Chapter 16 — Never Blame a Janitor

No one in Tang Phat tower expected that within the next forty-eight hours, a decision made in anger by one man would push both families to the brink of no return. The request for independent audit sent by lawyer Lam Gia Bach to the Board of Directors of Hac Thinh was officially accepted for consideration after two weeks of intense debate, partly thanks to the silent support of Huynh Bao Toan as Chairman. This news, although not yet widely announced to the public, quickly spread to Tang Bach Nguyen through his dense network of relationships within the corporation, pushing him into a true state of panic for the first time in eight years.

At the same time, his personal security team completed fingerprint verification, comparing it with old data they had obtained through unofficial channels in the past, giving an almost absolute match: the guard named Tran Van Phuc was Chiem Dac Long. There was no doubt that the enemy he thought was completely eliminated from the game eight years ago was now living in the heart of Saigon, and was preparing to deal a fatal blow to the entire empire he had worked so hard to build.

In extreme panic and anger, Tang Bach Nguyen summoned security chief Mai Dinh Hung to his private office at midnight, giving an order that he himself knew was extremely dangerous, far beyond all ethical boundaries that even a ruthless person like him had tried not to cross over the past eight years.

Tang Bach Nguyen poured himself a glass of wine, took a sip before speaking, his voice cold and chilling. "I need her. There's no need to hurt her, just take her to a safe, private place, and keep her there until Chiem Dac Long withdraws the entire lawsuit, hands over all the evidence he has, and disappears forever again."

Mai Dinh Hung, even though he was used to carrying out orders that were on the border of the law for his boss, still couldn't help but hesitate at this request. "Mr. Chairman, this is kidnapping a minor, an extremely serious crime. If discovered..."

"It won't be discovered," Tang Bach Nguyen interrupted, his voice sharp. "I have carefully calculated all options. You will act in the name of an independent criminal group, without any trace related to Tang Phat. I will personally negotiate with Chiem Dac Long, and once he has agreed, the girl will be returned safely, no one will know what happened."

The plan was implemented just two days later, on a normal afternoon after school like any other day. Due to an unexpected schedule, Dac Long had to stay at school later than usual that day to handle a problem with the security camera system. He asked a colleague named Uncle Sau to pick up Anh Thu for him as he had done a few times before. But Tang Bach Nguyen's followers, who had been secretly observing his family's schedule for weeks, took advantage of this rare opening.

On the way home from school, when Anh Thu was waiting for the bus at a stop with less traffic than usual due to road repair work, a white seven-seat car suddenly pulled over. Two men in uniforms pretending to be electricity maintenance workers quickly approached. One person used a towel soaked in anesthetic to cover the girl's nose before she could react or call for help. The other person quickly carried her into the car. The entire action took place in less than twenty seconds, meticulously calculated. to avoid the area's security cameras.

Uncle Sau, arriving at the bus stop just a few minutes later than expected due to traffic jam, did not see Anh Thu. At first he thought that perhaps she had taken a motorbike taxi home like she sometimes did, but when he called and no one picked up, an uneasy premonition began to arise. He hurriedly called Dac Long to report immediately.

When he received the call, Dac Long was on his way home after completing camera repair work. A cold feeling spread throughout his body as soon as he heard Uncle Sau's worried voice on the phone. He immediately accelerated, drove like crazy to the bus stop, called his daughter continuously but only received a long, hopeless ringing sound.

When he arrived, he didn't see any sign of his daughter, only her schoolbag lying on the ground near the bus stop, one of the notebooks fell out, the pages were blown back and forth by the wind on the deserted sidewalk. That scene made all the blood in Dac Long's body freeze. He knelt down, picked up his school bag, his hands shook violently, a panic attack that he had not experienced since the night Thao Ngan died was taking over his entire mind.

At that moment, his phone rang, a completely strange number. He quickly picked up the phone, his voice shaking. "Hello, who is there?"

"Hello, Mr. Long," a creepy familiar voice rang out on the other end of the line, a voice that he could never forget even though eight years had passed. "Your daughter is with me, safe, unharmed. But whether that continues or not depends entirely on whether you cooperate or not."

