Chapter 45 — Shrimp Street Without Name

At the suggestion of lawyer Hoang, the lieutenant presented to his superiors the possibility of expanding the investigation into the financial sector, proposing to coordinate with the Tax Department and a number of banks to trace the cash flow of satellite companies involved in both cases in Nam Can and Quang Ngai. This is a big step, requiring approval from a much higher level than what the district investigation team could decide on its own.

While waiting for the official decision, Hai Yen spent time focusing on preparing documents for Ms. Lan's questioning session at the People's Council, scheduled to take place in the next two weeks. She worked almost nonstop, drafting, editing, and comparing every number and every fact, ensuring there were no loopholes that could be exploited by the other side to refute the entire issue.

In the midst of those stressful working days, an unexpected incident occurred that forced the whole group to suspend all plans to cope. In the morning, when Hai Yen opened her work email, she discovered that all the documents she stored on a personal cloud service, used for backup in addition to the physical hard drive, had been illegally logged in from a strange IP address at midnight the previous night.

“Someone tried to access my account,” she immediately informed Kien over the phone, her voice panicked. “Luckily, I always leave two-factor authentication on, so they can't get in, but the system records up to three consecutive login attempts.”

“Change your password immediately, and check all your other accounts,” Kien said, his voice serious. "This is clearly not a random attack. They are trying to gain direct access to your data source."

While waiting for Kien to call back, she ran through all the possibilities in her mind that could cause her account to be exposed, from using the same public wifi network at a coffee shop, to logging into a public computer at the provincial library when she needed to urgently look up a document. She couldn't pinpoint the exact point, but the feeling of being watched and having her private space violated made her shudder every time she thought about it.

Hai Yen followed suit, changed all passwords, activated additional security layers, and informed lawyer Hoang and the lieutenant about the incident. The lieutenant confirmed that he will coordinate with the cyber security unit to find the source of the attack, although he admitted that tracking traces in cyberspace often takes a long time and does not always give clear results.

“I think it's time for you to increase security more comprehensively,” lawyer Hoang advised, her voice serious. "Not just online accounts, but also physical devices, phone conversations. I know an independent cybersecurity expert who can assist you in reviewing and strengthening your entire personal security system."

Hai Yen agreed, even though the feeling of being constantly followed and hunted made her increasingly tired. At night, as she sat alone after a long and stressful day, she wondered if she was underestimating the danger of what she was facing, as every step she took seemed to bring about a corresponding, increasingly sophisticated and fiercer response from the other side.

Two days later, the cybersecurity expert that lawyer Hoang introduced, a young man named Phong, came to Ms. Sau's house to review everything. Hai Yen's equipment set. He worked meticulously for nearly four hours, checking every application, every network connection, every login history.

“I found a small piece of spyware installed on your phone,” Phong announced, his voice serious, pointing to the laptop screen where he was analyzing data. "This type of software is often installed via a malicious link, possibly hidden in a seemingly harmless text message or email. It allows the installer to track your location, read your messages, and even turn on your microphone remotely without your knowledge."

Hai Yen felt a chill run down her spine. “How long has it been there?”

“Based on the activity log, I estimate about three weeks,” Phong replied, his hands still working to remove the malware. “That means, during that time, every conversation, every message, every movement of her could have been tracked.”

That information stunned Hai Yen. She recalled all the sensitive conversations she had had over the phone in the past three weeks — with Kien, with lawyer Hoang, with Ms. Tuyet, with Mr. Tu Hanh — all of which could have been eavesdropped, recorded, and passed on to those who were trying everything to stop her.

“This explains why they always seem to know what we're about to do,” she said, her voice shaking with both fear and rage. She immediately called Kien and lawyer Hoang to notify them. They both immediately checked their devices, and Phong confirmed that Kien's phone was also installed with similar software, although the level of intrusion was less serious.

"From now on, we should only do any sensitive exchanges directly, face-to-face, or via encrypted channels that Mr. Phong recommends," lawyer Hoang directed via a three-way call after hearing the news. "This is an important wake-up call. We have underestimated our opponent's technological capabilities."

After Phong finished her work and left, Hai Yen sat quietly in the room, a feeling of deep violation creeping throughout her body, as if the most private part of her life had just been exposed to strange and malicious eyes. Kien, sensing her insecurity through her voice when calling, offered to visit her that night.

When he arrived, she didn't say much, just let him sit next to her, silently with her for a long time, as a way to share the burden that words are sometimes not enough to express. “We will get through this,” he said finally, his voice gentle but firm. “Just like every other challenge we have overcome together so far.”

Hai Yen nodded, leaned her head on his shoulder, letting his quiet presence somewhat soothe the insecurity rising in her heart, telling herself that no matter how sophisticated the enemy was, they still could not violate the most precious thing she had: the trust and solidarity of the people who were accompanying her on this path.

Before leaving, Kien reminded her again about the new safety rules that needed to be followed more strictly: don't discuss sensitive details over the phone, always check your device periodically, and be especially careful with any strange links or attachments that appear in emails or messages, even if they seem to come from a familiar source.

“I will remind Mr. Duc and Mrs. Sau to also make soy sauce "We cannot let any link in the group become a weakness for them to exploit."

The next morning, when she woke up, Hai Yen felt a clear change in the way she viewed everything around her. Every phone, every electronic device now carries a new layer of suspicion, a constant vigilance that she has never had to carry before. But instead of letting that fear paralyze her, she chose to turn it into a motivation to be more careful and meticulous in each next step on the path of finding justice that she chose to pursue.

She spent that morning writing down a detailed safety procedure for the whole group, printing it out in separate copies for Kien, lawyer Hoang, Mr. Duc and Ms. Sau, instructing each person to remember and strictly follow it. This is a tedious job that requires patience, but she understands that, in a war where the enemy is willing to use sophisticated surveillance technology, absolute caution is no longer an option, but a vital condition to protect not only herself, but also those who have trusted her to accompany her on this thorny journey.

At noon, when she brought the protocol to Mrs. Sau, her mother read it over and nodded seriously, although her eyes could not hide her worry. “You see,” she said, her voice thoughtful. “These people, they are willing to do anything. I'm even more worried about you." Hai Yen hugged her mother, reassuring her with all the stability she could muster, even though in her heart, she was not completely sure about what was really waiting ahead, she only knew that she would have to face it with all the courage she had.