Chapter 19 — Tears in the Frost

Việt Thịnh's extraordinary shareholders' meeting was held in the largest hall of the central tower, which could accommodate more than three hundred attendees. Since early morning, groups of luxury cars have lined up in front of the main lobby, bringing with them large and small shareholders, investment fund representatives, financial reporters, and the entire senior management team of the corporation. There was tension in the atmosphere right from the first minutes, when everyone felt that this would not be a normal annual meeting.

Thư Nhã sat in the front row, reserved for the executive secretariat, her belly had clearly grown after nearly five months of pregnancy, but her eyes still remained sharp and steadfast as always. Next to her, Bách Việt sat straight with his back straight, his face cold and in absolute control as usual, even though they both knew clearly that behind that calm appearance was an extreme tension waiting to explode.

Tống Khả Di entered the hall last, in a luxurious, pure white suit, walking confidently like someone who was sure of victory in his hands. She smiled and greeted a few familiar shareholders before sitting in the position reserved for the representative of the shareholder group who requested to convene a meeting. Her eyes swept over Bách Việt and Thư Nhã with a look of triumph that was hard to hide.

*

The chairman of the meeting, a longtime member of the board of directors, banged the opening gavel, declaring the reason for convening the extraordinary meeting at the request of the group of shareholders represented by Hằng Phát Investment Fund. Tống Khả Di stood up and walked up to the podium to speak with absolute confidence.

"Dear shareholders," she opened, her voice echoing throughout the hall, "I stand here today not as an opponent, but as an investor who is deeply concerned about Việt Thịnh's future. During the past time, we have seen many worrying signs about the group's current management capacity, especially personal decisions that have seriously affected the reputation and transparency in the leadership structure."

She signaled her assistant to show a series of documents on the big screen, including a copy of the marriage contract between Bách Việt and Thư Nhã - which somehow fell into her hands - along with a financial analysis showing some unusual expenditures in the company budget, which she deliberately attributed to the General Director's "personal relationship".

"You can see," Khả Di continued, her voice full of bitterness cleverly hidden behind a veneer of professionalism, "General Director Lăng Bách Việt maintained a secret, contractual marriage that lasted for three years without informing the board of directors or shareholders. This is a serious lack of transparency, raising big questions about his ability to make objective, fair-minded decisions for the common interests of the corporation. I propose Board of Directors meeting to consider dismissing the current General Director position, and at the same time request Ms. Kiều Thư Nhã to immediately terminate all roles related to the company."

*

Murmurs spread throughout the hall. Many shareholders looked at each other in confusion, some faces showing hesitation. Phùng Nhược My sat in the middle row, her eyes avoiding and not daring to look straight at Bách Việt, clearly having prepared in advance for this drama.

Bách Việt stood up and walked up to the podium to speak. His appearance remained absolutely calm even though the whole hall was buzzing. "Ladies and gentlemen, I do not deny that Ms. Kiều Thư Nhã and I got married three years ago and kept this information private. But I want you to understand the true context behind that decision, a context that Ms. Tống Khả Di, for personal reasons, deliberately did not mention."

He signaled his assistant to show another series of documents on the screen - the evidence that Thư Nhã had diligently collected over the past several weeks. "Three years ago, right after a leaked internal financial report caused shareholders to panic and my father to be hospitalized, the Tong family proposed a plan to 'save trust' through merging the marriage between me and Ms. Tống Khả Di. This was not a sincere proposal, but a carefully calculated plot to gain control of Việt Thịnh through in-laws."

*

Tống Khả Di stood up, her face showing true panic for the first time. "These are baseless accusations! You don't have any evidence to prove it!"

"Really?" Bách Việt looked straight at her, his voice cold as ice. He gestured, and on the screen appeared an internal memo from three years ago, along with the latest bank documents that the forensic auditor had painstakingly tracked down over the past few days. "This is a memorandum made right after an emergency meeting between the two families, clearly stating the marriage merger proposal from the Tong family. And here," he pointed to a complicated cash flow diagram, "is evidence that you, through seven different shell companies, have quietly acquired more than twenty percent of Việt Thịnh shares over the past six months, using the money from the investment fund you are running."

Thư Nhã stood up, walked next to Bách Việt, her voice rang out clearly and decisively in front of the entire hall. "And this is evidence that, three years ago, it was Ms. Tống Khả Di who directly orchestrated the financial report leak that caused shareholders to panic and Mr. Lang to be hospitalized. She took advantage of her emotional relationship with Mr. Bách Việt to access internal information, then intentionally leaked it at the most sensitive time, creating a crisis to force a merger that would benefit her family."

*

The entire hall was plunged into heavy silence, all eyes focused on Tống Khả Di, who was standing there, his face gradually losing its original confidence, replaced by an unconcealed panic.

"You have no right..." She stammered, her voice losing its usual control for the first time.

"We have enough evidence, Ms. Khả Di," Thư Nhã said, her voice was calm but full of weight. "Not only about the current takeover plot, but also about the personal revenge motive behind this entire plan. She wants to regain the dignity she lost three years ago, wants to prove that she can get what she wants at any cost, even if it means destroying an entire corporation and threatening the life of an unborn child."

The last sentence caused a stir in the entire hall. An elderly shareholder stood up, his voice filled with indignation. "Do you dare to threaten an innocent child to achieve business goals? This is no longer an ordinary commercial dispute, but an act worthy of strict condemnation!"

Tống Khả Di stood dumbfounded in the middle of the hall, her eyes frantically looking around, looking for any remaining support, but the faces around her, including Phùng Nhược My, had all turned in another direction, no one dared to openly stand on her side anymore in the face of the clear evidence that had just been exposed.

*

"Why?" Finally, Khả Di also spoke, her voice trembling, no longer the initial confidence, but a resentment that had been suppressed for three years. "Why did you choose her, an ordinary secretary, instead of me? I truly loved you, Bách Việt, before things got so bad!"

Bách Việt looked at her, his eyes no longer had any emotions other than absolute coldness. "If you really loved me, you would never have taken advantage of that relationship to harm my family. Real love is not built on betrayal and intrigue, Ms. Khả Di. I chose Thư Nhã, not because she is ordinary, but because she has qualities that you have never had — integrity, loyalty, and a heart that puts others above personal ambition."

While the hall was still buzzing, Mr. Lăng Chính Nghĩa stood up from the honorary chairman's seat, his voice was deep but filled with the weight of someone who had witnessed the entire incident from the first days. "I am the only person, besides Bách Việt, who knows the entire truth about that year's decision. I can confirm before all shareholders that all documents just presented are accurate, without any staging or fabrication. My nephew had to make an extremely difficult decision within forty-eight hours to protect the whole family and this corporation from a takeover plot hidden under the guise of marriage. If he was not alert enough that year, I'm afraid. that Việt Thịnh today no longer belongs to us."

The confirmation of a long-time reputable person on the board of directors like Mr. Chính Nghĩa made hesitant shareholders finally start to lean towards one side. A few people turned to look at Phùng Nhược My with questioning eyes, causing her to lower her head, not daring to look up to face anyone in the hall.

The hall was once again engulfed in silence, but this time it was the silence of an ending that was gradually being decided, when the chairman of the meeting stood up and announced a pause so that the board of directors could conduct an on-the-spot vote on the dismissal proposal, in the midst of an extremely tense atmosphere where no one in the hall could predict which side the final result would lean towards.