Chapter 27 — Shrimp Street Without Name

The next morning, when Hai Yen returned to her room after staying up almost all night at her mother's house to avoid being alone, she immediately realized something was wrong. The door lock to the room was still intact, with no signs of being broken, but when she entered, she felt a subtle disturbance that only someone familiar with her living space would recognize: the pillow on the bed was out of its usual position, the desk drawer did not close tightly like she always carefully closed it, and the photocopied documents she left on the desk seemed to have been mixed up.

Her heart was pounding. She immediately checked the mini safe she bought a few weeks ago to store her most important documents, hidden at the bottom of the closet. The safe was still locked, but when she opened it to check, she was relieved to realize that all the USBs and original copies of important documents were still intact - perhaps because she had followed safety rules, never leaving core evidence in an easy-to-find place.

She immediately called Mrs. Tu and asked if anyone strange had entered or left the boarding house last night. Mrs. Tu, after thinking for a while, recounted that a man claiming to be an electricity worker came to check the electricity meter at noon, borrowed her spare key to enter a number of rooms, including Hai Yen's room, under the pretext of needing to check the common line.

“I thought it was normal so I lent the key,” Ms. Tu said, her voice panicked as she realized she might have accidentally assisted in an intentional intrusion. "Oh my god, are you okay? Did you lose anything?"

"I'm fine, don't worry," Hai Yen reassured, even though in her heart she knew clearly that this was not a coincidence. The fact that the intruder didn't take anything, merely tampered with things in a subtle way, felt more like a deliberate message than an ordinary act of theft: we could come in at any time, know what you kept, and you couldn't prevent it.

She immediately called Kien and the police lieutenant who received the complaint the day before, explaining the incident in detail. The lieutenant promised to send someone to make a record and consider the possibility that this was an act of hindering the person reporting the crime, a circumstance that could cause the case to be considered with a higher priority.

At noon, when Kien visited her after the minutes had been drawn up, he brought with him another equally disturbing news. "My friend at the toll booth reported that after passing through the station toward Ca Mau, the rental car lost track. It may have changed to another vehicle or stopped somewhere in the city that the camera did not record. I also contacted a few acquaintances at the car rental company, but they refused to provide the renter's information without an official request from the investigation agency."

“So we're at a dead end again,” Hai Yen said, her voice tired.

“Not really,” Kien replied, trying to keep his voice optimistic. "I have passed all this information to the lieutenant, asking the investigation agency to officially request the car rental company to provide the data. As a state agency, they have the right to request something that we do not have."

Hai Yen nodded, but her worry still did not subside. She sat down, her head in her hands, feeling the whole weight of what was happening fall on her shoulders at once: the disappearance of Mrs. Ut Phuong, the break-in. motel room, suspicious silence from Mr. Son, and now, a large-scale project called Cua Bien is looming behind it all.

“I started to wonder if I was putting too many people in danger,” she said, her voice trembling in a rare way. "Miss Tuyet, Miss Ut Phuong, and you, Kien. Everyone is taking risks just to help me find justice for a deceased person."

Kien sat down next to her, holding her hand, his eyes steady. "You don't put anyone in danger. Each of us voluntarily chooses to stand on the side of the truth, for our own reasons. Ms. Tuyet chooses because she wants her daughter to be proud of her mother. Ms. Ut Phuong chooses because she has waited ten years to hand over responsibility to the right person. I choose for Khai. None of us do this just for you, Yen. We do it because we all believe that the truth deserves to be known, no matter how high the cost is. Where?"

Hai Yen looked at him, the tears she had been trying to suppress all morning finally rolled down her cheeks. She didn't say anything more, just let Kien hold her hand tightly, finding in that silence a rare bit of peace amid the increasingly fierce storm surrounding both of their lives.

“We will find Miss Phuong,” Kien said, his voice firm. “And we will bring the whole truth to light, no matter how long it takes.”

After Kien left to continue his afternoon shift, Hai Yen called Mr. Duc and reported the entire break-in incident according to the transparent process she always followed at work. After Mr. Duc heard it, his voice became serious.

"Miss Yen, I think it's time for us to officially report to the Center's board of directors about the increasing danger of this audit," he said. "Not to retreat, but to ensure the Center has a suitable protection plan for both you and me, as well as speed up the process of completing the report before the situation worsens further."

“I agree,” Hai Yen replied. “I think we should also consider the possibility of announcing part of the preliminary conclusions earlier than expected, at least the part related to discrepancies in the test results of batch DH-0417, to create pressure to force everything to be more transparent, instead of continuing to let everything happen silently in the dark.”

“I will draft that proposal today,” Duc said. "But you also need to be careful, announcing it early can cause a stronger reaction from Ocean side, possibly even counter-suing if they find any loopholes in our process."

After the call with Mr. Duc, Hai Yen called her mother again. She tried to keep her voice calm so as not to make her panic, but still could not hide all her anxiety when telling her about her room being ransacked.

“Listen carefully to me,” she said. "From now on, remember to lock the door carefully, don't let any strangers into the house no matter who they claim to be - electricity, water, or any agency staff. If anyone comes to ask about you or about the past, just say you don't know anything, then call me right away."

“You scared me so much,” Mrs. Sau said, her voice shaking over the phone. "Or you can stop, Yen. I don't need to know the truth anymore, I just need you to be safe and that's enough."

“I can't stop anymore, mom,” Hai Yen replied, her voice determined even though in her heart she couldn't avoid it. out of fear. "Not just because of Dad, but because of Ms. Tuyet, Ms. Ut Phuong, and maybe many others who are waiting for the truth to be revealed. If you stop now, everything they have sacrificed will become meaningless."

Mrs. Sau was silent for a long time on the other end of the line, then sighed, her voice filled with worry but also with a certain acceptance. "Okay, I understand. I'll be careful. You have to be careful too, you hear me. I only have you left."

The call ended, leaving Hai Yen sitting alone in the rented room, still feeling uneasy after the break-in. She looked around, telling herself she needed to find a new, safer place to live in the coming days, when the line between investigative work and the personal safety of the people she loved was becoming more and more fragile than ever.

She began to tidy up the furniture in her room, putting everything back in its original position, as a way to regain a sense of control after a tumultuous day. While folding the thin blanket on the bed, her hand touched a small piece of paper stuffed under the pillow, which was definitely not hers. She opened it, her heart pounding, only to see a brief, unsigned typewritten note: "Stop before it's too late. Not everyone is as lucky as you."

Hai Yen stood silently, reading that line over and over again. This is no longer a vague warning like before, but a direct threat, deliberately placed in the most private place in her living space, so that she clearly understands that no boundary is absolutely safe anymore.

She took a photo of the paper and immediately sent it to the police lieutenant and to Kien, her hands shaking slightly as she typed the messages. Even though she was scared, a deep part of her heart felt a new, stronger determination - if the other side had to use such direct threats, it meant they were truly afraid of what she had and continued to reveal.