Chapter 24 — Shrimp Street Without Name

Hai Yen and Kien spent three days preparing for the meeting with Mr. Son, considering every little detail: location, time, approach, and most importantly, how to legally record the entire conversation so that it could be used as additional evidence if needed. They chose a direct but non-confrontational approach from the beginning: Hai Yen would contact Mr. Son as an inspector, requesting a formal discussion about the testing process, creating a reasonable excuse to meet without making him wary from the beginning.

Mr. Son agreed to meet at his private office in the factory area, perhaps because he believed that this was a familiar area where he felt he had an advantage. Hai Yen arrived alone as requested, but Kien waited outside the factory area, ready to be present if the situation became dangerous, and the entire conversation was recorded via a small device hidden in Hai Yen's pocket, which is completely legal when a party participating in a conversation actively records the conversation they are participating in.

Mr. Son's office is compact and tidy, with several carefully framed professional certificates on his desk. He greeted her with outward politeness, but his eyes still held the familiar wariness from their previous meeting.

“Miss Yen, what do you want to discuss today about the testing process?” he asked, sitting down in the chair opposite, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Actually, I came here for something else, Mr. Son,” Hai Yen said, her voice calm but decisive. She placed on the table a small printout, containing only one line of text extracted from the internal email that Ms. Tuyet provided, enough for Mr. Son to recognize the source without revealing the entire content. “I want to ask you about the identification code TS-04, and about some payments with unknown recipients in the books of Kenh Ba cooperative ten years ago.”

Mr. Son's face suddenly changed color, although he tried to remain calm. "I don't understand what you're talking about. It happened ten years ago, I don't remember the details."

“So let me help you remember,” Hai Yen said, taking out a photocopy of a page from Ms. Ut Phuong's notebook from her bag, placing it on the table, enough for Mr. Son to see the familiar words about the "strange amounts" that are paid regularly every two weeks.

As Mr. Son's eyes scanned the page, a distinct change appeared on his face — no longer the usual wariness, but a genuine panic that flashed for a split second before he could regain his composure. His hand placed on the table slightly tightened.

“Where did this book come from?” he asked, his voice losing its initial confidence.

“That's not important,” Hai Yen replied, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on him. "The important thing is that these expenses match exactly with the notes in my father's notebook, and both happened right before the poisoning batch was discovered. I also have other evidence, strong enough to prove that you were the one who threatened Ms. Tuyet to sign the altered results sheet."

“What did Miss Tuyet tell you?” Mr. Son's voice began to tremble, although he still tried to control it. “She... she doesn't have any proof, it's just empty talk.”

“Are you sure?” Hai Yen asked, her voice was gentle but full of meaning. "I advise you to consider carefully before continuing to deny, Mr. Son. I'm not here to accuse you right away instantly. I came to give you a chance, to tell the truth before things get out of control for everyone, including you.”

Mr. Son stood up, walked to the window, turned his back on her for a long moment, his shoulders shaking slightly as if he was struggling with a fierce internal decision. When he turned around, his face had a different look—no longer the initial defensiveness, but the deep fatigue of someone who has carried a heavy burden for too long.

“Do you think I want to do that?” he said, his voice suddenly breaking, completely different from his previous calm professionalism. “Do you think I voluntarily harmed Uncle Tien, who once treated me like a descendant of the family?”

Hai Yen remained silent, letting Mr. Son continue, feeling that this could be the moment his defensive wall was about to collapse.

“At that time I was young, new to the profession, in debt because I had to pay for hospital bills for my mother who was seriously ill,” he continued, his voice choking. “Someone came to me, offering a sum of money large enough to save my mother, in exchange for just ignoring a few small details in the test results. I thought it was just a small thing, no one was harmed. I don't know, I swear I don't know, it will lead to a real poisoning case, leading to Uncle Tien going to jail."

“Who found you?” Hai Yen asked, trying to keep her voice calm even though her heart was beating violently.

