Chapter 20 — Tears in the Frost

While the board of directors retreated to a private meeting room to conduct the vote, Thư Nhã stood in the hallway outside the hall, her hands shaking slightly due to tension even though she still tried to maintain her composure on the outside. Bách Việt stood next to her, his hand holding her hand tightly like a solid fulcrum in the midst of the storm of not knowing where it would go.

"Whatever the outcome," he said, his voice low but firm, "I want you to know, the biggest decision in my life was not to become a General Manager, but to choose you as my wife, even though at first it was just a contract."

Thư Nhã squeezed his hand, smiling even though her heart was still filled with worries. "We've done everything we can. Now we just have to wait."

But as soon as she finished speaking, Tống Khả Di suddenly appeared from the end of the hallway, no longer confident and proud like before, instead there was a clear despair on her face. She walked quickly towards the two, her voice urgent, almost pleading.

"Bách Việt, let me talk to you privately for a moment," she said, her eyes glanced at Thư Nhã with a questioning look.

*

"Whatever you want to say, just say it in front of Thư Nhã," Bách Việt replied, his voice was decisive, without any hesitation like before.

Khả Di looked at him for a long moment, then sighed, seemingly giving up all efforts to hide. "Okay. I admit, I was wrong when I staged the financial leak three years ago. At that time I was young, ambitious, and pressured by my family to prove my worth at all costs. But you have to understand, the feelings I had for you back then were real, it was just tainted by too many calculations from the people around me."

"True love does not allow people to push the father of the person they love to the hospital just to achieve personal goals," Bách Việt replied, his voice unwavering. "You can deceive yourself with any excuse you want, but the truth is still the truth, Khả Di. You chose ambition over love from the beginning, and now, you continue to choose the path of hatred instead of letting go with honor."

Khả Di stood still, her eyes filled with tears, but not because of regret, but because of helplessness when realizing that all doors had closed in front of her. "So you decided to side with her completely, knowing full well that I could destroy everything you were trying to protect."

"You don't have that ability anymore," Thư Nhã spoke up, her voice was calm but full of weight. "The evidence we have is enough to not only cause you to lose your voting rights in this meeting, but also potentially make you face criminal charges of stock market manipulation and blackmail threats. We thought very carefully before making everything public today, Ms. Khả Di. This is not a reckless gamble, but a calculated strategy every step of the way."

Khả Di looked at her, for the first time her eyes were no longer contemptuous like the previous encounters, but were filled with surprise, as if only at this moment she truly saw Thư Nhã as an equal opponent, not just an ordinary chess piece. "Are you so well prepared? Three years ago, I underestimated Viet because I thought he wouldn't dare go against my family. It turns out I underestimated you even more."

"You underestimate anyone who doesn't serve your ambitions, that's always your biggest mistake, Khả Di," Thư Nhã replied, her voice not wavering at all. "She sees love, trust, and an entire family as just pieces on her board of power. But people really don't work that way. The more she tries to manipulate, the more she pushes those around her away."

Khả Di was silent, her lips pursed tightly, as if she wanted to refute but couldn't find any words sharp enough to respond. She glanced at Bách Việt one last time, her face clearly showing bitterness, but no longer dared to take another step to continue threatening the two people in front of her.

*

At that moment, the door to the board meeting room opened and the meeting chairman walked out, his face solemn. "All parties are invited to return to the conference hall. The Board of Directors has announced the voting results."

All three people and other shareholders returned to their positions in the hall one after another, the atmosphere was so tense that it could be cut with a knife. The chairman stood on the podium, his voice echoing throughout the absolutely silent space.

"After reviewing all the evidence presented, the board of directors voted with a ratio of nine out of ten members, completely rejecting the proposal to dismiss General Director Lăng Bách Việt. At the same time, the board of directors also unanimously passed a resolution to terminate all cooperative relationships, current and future, with Hằng Phát Investment Fund and all companies directly or indirectly related to Ms. Tống Khả Di. All shares held by the group of shareholders affiliated with Hằng Phát will be required to divest capital within ninety days according to the provisions of the company's charter, based on the presented evidence of serious violations of information transparency obligations."

*

Scattered applause rang out throughout the hall, then quickly spread into a chorus of applause as shareholders, now completely convinced by the evidence, expressed their support for the current management. Thư Nhã held Bách Việt's hand tightly, happy tears rolling down her cheeks, while he squeezed her hand, his eyes filled with pride and gratitude.

Tống Khả Di stood dumbfounded in the middle of the hall. Around her, the shareholders who had intended to support were now avoiding their eyes, no one wanted to get involved further with a person who had just been exposed before the entire business public. Phùng Nhược My quietly left her row of seats, bowed her head and walked out of the hall in extreme shame, knowing that her position as a major shareholder would be difficult to maintain after this incident.

"This isn't over yet," Khả Di said, her voice trembling with frustration, before turning around and quickly walking out of the hall, not daring to look back at the eyes of pity and contempt of those who once respected her.

*

But that last threat was only a faint echo of a man who was completely defeated. Immediately after the meeting, Việt Thịnh's legal representative officially sent a dossier denouncing Tống Khả Di's stock market manipulation and blackmail threats to the competent authorities, along with all the evidence that had been carefully collected over the past several weeks.

Bách Việt turned to Thư Nhã, pulled her into a tight hug right in the middle of the hall as she gradually relaxed, no longer afraid of any eyes around her. "We did it, Thư Nhã. Thanks to you, thanks to your intelligence and courage, we were able to protect everything that matters most."

"We did it together," she replied, resting her head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat beating strongly and steadily, like a solid promise for the future ahead. "From now on, no one can threaten our family anymore."

Mr. Lăng Chính Nghĩa approached, placed his hands on both of their shoulders, his voice was uncommonly warm. "I'm proud of both of you. This is truly a marriage worthy of being called happy, built on trust, courage, and true love, not any other calculations."

Đinh Bội Quyên pushed through the crowd of shareholders who were gradually dispersing and hugged Thư Nhã, her eyes were also red with emotion. "I knew from the beginning that you were hiding something big, but I never imagined it would be this big. You're so good, Thư Nhã, you saved an entire corporation."

"I couldn't have done anything without you and everyone's help," Thư Nhã replied, squeezing her friend's hand tightly, tears and smiles mixed on her face. Tạ Khắc Bình stood far away, gently nodding to greet the two with a rare smile. His eyes carried the relief of someone who had silently watched and protected them during the past difficult days.

Outside the hall window, the late afternoon sunlight finally penetrated the gray clouds that had covered the city sky for the past week, shining down on a new beginning, where the storm had truly subsided, giving way to a clearer and warmer sky than ever, like a promise that the coming days, even though there was still much to be done, would no longer be shadowed by threats or lies.