Chapter 86 — Shrimp Street Without Name

The meeting between Nguyen Dang Hoai and the representative of the Procuracy took place in a small office at the prison, under strict supervision in accordance with the law. Hai Yen, although not allowed to attend in person, received updates immediately afterward through the lieutenant, who was present as a coordinating investigator.

"He has provided a detailed set of documents," the lieutenant reported, his voice filled with barely concealed excitement, "about the system of shell companies that Mr. Vinh has used to transfer assets abroad over the years, including transactions made recently, after the arrest warrant was issued. This is exactly the type of evidence we need to prove his motive to disperse assets and avoid legal responsibility."

Hai Yen felt excitement spreading inside her heart at this news. “Why did he decide to provide this information now?” she asked, unable to help but be curious about the motive behind Hoai's unexpected decision.

"According to his lawyer," the lieutenant explained, "after receiving an eighteen-year sentence, Mr. Hoai realized that continuing to protect Mr. Vinh no longer brought any benefit to himself. On the contrary, full cooperation may be the only remaining chance for him to be considered for a reduced sentence in the future, through amnesty procedures or reduced penalties for those who contribute to solving the crime."

Lawyer Hoang, upon being informed of this development, immediately contacted the team of international lawyers supporting the extradition case to transfer the new set of documents, with the hope that it would further strengthen the legal argument before the foreign court, especially in proving the correspondence between the crimes and Mr. Vinh's clear motive for evading responsibility.

A few days later, Elena called with hopeful news. “A new set of documents has been submitted to the court,” she said, her voice this time filled with optimism. “Our legal team considers this to be very strong evidence, especially the financial transactions that took place after the arrest warrant was issued — it clearly demonstrates a sense of evasion of the law, an important element in international extradition law.”

“So can this speed up the process?” Hai Yen asked, unable to hide the hope in her voice.

“Possibly,” Elena replied, while still maintaining the necessary caution of a legal expert. "The local court has agreed to speed up the timeline for considering the appeal, with a new hearing scheduled earlier than originally scheduled. I will update you as soon as more specific information becomes available."

While waiting for new developments from the extradition side, Hai Yen continues to spend time on the community testing laboratory project, a job that gives her a feeling of building and looking towards the future, different from the past stressful months focusing on exposing the past. She, Kien, Tuyet and a small group of former shrimp farmers began looking for a suitable location, contacted technical experts, and drafted a preliminary financial plan for the project.

“We need a truly transparent monitoring mechanism,” Kien suggested in a meeting, “possibly a council consisting of representatives of shrimp farming households themselves, rotating by term, to ensure No individual or interest group can manipulate test results as has happened.”

Tuyet nodded in agreement, adding her professional perspective. “We also need to invest in modern testing equipment, capable of accurately detecting chemical and antibiotic residues, instead of relying on manual methods that are susceptible to intervention as before. I was able to contact some old colleagues in the industry to find equipment sponsorship.”

The meeting lasted a long time with many ideas and proposals put forward, giving Hai Yen a new sense of optimism about the future of the land that her father spent his whole life attached to. She realized that justice lies not only in punishing the guilty, but also in building new, stronger systems to prevent similar tragedies from repeating in the future.

A week after the meeting, news from Elena brought an important turning point. “The hearing on the appeal has taken place,” she reported via video call, her voice unable to hide her excitement. "The court of the host country rejected the appeal of Mr. Vinh's legal team, affirming that the alleged crimes fully correspond to bilateral extradition laws, especially after reviewing the new set of financial documents provided by Mr. Hoai."

Hai Yen felt like her heart stopped beating for a moment at this news. “So that means…”

“It means,” Elena confirmed, her voice ringing with certainty, “that the official extradition order has been approved by the local court. Tran Quoc Vinh will be handed over to the Vietnamese side as soon as possible, in accordance with the legal process agreed between the two countries."

Emotions welled up in Hai Yen's heart, a mixture of joy, relief, and even a bit of disbelief at the news she had been waiting for for many weeks. She thanked Elena profusely before ending the call, then immediately called her mother, Kien, and lawyer Hoang to share this important news with everyone who had accompanied her throughout the long journey.

When the news spread, the group once again gathered at Mrs. Sau's house, this time with an atmosphere of extreme excitement, realizing that the final moment they had all been waiting for for nearly ten years - since the first tragedy happened to Hai Yen's family - was finally approaching.

“We need to prepare carefully for the upcoming trial,” lawyer Hoang said, although her voice was still filled with joy, her professional caution did not allow her to completely relax. “Once Mr. Vinh is extradited back to his country, his team of lawyers will definitely fight to the end, possibly even more fiercely than what we witnessed from Mr. Bao. We cannot let the excitement of this moment make us complacent.”

Hai Yen nodded, understanding lawyer Hoang's responsible reminder. “You're right,” she replied. “But at least we now know that day will definitely come. That's a huge difference compared to weeks ago, when everything was still a big question mark."

Minh Khang, sitting in the corner of the room with his laptop open, announced that he would prepare a special article about this development, not to boast about his victory, but to continue to monitor and record it all. this rare cross-border quest for justice, a story he believes will have significance beyond the scope of the Hai Yen case alone.

“This could become an important precedent,” he said, “for similar cases in the future, where victims of transnational organized crime can find hope, that justice, however delayed, can still reach anywhere.”

Kien, sitting next to Hai Yen, held her hand, his eyes filled with an indescribable gentleness. “Do you remember the first day we met at the port?” he asked, his voice soft as if recalling a distant memory even though it was actually only a few months ago. "At that time, I just thought she was a difficult inspector, insisting on carefully checking the shipment. I could not have imagined that that journey would lead to a day like today."

Hai Yen laughed at that memory, a rare laugh of relief amid stressful days. “I also didn't expect,” she replied, “that the annoying inspector holding my shipment would become one of the most important people in my life.”

They both laughed, a rare moment of lightness amid a journey full of hardships and losses. Around them, the laughter of the rest of the group echoed, an atmosphere of optimism that they all deserved to enjoy after everything they had been through.

Mrs. Sau, bringing out a tray of hot tea for everyone, stopped to look at her daughter smiling brightly among her friends, and in that moment, she felt a deep happiness that she had never dared to dream of during ten years of living in the darkness of the past. She quietly retreated to the kitchen, letting the joy of the young people be complete, but in her heart, a silent thank you sent to her deceased husband, whom she was sure, now, was also smiling somewhere, witnessing the day when the truth was finally about to be complete.