Chapter 28 — Shrimp Street Without Name

Two days after the threatening paper was found, the Certification Center received an official dispatch from the Ocean Group, sent by the company's representative lawyer's office, with content that surprised both Hai Yen and the Center's board of directors at its drastic level.

The dispatch accused Hai Yen of acting beyond the scope of the authorized audit, arbitrarily collecting information from unofficial sources, illegally contacting former employees of the company with the aim of defaming the reputation of the business, and requested the Center to immediately suspend her role in the audit, otherwise the company will consider necessary legal measures to protect its rights.

Hai Yen was urgently summoned to an online meeting with the Center's board of directors, where the tense atmosphere was clearly visible on the faces of each attendee through the screen.

“Miss Yen, this is a very serious situation,” the director said, his voice heavy. "Dai Duong is threatening to sue our Center for accusing her of improper conduct. If they really sue, whether right or wrong, we will spend a lot of time and resources to deal with it, not to mention affecting the overall reputation of the entire organization."

“I affirm that all my actions are within the necessary scope to ensure the accuracy of the audit,” Hai Yen replied, her voice calm but determined. “Contact with the company's former employees is part of the information verification process, completely legal and necessary when there are signs of systemic fraud.”

Mr. Duc, who also attended the meeting, voiced his support. "I can confirm that every step Ms. Yen took during the audit process complied with professional procedures. I have participated and supervised directly for many weeks, and have not seen any signs that she acted outside the necessary scope."

The meeting lasted nearly two hours, with many fierce debates among board members about how to handle this situation. Finally, the director made a temporary decision: Hai Yen can still continue the audit role, but all reports and subsequent actions must be approved in advance by the board of directors, and the Center will hire an independent legal consulting unit to prepare for the possibility of facing a lawsuit from Ocean.

“This is not a lack of trust in you,” the director added before ending the meeting, his tone softening somewhat. "This is a necessary measure to protect both you and the organization against an opponent with strong financial and legal potential. I hope you understand and cooperate."

After the meeting, Hai Yen sat silently in front of the turned off computer screen, feeling like she had just gone through a new battle, not with Dai Duong, but with the very system she was working in, where every decision now had to weigh between finding the truth and protecting the organization from legal risks.

She called Kien and told him the whole story. After listening, he sighed. "They are playing a smart move. Both directly threatening with a stranger breaking in and applying official pressure through legal channels. They want her to be tightened from all sides, making her no longer free enough to continue investigating the way she usually does."

“I know,” Hai Yen replied, her voice tired but undeterred. "But that also shows me that they are really scared. A company that is confident in its integrity would not need to react so violently just because of a normal audit."

That evening, when news of Dai Duong's official dispatch and the tense meeting spread to Minh Khang through his contacts in the press, he proactively called Hai Yen, his voice filled with excitement mixed with worry.

“Miss Yen, I heard some information about this case through an industry source,” he said. "If Dai Duong is really reacting this strongly, maybe I have enough reason to start quietly collecting more data for an investigation, even though I won't post it right away. What do you think?"

“I think it's time,” Hai Yen replied after a moment of consideration. "But you have to be careful, Minh Khang. If they are willing to threaten me, they can do the same to you."

“I understand the risk,” Minh Khang replied, his voice firm. "But I think, the more people pursue this truth, the less likely it is to be completely buried. I will contact you again when there is progress."

The call ended, leaving Hai Yen with a complicated feeling: both worried because the network of people involved in this incident is expanding, bringing more and more risks to each individual, and relieved because she is no longer alone in this fight like the first days she set foot back in Nam Can.

The next day, she, Kien and Mr. Duc sat together in her temporary office, trying to come up with a specific action plan amid increasing pressure from many sides. Mr. Duc spread out a timeline on paper, marking each important milestone.

“We need to complete the final technical report within the next two weeks,” he said, his voice clear and analytical. “The conclusion about the discrepancies in the test results of the DH-0417 shipment is solid enough to be announced independently from other parts of the investigation related to the history ten years ago, avoiding the possibility that Ocean side could argue that we are mixing personal motives with professional work.”

“I agree to separate the two parts,” Hai Yen said. "The technical report will stand firmly on scientific evidence, without relying on any factors related to my family's past. We will continue to investigate further into the old case and the Cua Bien Project in parallel through the whistleblower channel with the police."

“What about personal safety?” Kien asked, his eyes filled with worry. “After the break-in and the threatening note, I think you should no longer stay alone at the motel.”

“I was thinking about moving to stay with my mother temporarily for a few weeks,” Hai Yen said. “Even though it might make my mother more worried, at least having someone with her will be safer.”

They spent nearly an hour reviewing all documents, dividing specific tasks for each person: Mr. Duc is in charge of completing the official technical report, Kien continues to monitor the search for Ms. Ut Phuong and dig deeper about the Cua Bien Project through his channels, and Hai Yen will focus on coordinating with lawyer Hoang and the investigation agency.

In the evening, after a long day of stressful meetings, Hai Yen stopped by her mother's house as promised, bringing a bag of personal belongings to move in temporarily for a few weeks. Grandma Sau welcomed her with a mixture of worry and relief, carefully cleaning Hai Yen's old room, even though she said there was no need to worry so much.

“You can stay here as long as you want,” Mrs. Sau said, her hand smoothing the blanket on the bed. "I just want you to be safe, other things will come later."

Before turning off the light, Mrs. Sau stopped by the room, sat on the edge of the bed like when Hai Yen was a child, her hand gently caressing her daughter's hair. "When I was little, every time I was afraid of ghosts, I would run over to my parents' bed to sleep in. My dad often said, my daughter is very brave, she's not afraid of anything, she just pretends to be scared to get a hug." She smiled softly, her eyes distant and nostalgic. "Now that I see you facing so many big things, I see that your father was right. You are really brave, much braver than I thought."

“I learned that courage from dad, mom,” Hai Yen replied, holding her mother's hand. “And perhaps, from mom too, even if she doesn't realize it.”

Mrs. Sau smiled, gently kissed her daughter's forehead, then stood up, turned off the light, and closed the door gently.

Lying in the dark, Hai Yen listened to her mother's footsteps fading away in the hallway, the door to the next room closing, and then the whole house fell silent. She looked up at the ceiling, where there was still an old stain with a strange shape that as a child she used to imagine into all kinds of animals when she couldn't sleep. Many years have passed, this room still retains almost every detail, as if time has stopped here while her life out there has taken many unexpected turns.

She thought of Mr. Son, of Mrs. Ut Phuong, of all the faces that had passed through her journey over the past month, and wondered if tomorrow, when the sunlight shone through this familiar window again, what news would she receive - a new step forward, or a new loss. That night, lying on the old bed in her childhood room, for the first time in many weeks, Hai Yen felt a rare bit of peace, even though she knew clearly that the real storm was still ahead and had not subsided.