Chapter 41 — Shrimp Street Without Name

Lawyer Hoang spent three full days with Hai Yen to complete the full denunciation dossier, a document of more than two hundred pages, gathering everything they had collected over the past month and a half: technical reports on discrepancies in test results, Ms. Tuyet's audio recordings and emails, Ms. Ut Phuong's notebook compared with Mr. Tien's notebook, Ms. Sau's identification statement, initial information about the Cua Bien Project and the Coastal Mien Hai Group, along with the The most important addition: the full truth about the small batch of goods that Mr. Tien once tolerated, did not avoid, and did not embellish.

“This is the most complete and honest set of documents I have ever seen in a civil-turned-criminal case,” lawyer Hoang commented as they completed the final version, her voice filled with appreciation. "Most clients, in your position, would choose to withhold unfavorable details. Your choice of absolute transparency, although risky, is what gives this entire file a moral weight that no amount of money or power can buy."

The file was officially submitted to the provincial investigation agency on the morning of the first week, marking an important milestone in the entire journey. But Hai Yen's joy did not last long. Just three days later, a wave of organized reactions began to appear, showing that the other side was not sitting still and waiting.

First, a new team of lawyers, from a large law firm based in Ho Chi Minh City, officially appeared to represent both Dai Duong and Mr. Bao personally. Unlike the local attorney's office that sent threatening letters before, this new team operates methodically and professionally, with a clear strategy: not denying everything, but focusing on attacking the legality of each type of evidence, looking for any procedural loopholes that could cause them to be excluded from the proceedings.

At the same time, a sophisticated media campaign began to appear on social networks and a few unofficial news sites, with anonymous articles questioning Hai Yen's motives, suggesting that the whole incident was just a personal revenge plot by the daughter of a convicted criminal, taking advantage of her position as an inspector to smear a business that was creating jobs for thousands of local people.

“They are playing a two-sided game,” Minh Khang commented when he called Hai Yen to inform him about what he observed in the media. “On the one hand, using good lawyers to slow down and weaken the official proceedings, and on the other hand, using public opinion to discredit you before the case can reach any official conclusion.”

“I expected this,” Hai Yen replied, although she could not help but feel a heavy feeling in her heart when reading the malicious comments that began to appear under related posts. “But seeing it happen before your eyes is still different from imagining it happening.”

“You need to prepare mentally, the situation will be even more difficult,” Minh Khang warned. "But I also have good news. My long-term investigative article on Mr. Vinh's operating model through many projects has been approved by the editorial board, scheduled to be published in the next two weeks. I have enough documents to clearly connect the cases, although I cannot specifically name his role in the Canal Ba case due to lack of direct evidence. next."

In the afternoon, while Hai Yen was at her mother's house, an unexpected guest came: Mrs. Hong, the head of Dai Duong's quality department, who had silently provided her with information many times. She came with a worried expression, but this time she brought a clearer decision than before.

“Miss Yen, I came to tell you something,” Mrs. Hong said, her voice trembling but firm. “I applied for leave from my job at Dai Duong. I cannot continue working for a company that I know is intentionally smearing people who are telling the truth.”

“Are you sure about this decision?” Hai Yen asked, both touched and worried for her.

“I'm sure,” Ms. Hong replied. “And I want to ask, if necessary, can I officially testify about what I have learned within the company over the past months? I don't want to continue standing on the sidelines, just silently providing information in the dark anymore."

Hai Yen looked at Ms. Hong, feeling deeply moved by the courage of a person who was always cautious, now willing to step into the light to stand on the side of truth. “I will immediately contact lawyer Hoang to make arrangements,” she said. “Thank you, sister, for everything you have done and will do.”

That evening, when summarizing the day's developments with Kien, Hai Yen clearly felt a pattern gradually forming in this entire war: every time the other side escalated its attack, there was a new person, from unexpected places, choosing to step out of the darkness to stand on the side of truth. It was a source of great encouragement, but also a reminder of the price each of them was paying, and the increasingly heavy responsibility that Hai Yen felt she had to shoulder in order not to betray the trust of any of them.

“Have you noticed,” Kien said, sitting across from her in the small kitchen of Mrs. Sau's house, “more and more people dare to speak up. Miss Tuyet, Miss Ut Phuong, Uncle Sau, and now even Mrs. Hong. I think, partly because they trust her, but partly, I think they have also been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, but no one has been brave enough to be the first."

“I think so too,” Hai Yen replied, pouring more tea for both of them. “Sometimes, I wonder, if I didn't come back here, would these things ever be said, or would it all forever be buried in silence, like it has been for the past ten years.”

“Maybe never,” Kien said, his voice thoughtful. “But you came back, and that changed everything. Sometimes justice doesn't need a perfect hero to start, it just needs one person brave enough to ask the first question, and then, one by one, more people will dare to answer.

Mrs. Sau, who was sewing in the corner of the room, intervened in the conversation with a slight smile. “You two are sitting here philosophizing, watch out the tea is getting cold.” Her simple joke made them both laugh, breaking the previously heavy atmosphere, bringing a rare moment of relief amid stressful days.

Before Kien left, he stayed a while longer in the yard, watching with Hai Yen the rare starry night sky on a clear night. “No matter how many more difficulties tomorrow brings,” he said, “I believe we will get through it, step by step, just like we have done all along.”

Hai Yen nodded, smiling in the darkness, feeling a small but genuine peace creep into my heart, enough to give me strength for the challenges that certainly lie ahead.

After Kien left, Hai Yen sat alone in the yard for a while, opening her phone to read some malicious comments that were spreading online, this time with a different mood than the afternoon. She no longer felt as hurt as when she first read them, but saw them as a sign that the other side was truly afraid, to the point of resorting to such cheap tactics to protect themselves.

She opened a notes app and began drafting a short article, not to post right away, but to have it ready for the right moment — a public explanation, simple and sincere, about the reason she returned to Nam Can, about the journey she went through, without avoiding anything, including the complicated part about her father. She wanted, when the time came, she would be the one to tell her story, instead of letting faceless people tell it in the most distorted way possible.

After writing, she saved the draft, turned off her phone, and looked up at the night sky one last time before entering the house. The stars twinkled above, distant but persistent, a reminder that, no matter how dark the road ahead, there were always small points of light to guide the way, as long as she was patient enough to find them, night by night, step by step, until dawn finally broke after all she had been through. She closed the door, entered the house, her heart felt much more relieved than when she stepped out into the yard just a few minutes before, ready for a full night's rest before a new and challenging day was waiting ahead, carrying in her heart a belief that, even though the road was long, she would never have to walk alone again.