Chapter 29 — Shrimp Street Without Name

While waiting for news about Ms. Ut Phuong, Kien spent most of his free time digging up more information about the Cua Bien Project, taking advantage of old relationships at the port and at local administrative agencies that he had built over many years of work.

Through a former classmate currently working at the district Department of Natural Resources and Environment, he obtained a preliminary list of members of the project's proposed consortium, although the previous public document was only general. This list is not official, just an unpublished internal draft, but enough to reveal an important detail: the head of the consortium is not Dai Duong Group, but a company called "Coastal Development Investment Group", in which Dai Duong is only a shareholder, albeit a major shareholder, holding thirty percent of the shares.

“So Mr. Bao is not the leader of the entire plan,” Hai Yen commented when Kien shared this information with her, both sitting in a familiar cafe near the port. “He is just a link, albeit an important one, in a larger structure.”

“That's right,” Kien nodded. "And this explains why their reaction was so drastic. If it were just Dai Duong's private matter, perhaps Mr. Bao would have negotiated or compromised on his own a long time ago. But if he was responsible to a larger consortium, the pressure to keep everything under control would certainly be much greater."

Hai Yen flipped through the list, looking for other names in the board of directors of Mien Duyen Hai Group, but most of the information was still vague, only the company name, not the specific name of the individual behind it. "We need to learn more about this parent company. If we determine who really runs it, we will better understand the true motives behind the entire series of events over the past ten years."

“I will continue to dig deep,” Kien said. “But this takes time, and more care is needed, because clearly this is no longer something we can handle on our own with local contacts.”

In the middle of the conversation, Hai Yen's phone rang with a call from Ms. Hong, her voice was more urgent and full of anxiety than the previous call.

“Miss Yen, I have to speak quickly because I'm in an inconvenient place,” she said, her voice whispering. "I just heard, not from an official source, that Mr. Son did not go on a business trip or take voluntary leave as the company announced. Someone said he is being kept at a company resort villa outside the city, not allowed to freely contact the outside world."

Hai Yen's heart tightened. “Are you sure about this information?”

“I'm not a hundred percent sure,” Ms. Hong replied, her voice shaking. "But the person who informed me was a private driver of the company. He said he had brought food there several times under Mr. Bao's orders. He was not allowed inside, only delivered food at the gate. He found it strange because of the unusually strict security, more like he was guarding someone than serving a normal resort."

“Thank you for telling me,” Hai Yen said, trying to keep her voice calm even though inside she was really panicking. “Can you tell me the location of that villa?”

Ms. Hong provided a vague address, only knowing that it was located on the outskirts of Ca Mau city, near a resort under construction, before hastily excusing herself and having to hang up because there was a problem. people approaching.

Hai Yen looked at Kien, both of them understood the seriousness of the information they had just received. If Mr. Son is truly being held illegally, this is no longer a matter of ordinary commercial fraud, but has turned to a much more serious criminal offense: illegally detaining people.

“We can't get there on our own,” Kien said, his voice serious. "If the information is correct, this is something that requires the police to intervene directly, with full authority and necessary protection measures. If we arbitrarily rush in, it will only make the situation more dangerous, and may even get us into trouble."

Hai Yen nodded, even though inside she was anxious to act immediately. She immediately called the police lieutenant and reported all the information she had just received, even if it was just an unconfirmed rumor, emphasizing the urgency of verification before something bad happened to Mr. Son.

“We will forward this information to the specialized investigation team,” the lieutenant said over the phone, his tone much more serious than when he first received their application. "With the increasingly complex nature of the case, there may be a provincial investigation team directly involved in the next few days."

The call ended, leaving Hai Yen and Kien sitting quietly in the cafe, surrounded by the daily rhythm of the port, the sounds of traffic, the sounds of traders, completely opposite to the feeling of extreme tension that was covering them both. In Hai Yen's head, the image of Mr. Son with a panicked face in the office kept appearing every day, mixed with the fear that, like Ms. Ut Phuong, he may be paying a too high price just for daring to reveal part of the truth to her.

That evening, neither of them wanted to go home right away. They both quietly walked along the breakwater near the port, where the sea breeze blew with familiar salty air. The lights from the ships anchored in the distance flickered like stars falling onto the dark water.

"I keep thinking," Hai Yen said, her voice gentle but full of confidence, "if that day I had refused to accept this audit, and would have transferred to another batch as soon as I saw Dai Duong's name, perhaps right now Ms. Ut Phuong would still be peacefully selling lottery tickets, Mr. Son would still be at peace with his job, no one would have to suffer any more because of me."

"But if you do that," Kien replied, stopping, turning to look straight at her, "then Ms. Ut Phuong will continue to live in silent fear for the rest of her life, Mr. Son will continue to carry the burden of conscience with no way out, and maybe, one day, another family will suffer the same fate as your family, like my family, without anyone knowing why. You did not create the problem, Yen. You are just the first person brave enough to look. straight at it.”

Hai Yen turned to look at him, their eyes met under the faint moonlight falling on the sea. The wind blew a few strands of hair across her forehead, and in that moment, all worries and burdens seemed to temporarily recede, giving way to something simpler and more honest.

“Kien,” she softly called his name.

“Yes,” he replied, his voice also low.

“Thank you, for everything,” she said, then hesitated one more sentence, her voice soft as if afraid of breaking the fragile moment. This. “For always being here, every time I need you.”

Kien looked at her for a long time, then raised his hand and gently tucked a strand of hair falling from her forehead behind her ear, a gesture so gentle and natural that neither of them had time to realize when the line between companionship and something deeper had been blurred. “I want to thank you too,” he said quietly. “For giving me a reason to no longer have to carry this burden alone.”

They stood there for a long time in silence, no words were needed, only the gentle sound of waves lapping against the dike and the whispering sea breeze were the background for a rare moment of peace in the midst of stormy days. Finally, when night had completely fallen, the two quietly returned, bringing with them a new, more solid connection, to face together what was still ahead.

On the way to take Hai Yen to his mother's house, Kien received a text message from Mr. Duc, informing him that the preliminary technical report on discrepancies in the test results of batch DH-0417 had been completed, ready to be presented to the Center's board of directors the next morning. It was a rare piece of good news amid a series of anxious days, a milestone that showed that, despite the chaos around them, their professional work was still progressing steadily, step by step, toward the ultimate truth that they were all pursuing together.

Kien stopped the car in front of Mrs. Sau's house. They both sat in the car for a while, neither of them was in a hurry to open the door and get out. “Tomorrow is an important day,” he said, his voice both worried and a little hopeful. “If the report comes out smoothly, at least we have a small victory to cling to amid all this uncertainty.”

“I hope so,” Hai Yen replied, her hand holding the car door handle but not opening it right away. "Thank you for taking me home. And thank you for this evening, even in the midst of all my worries, there was still a moment that made me feel lighter."

Kien smiled, his eyes gentle under the dim lights in the car. "Me too. Good night, Yen. If you have anything, just call me anytime."

She nodded, got out of the car, stood and watched until the car's taillights disappeared behind the corner of the alley, then turned back into the house, carrying a small warmth in her heart amid the stormy days.