"Tang Bach Nguyen," Dac Long roared, his voice shaking with extreme anger mixed with paralyzing fear. "If you dare harm a single hair of my child, I swear I will..."

"What will you do?" Tang Bach Nguyen interrupted, his voice cold and full of contempt. "You are just an ordinary school security guard, with no power, nothing like that, no one behind you except a few weak old friends. Listen carefully, Dac Long. You have twenty-four hours to withdraw the entire audit request, hand over to me all the evidence you have collected over the past eight years, and commit to disappear forever from Saigon, never to return. If you do so, your daughter will be returned intact. If no..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but that threatening silence was more terrifying than any direct threat. The call ended abruptly, leaving Dac Long standing dumbfounded in the middle of an empty bus stop, his hand still clutching his daughter's schoolbag, his mind reeling between extreme fear and an iron determination that was gradually forming from deep within the instinct of a father, a man who once headed an entire empire, now willing to trade everything, including his own life, to win back his only remaining daughter in the world.

He immediately called Ho Trong Nhan, his voice was cold but contained an unprecedented decisive strength. "Brother Nhan, they have captured Thu. Gather everyone immediately. I will find my daughter, even if I have to turn the whole of Saigon upside down."

Less than fifteen minutes later, Ho Trong Nhan was at the bus station with two of his most trusted employees, carrying all the necessary equipment to begin the search. He looked at Dac Long and saw his old friend standing there with empty eyes filled with panic and anger, unlike any state he had ever witnessed in the leader, who was always calm and decisive in all the most dangerous situations in the marketplace in the past.

"Mr. Long, calm down," Ho Trong Nhan said, placing his hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him even though inside he was no less worried. "Tang Bach Nguyen has given me twenty-four hours, which means he has no intention of harming Thu right away. He needs her intact as a bargaining chip. We still have time, but we must act quickly and accurately."

Dac Long nodded, trying to force himself to return to the alert, rational state of an experienced strategist instead of letting a father's fear completely dominate his actions. "I'll have someone check all the security cameras along the route around this area within a radius of two kilometers. I need to know exactly which direction the car took her."

"I sent someone to do it as soon as I received your phone call," Ho Trong Nhan replied. "At the same time, I also contacted a few old relationships in the police, quietly asking for support in the investigation without officially reporting, because I know you don't want this incident to be widely publicized before you are ready."

While waiting for the results of the camera review, Dac Long called Nguyet Ha, his voice trying to stay as calm as possible even though his whole body was still shaking. Upon hearing the news that Anh Thu was kidnapped, Nguyet Ha immediately asked to leave her shift and drove right to where Dac Long was standing, without any hesitation.

"Can I help?" she asked, holding his hand tightly, her eyes filled with sincere concern but no less steady, trying to give strength to the man who was on the brink of mental collapse.

"Go home, lock the door carefully, don't go out alone until I report back," Dac Long said, his voice stern but containing a deep concern. "I don't want you to become the next target while I can't protect both of you at the same time."

Nguyet Ha wanted to object, wanted to stay with him, but seeing the determination mixed with fear of loss in his eyes, she understood that this was not the time to argue. She nodded, squeezed his hand one last time before leaving, whispering a short but powerful word of encouragement: "You will find her. I believe in you."

Half an hour later, Ho Trong Nhan's team reported that they had determined the direction of travel of the white seven-seater car through the public traffic camera system, showing that it turned towards an old industrial park near the suburbs, where there were many abandoned warehouses with few passersby - an ideal place to hold hostages in absolute secrecy.

Dac Long looked at the map of the area spread out on the hood of the car, his eyes became sharp again, all the initial panic was now compressed, transformed into a high concentration, cold and decisive - true to the true nature of a person who had to make life and death decisions in the biggest corporate crises, now fully mobilized for the most important mission of his life: rescuing his daughter safely.

His voice was decisive, without any hesitation. "Prepare everything necessary. As soon as it gets dark, we will enter that area. I will go in myself, you will support from the outside. I have no intention of waiting the full twenty-four hours as Tang Bach Nguyen requested. Every minute my child is in his hands is a minute too long."