long, despite realizing that the real reason behind the proposal was not purely technical, still nodded in agreement, partly because of the trust that had gradually formed over the past weeks, partly because deep down, he could not deny that the presence of this calm, sharp woman brought a rare sense of security that he had never allowed himself to feel during eight years of living in constant vigilance.

The relationship between them, from then on, gradually shifted from the doctor-patient range to a more personal intimacy. Nguyet Ha sometimes stops by the small apartment on weekends, brings fruit or snacks, and sat and chats with Anh Thu about topics that had nothing to do with medicine — about painting, about her favorite movies, about her future dream of becoming a children's book illustrator. Dac Long, in those evenings, often stood quietly in the kitchen preparing food, listening to the laughter of two women echoing in the small apartment, feeling a simple happiness that he thought he had lost forever since that fateful night eight years ago.

But it was that closeness that none of the three could have predicted that unintentionally put Nguyet Ha in the sights of those who were secretly watching Dac Long's family.

One evening, when Nguyet Ha left the hospital after a late shift, she noticed a black car following her all the way from the hospital to the apartment complex where she was living. At first she thought it was just a coincidence, but as the car continued to follow closely even after she turned onto more deserted side streets, an uneasiness began to rise in her heart. She tried to stay calm, drove straight to an area with many people, parked in front of a convenience store with lights on, and only then did the strange car quietly go somewhere else.

That night, even though she returned home safely, Nguyet Ha still could not feel secure. She called Dac Long and told the whole incident, trying to keep her voice calm but unable to hide her worry.

"Maybe I'm thinking too much," she said, "but I have the feeling I'm being watched. Not the first time I've had this feeling in the past few days."

Hearing those words, Dac Long clenched the phone in his hand, his whole body stiffened - all the fear he had tried to suppress over the past few days flared up again with more intensity than ever. He understood immediately, this was not a coincidence. This is a direct consequence of the fact that he let Nguyet Ha get too close to his family's private life, and now, she has become a potential target in the eyes of those who are following him.

His voice was unusually serious. "Doctor Ha, I need you to listen to me carefully. From now on, don't go alone late at night, always keep in touch with me when you leave the hospital, and if there are any unusual signs, call me immediately, regardless of the time."

Nguyet Ha was silent for a second before asking directly, her voice full of worry but also mixed with determination to know the truth. "Mr. Phuc, what's going on? I think it's time you tell me, at least what I need to know to protect myself."

Dac Long was silent for a long time on the other end of the line, struggling internally between continuing to keep the secret to protect her from further involvement, and the need to give her enough information so that she could protect herself against the real danger that was lurking. Finally, he decided on a compromise.

"I can't tell everything over the phone," he said. "But I can tell you this: there are some people from my past, very dangerous people, who may be trying to put pressure on me through the people around me, including my daughter and anyone close to our family. I sincerely apologize for unintentionally dragging you into this. If you want, I completely understand if you want to keep your distance from now on, to avoid unnecessary danger."

Nguyet Ha was silent for a moment, considering what he had just said. As a doctor who is used to facing life and death situations in her daily work, she is not someone who easily panics in the face of danger. But more than that, in that moment, she realized something clearer than ever in her heart: no matter what the danger was, no matter how big the man's secret was, she did not want to leave the small family that had gradually become important to her over the past weeks.

"I don't want to keep my distance," she replied immediately, without hesitation. "I just want to understand better so I can help, instead of becoming a burden and making you worry more."

Those words made Dac Long's heart, which had been frozen for the past eight years, tremble strongly. He never thought he would be able to feel this warmth again in his life, since losing Thao Ngan. But immediately, another fear arose in him — the fear that history might repeat itself, that once again, a woman he cared for deeply might suffer the consequences of his own enemies.

His voice returned to its usual assertiveness. "I will arrange a discreet guard for you. Not to control your life, but to ensure your safety until I resolve everything. I hope you understand and accept that."

That same evening, Dac Long contacted Ho Trong Nhan and arranged a small security team to discreetly monitor and protect Nguyet Ha in all daily activities without letting her feel constrained or overly supervised. At the same time, he also decided to speed up the entire plan that he and his colleagues have been preparing for the past eight years. He cannot let the situation continue to drag on in uncertainty, when with each passing day, the circle of danger seems to be tightening around the people he loves most - not only his daughter, but now, the woman who has silently entered his heart without even realizing it.

That night, standing alone at the window, looking out at the city's sparkling lights in the distance, Dac Long understood that the time when he had to officially reappear, to openly confront Tang Bach Nguyen, was coming closer than ever. He could no longer wait for more perfect proof, could no longer delay out of excessive caution. The people he loves are in danger right now, and a father, a man who once headed an empire, will never let fear stop him from protecting them for another moment.

The next morning, before going on duty, Dac Long took the opportunity to stop by Nguyet Ha's apartment and personally introduce two people in Ho Trong Nhan's security team who would quietly be on duty near the area where she lived and worked. He carefully instructed them not to reveal themselves at all, to only intervene when absolutely necessary, and at the same time provided Nguyet Ha with a secondary phone with pre-installed emergency contact numbers directly to both Ho Trong Nhan and himself.

"You've overdone it," Nguyet Ha said, although her voice couldn't hide her emotion at that meticulous thoughtfulness. "I'm just an ordinary doctor. I'm not used to having someone watching over me all day."

"For me, nothing is too much when it comes to the safety of the people I care about," Dac Long replied, his eyes looking straight at her with a sincerity he rarely showed. Nguyet Ha blushed slightly at that statement, turned away to hide a slight smile, but in her heart, an unusually warm feeling was spreading, mixed with anxiety about the invisible dangers that were gradually surrounding the man she was gradually falling in love with.

Before leaving, Dac Long stopped at the door and turned to look at her again. "I promise, when everything is over, I will tell you the whole truth, without hiding anything. I just hope you can wait patiently a little longer."

"I will wait," Nguyet Ha replied, her voice gentle but firm, "no matter what the truth is."