Chapter 20 — Never Blame a Janitor

News about the shocking scandal at Hac Thinh Group quickly spread throughout the Saigon economic media within just a few hours after the extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders ended. Major newspapers simultaneously published detailed articles about the sophisticated property appropriation plot eight years ago, about Champa Dac Long's dramatic return after eight years of living anonymously, and about the rapid demise of the man who was once considered one of the most successful and prestigious businessmen in the city.

Tang Phat Group, which was built almost entirely from the foundation of Hac Thinh's looted assets, fell into serious crisis within just forty-eight hours. The stock prices of the group's subsidiaries plummeted on the decentralized stock market. Many large business partners simultaneously announced a temporary suspension of cooperation to wait for the results of the official investigation. Some banks also began to review the credits granted to this group due to the risk of chain default.

The economic investigation agency, after receiving complete evidence from Lam Gia Bach and Ho Trong Nhan, quickly intervened and executed an emergency search warrant at Tang Phat's headquarters and the Tang family's private residence in Thao Dien. At the same time, a separate criminal investigation, much more serious than the eight-year-old economic case, was also opened on the morning of the board of directors meeting: thanks to Ho Trong Nhan discreetly informing an old relationship in the police as soon as the recording was released, the authorities stormed the abandoned warehouse in the old industrial park before Tang Phat could send someone to erase the traces, arresting on the spot Mai Dinh Hung and three henchmen on duty. continued to participate in the kidnapping, confiscating all evidence including ropes, weapons and the original recording on the phone. Tang Bach Nguyen was summoned to work that same day, and just three days later, in the face of irrefutable evidence including the original recording of the appropriation eight years ago, the recording of his own voice directing the kidnapping that night, financial documents and testimonies of many witnesses, he was officially prosecuted for the crimes of fraudulent appropriation of property, falsification of documents, and kidnapping of minors for the purpose of raping property, and was placed under temporary detention. to serve the investigation. Mai Dinh Hung and three henchmen were also prosecuted in the following days; Under the pressure of clear evidence, some of them chose to cooperate in reporting in hope of leniency, further tightening the legal siege around Tang Bach Nguyen.

The image of Tang Bach Nguyen, who once appeared on the cover of many famous business magazines with the title "exemplary businessman of the decade", is now handcuffed and escorted to an investigation agency car in front of the cameras of dozens of reporters surrounding the gate of the group's headquarters, becoming the symbolic image of the most rapid and catastrophic collapse in the Saigon business world in recent years.

At Sunrise Saigon International School, this news also quickly spread among the parent and student community. Tang Khai Phong, when he arrived at school the next morning, had to face judgmental eyes and whispers from all over the school yard. The teenager, accustomed to admiration and fear from his friends thanks to his family's power and money, now has to experience for the first time in his life the feeling of isolation and alienation that he himself once caused to others.

Principal Minh Chau, after careful consideration, decided to arrange a private meeting with Khai Phong, not to further punish the boy, who had already suffered severe consequences from his father's mistakes, but to orient him psychologically and help him overcome this crisis period in the most positive way possible.

"You are not responsible for what your father did in the past," she told Khai Phong during a private meeting in the principal's office, her voice gentle but serious. "But you need to understand clearly that what you did to Anh Thu, no matter where it came from, is a wrong action that you need to take responsibility for and correct."

Khai Phong, for the first time in many years, sat silently with his head bowed, without his familiar arrogance, tears silently falling. He clasped his hands tightly on his thighs. "I'm sorry. I didn't know my dad did such bad things. I just... I just want my dad to pay more attention to me. I think if I was better and more outstanding than Thu, dad would be more proud of me."

That innocent but heartbreaking confession revealed another hidden angle in the whole story - behind the arrogant, overbearing appearance of the sixteen-year-old boy, was a child who craved love and recognition from a father who was always busy with power and ambition, to the point of not realizing that it was that lack of concern that pushed his son down the wrong path, turning him into an unwitting tool in his father's cruel plot.

Not long later, Dac Long, when listening to principal Minh Chau recount that conversation, could not help but sigh, a complex compassion arose in his heart. He remembered what he had said to Anh Thu after the first disciplinary meeting — that not everyone who did bad things was bad by nature, sometimes they were just victims of circumstances and adults who led them the wrong way. He decided that, even though he could not completely erase the consequences of what Khai Phong had caused, he would not let his personal resentment towards the father spread to his child, a child who still had the opportunity to change and grow in a better direction.

As for Anh Thu, when she learned that the whole truth had been revealed, when she saw Khai Phong no longer arrogant as before but became much quieter and more withdrawn at school, she did not hold any gloating or bitterness in her heart. One afternoon, during recess, she proactively approached Khai Phong's table and put down a new box of colored pencils - a small gift that she knew the boy actually had some artistic talent but had never dared to show it for fear of being laughed at for not being worthy of his image as a "tycoon's son".

"I'm not mad at you anymore," she said, looking straight at him, not avoiding it. "It's over. I hope from now on you can live more true to yourself, without having to prove anything to anyone."

Khai Phong looked at her, his eyes red, unable to say a word, just nodded slightly, a silent gratitude for the tolerance that he knew he did not deserve after everything he had done. It was a small moment with great meaning, a seed of kindness planted amid the rubble of hatred and betrayal, opening up hope that even in the deepest tragedy, people can find the way to heal and begin again.

Meanwhile, at the detention camp, Tang Bach Nguyen experienced the first days of his life completely different from everything he had experienced during the decades of living in the luxury of power. No more tailored suits, no more assistants on duty, no more calls from business partners asking for favors. Only four cold walls and long interrogation sessions remained, where he was forced to face each piece of evidence, each statement that over the past eight years he was certain that no one would ever dare to make public.

During an interrogation, when asked if he regretted what he had done to Champa Dac Long's family, Tang Bach Nguyen was silent for a long time before answering, his voice completely losing the cold confidence of the day. "I just regret revealing the loophole. If I could do it again, I would probably be more careful." That answer, when it was transmitted to Dac Long through Ho Trong Nhan, made him realize a bitter truth: no matter how high the price had been, there are people who still never truly repent for the crimes they have committed, and that, more than anything else, confirmed that his decision to stand up for justice was completely correct and necessary.

The media continued to closely follow the developments of the case for many weeks afterward, analyzing in depth the flaws in the corporate governance system that allowed such a sophisticated appropriation plot to exist for eight years without being detected. Many economic experts were invited to interview, providing valuable lessons for other businesses about the importance of transparency and independent monitoring mechanisms in corporate governance. Dac Long's story, from a victim who lost everything to a winner who regained justice after eight years of perseverance, gradually became a widely mentioned source of inspiration, not only in the business world but also in public opinion in general, as a living testament to the fact that justice, although it may come late, is never completely absent.

Huynh Bao Toan, in the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors, also took advantage of this opportunity to conduct a comprehensive reform of Hac Thinh's internal management system, adding more layers of independent control, making the voting and approval process of major transactions transparent, to ensure that a similar tragedy will never have a chance to repeat itself in the future, in any form. He also personally proposed to the entire board to invite Dac Long to return to the top leadership role, a proposal that received almost absolute support from all shareholders present.