Mr. Son hesitated, his eyes filled with fear. “I... I can't say my name right now. That person now has great power, not just in this industry. If I spoke out without any protection, my family and I would be in real danger, not just losing my job like Ms. Tuyet.”

"So why did you continue to work for Dai Duong, get promoted, and continue to sign other false results?" Hai Yen asked directly, not letting him avoid it easily.

“Because when I realized things had gone too far, Uncle Tien had been arrested, it was too late to retreat,” Mr. Son replied, his voice filled with torment. “People gave me two choices: continue to stay silent and be protected, or speak up and suffer the same fate as Uncle Tien, or even worse. I chose cowardice, Yen. I have lived with that cowardice for the past ten years, every day.”

Hai Yen looked at Mr. Son, feeling a complexity in her own emotions - both indignant at what he had caused and unable to completely sympathize with the image of a human being caught up in a machine larger than she could control.

“I need you to officially testify,” she said, her voice firm. “Not today, but soon. If you truly regret it, this is your only chance to atone for some of your mistakes.”

Mr. Son did not answer immediately, just nodded slowly, his eyes filled with tears. “Give me time to think. Just a few days. I need to arrange some things and ensure the safety of my family before I can decide.”

Hai Yen agreed, although in her heart she was not entirely sure whether Mr. Son would keep his word or choose another way to protect himself — perhaps alerting the person behind him, who they both implicitly understood was Dang Quoc Bao, before things could go any further.

Leaving Mr. Son's office, she met Kien again in the parking lot and recounted the entire conversation. After listening, his face was full of worry.

“Do you think he will keep his word?”

“I'm not sure,” Hai Yen admitted. “But me I think, at least, today we made him face his own conscience after ten years of hiding. Whatever the result, it is a step forward.”

But both understand that today's meeting also means that, from this moment on, the other side will know exactly the level of danger their investigation is causing, and there will not be much time left for them to continue to act cautiously and slowly as before.

Instead of going straight to the inn, Kien suggested that the two of them go sit at a small restaurant by the river, where they could see the sparkling water under the sunset, so that Hai Yen could have time to calm down after such a tense conversation. They ordered two simple meals and sat and ate in silence for a long time, each pursuing their own thoughts.

“Are you okay?” Kien asked, breaking the silence, his eyes full of concern. “You still look very stressed.”

“I'm fine,” Hai Yen replied, although her voice was still a bit shaky. “It's just that, seeing Mr. Son so depressed, I didn't expect to feel both gloating and sad at the same time. He's just another victim of the system, in a way."

“You have a much more generous heart than me,” Kien said, his voice warm. “If I were facing the person who contributed to putting my brother in danger, I'm not sure I would be able to stay as calm as you.”

“Maybe because I see in him a part of my own image,” Hai Yen said, her eyes looking far away at the river. “A person is put in a situation where he has to choose between what is right and the safety of the people he loves. I don't know if I were in his position ten years ago, if I would have had the courage to choose differently."

Kien looked at her for a long moment, his eyes containing an admiration that he did not try to hide. “You will choose differently, I'm sure. Looking at the way you have faced everything over the past month, I know you are the type of person who is willing to pay the price for what is right, no matter how expensive that price is.”

Hai Yen turned to look at him, the moment their eyes met lasted longer than usual, carrying something they both felt but neither had the courage to name. She smiled slightly, breaking the hesitant silence. “Thank you, for always trusting me like that.”

“I don't just trust you,” Kien said, his voice quiet but clear, as if he were considering each word before letting them escape. But then he stopped, as if not ready to finish his sentence, just smiled and moved on to something else. “Okay, let's eat before it gets cold. We still have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

Hai Yen nodded and continued the meal, but in her heart, Kien's unfinished sentence lingered forever, like a small seed that had just been sown in the midst of these stormy days, waiting for a more suitable time to germinate.