Chapter 12 — Tears in the Frost

The next morning, Thư Nhã came to the company earlier than usual, taking advantage of the quiet time before the office was crowded to search for information on the internal press archive system that the communications department still maintains, recording all articles related to Việt Thịnh throughout the group's history.

She typed into the search box the phrase "leak of Việt Thịnh's financial statements", limiting the time to March of that year. A series of old articles appeared, with sensational headlines: "Việt Thịnh wobbles after rumors of financial leaks", "Confused shareholders sell off Việt Thịnh shares", "Chairman Lang hospitalized in the midst of a crisis of confidence".

She read each article meticulously, trying to piece together the entire story. According to articles, an internal financial report that had not been officially audited, containing distorted numbers showing that Việt Thịnh's bad debt situation was much more serious than reality, was leaked just a few days before the annual shareholder meeting. The source of the leak was never publicly identified, but a few articles briefly mentioned that the internal investigation agency had suspected interference from a senior employee who left the company soon after, leaving no obvious trace.

There was no article that directly mentioned the name Tống Khả Di, which made Thư Nhã immediately understand that if it was truly related, all traces would have been thoroughly erased, or it would never have been made public outside the internal scope of the Lang family.

She saved all the articles in a separate folder disguised as a normal audit project, arranged them chronologically, and then began meticulously comparing them with the dates in the internal memo she found yesterday. The timing of the leaked financial report coincided almost perfectly with the date of the emergency meeting between the two families mentioned in the document, a coincidence that was too perfect to be a coincidence. She gently bit the tip of her pen, trying to piece together each small piece of data. It felt like she was solving the most complicated financial problem of her career, except this time, the answer to the problem was directly related to her own life.

*

That afternoon, Thư Nhã went to Tạ Khắc Bình, using the excuse of asking him to take her to a prenatal checkup so she could have a chance to talk privately in the car, away from prying eyes and ears in the office.

"Mr. Khắc Bình," she started, her voice careful, "you were the one who took me and Mr. Viet to the notary office that night, three years ago. Do you know why Mr. Viet decided to get married so hastily?"

Khắc Bình glanced at her through the rearview mirror, was silent for a long time before responding, his voice thoughtful. "Miss Thư Nhã, there are things I know but don't have the right to tell, because they are the CEO's personal story. But I can tell you one thing: that night, when I took the two of you to the notary office, Mr. Viet did not appear panicked or reluctant like a person who is forced into a corner and has to choose a reluctant solution. He was very calm, very determined, as if he had thought thoroughly about his decision a long time ago."

"Do you know why he chose me?" Thư Nhã continued asking, her voice shaking slightly.

Khắc Bình sighed, seemingly weighing his loyalty to his boss and his sympathy for the woman who was pregnant with the future grandchild of the family he served. "I can only say that, during the time I worked for Mr. Viet, I never saw him entrust anything important to anyone other than you, even before the two of you got married. If you want to know the whole truth, I think you should ask Mr. Chính Nghĩa. He is the only person, besides Mr. Viet, who knows everything that happened that night."

"Thank you, Mr. Khắc Bình," Thư Nhã said, her voice was a little more relieved even though her heart was still full of chaos. She looked out the glass window, the familiar street passing by in the afternoon sunlight, but her mind was completely absorbed in unanswered questions.

"Miss Thư Nhã," Khắc Bình suddenly added, his voice lowered, "no matter what happens, I believe that Mr. Viet always values you more than what he shows on the outside. During the past three years, I have been the driver to pick you up and pick you up, I have seen many things that you probably don't even pay attention to." That sentence made Thư Nhã pause, but she didn't ask any more questions, just nodded her head in thanks, silently making a mental note to reflect on later.

*

In the afternoon, after leaving Khắc Bình's car with confused thoughts, Thư Nhã went to Lăng Chính Nghĩa's office, using the excuse of needing to get signatures to approve some documents related to the year-end audit work. But when she entered the room, instead of immediately handing out the documents, she stood still for a moment, her eyes firmly looking straight at the older man sitting behind the desk.

"Uncle Chính Nghĩa," she said, her voice serious, different from the usual timidity she always showed in front of him, "I need to know the truth about what happened three years ago, the real reason why Mr. Viet decided to marry me."

Mr. Chính Nghĩa put down his pen, looked at her for a long moment, his eyes were complicated, mixed with surprise and a little something like relief, as if he had been waiting for this question for a long time. He stood up, walked out, locked the office door, and carefully closed the window curtains, an action that made Thư Nhã immediately realize that this was not a story that could be told lightly. "How much do you know?"

"I found an old document in the archives, showing that Viet himself actively proposed this marriage, not choosing me at random like I thought all along," Thư Nhã replied, her voice trembling slightly but firmly. "I need to know the whole story, uncle. I can't continue to live in the dark any longer, especially when the child in my womb is also suffering from the consequences of these secrets." Mr. Chính Nghĩa sighed, stood up, walked to the window and looked down at the city for a long time, as if considering where to start the story. "This is a long story, and not easy to hear, Thư Nhã. But you're right, you have the right to know, especially now."

He turned around and motioned for her to sit in the chair opposite. His face became serious, different from his usual calm look. "Three years ago, it was more than just a random financial leak. It was a carefully calculated conspiracy, and the person behind it, although there was never enough evidence to publicly indict him, was..."

He paused for a moment, his eyes looking straight at Thư Nhã, as if considering one last time whether to tell this truth or not, before continuing in a heavy voice. "...it was the Song family, and the person who directly carried it out was none other than Tống Khả Di."

Thư Nhã sat silently, her hands clasped tightly together on her thighs, clearly feeling her entire body trembling from a feeling of both shock and somewhat anticipation. All the cold eyes and all the insinuating words that Tống Khả Di had said over the past few days suddenly appeared clearly in her mind with a completely different meaning. She took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "Please continue telling me. I need to know the whole truth, no matter how painful it is."

He poured her a cup of hot tea, gently pushing it towards her as a comforting gesture before starting the long story. "Drink some tea, this story will take a while to tell, and I want you to calmly listen to it completely before making any judgments, neither to me nor to Bách Việt." Thư Nhã nodded, holding a cup of warm tea with both hands, feeling the heat spreading through each finger, which was trembling slightly with nervousness. She knew that what she was about to hear would not simply be a story from the past, but also the key for her to understand the entire nature of the marriage she had entered into over the past three years, and perhaps, the future of herself and the child in her womb.

Outside the window, the sunset dyed the whole city yellow, but in that small office, a story from three years ago, a story of betrayal, intrigue, and a reckless decision to protect an entire family, was gradually being revealed, preparing to completely change the way Thư Nhã viewed her own marriage.