Chapter 15 — The City Behind the Mist

Three days before the inspection team's official report was expected to be published, Khanh Linh received a surprise text message from a strange phone number, not a familiar threatening voice, but a brief text: "I have important information about Mr. Ho Van Tien. Meet me at the Suong Som cafe, this afternoon, alone."

Khanh Linh hesitated before that mysterious invitation, but after discussing with Viet Hoang, the two decided that she should still come and meet, with the condition that Viet Hoang would sit and observe from afar, ready to intervene if there were any signs of danger.

When Khanh Linh arrived at the coffee shop, a middle-aged woman, dressed simply, was waiting in a hidden corner. "Are you Khanh Linh?" she asked, her voice cautious. "I am a personal care nurse for Mr. Ho Van Tien at the nursing home."

Khanh Linh's heart beat faster before this unexpected appearance. "Do you have any information about Mr. Tien?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Recently, Mr. Tien's health has been rapidly deteriorating, and in his rare moments of consciousness, he often says... strange, haunting things," the nurse said, her voice low. "He kept mentioning one name — Bach Vinh Son — and went on and on about 'it was wrong, it was wrong to let that happen.' At first I thought it was just the confused words of an old person, but when his son - Ho Xuan Truong - visited a few days ago, I overheard a conversation between father and son."

"What did you hear?" Khanh Linh asked, nervous to the point of suffocation.

"Mr. Tien told his son, 'You have to stop this, you have to let the truth be told, I don't want to take this sin with me to the grave.' And Mr. Truong responded, his voice filled with anger, 'I can't do that, it will destroy everything our family has built.'" The nurse recounted, her voice shaking with emotion. "I think, you need to know this, because I believe, Mr. Tien is really tormented, and maybe, he is willing to tell the truth if someone gives him a chance."

This information opens up an extremely important possibility — that Ho Van Tien, his elderly father, may be the final key to confirming the entire chain of events, independent of what Ho Xuan Truong tried to control and conceal.

"Can you help me arrange a meeting with Mr. Tien?" Khanh Linh asked, her voice full of hope.

The nurse nodded, although her expression still showed some concern. "I can arrange it, but it must be very discreet, because Mr. Truong's family regularly checks and limits strangers from approaching Mr. Tien. Perhaps, I can arrange a short meeting, pretending to be a regular social visit from a charity organization."

Two days later, with the clever arrangement of the nurse, Khanh Linh and Viet Hoang, in the name of representing a charity organization that cares for the elderly, had the opportunity to approach Mr. Ho Van Tien at the nursing home. He was much weaker than Khanh Linh had ever imagined, sitting in a wheelchair, his eyes were blurry but still sparkled a bit in his conscious moments.

"You are Son's daughter," he said, his voice trembling but filled with emotion as Khanh Linh introduced herself discreetly. "You look so much like him, especially your eyes."

"Do you know my father, Mr. Tien?" Khanh Linh asked gently, trying not to put too much pressure on the weak old man.

"I know," he replied, his voice choked, tears suddenly streaming down his wrinkled face. "I did a terrible thing to him, to his family. My son... he made a mistake, and I, wanting to protect him, helped him hide it all, ordered my people to change the records, spend money to buy silence."

That direct confession, even though it came from a man who was old and mentally obscure for most of the time, still carried great weight. "Are you willing to confirm this officially, Mr. Tien? Maybe in front of a lawyer, or an investigative agency?" Khanh Linh asked, her voice cautious but hopeful.

Mr. Tien nodded, his eyes filled with the rare determination of old age. "I want to do the right thing, before it's too late," he said. "I have lived too long with this burden of sin, my child. Please let me have peace, even if it's just for the last days of my life."

When leaving the nursing home, Khanh Linh and Viet Hoang could not hide their emotions and excitement at this important breakthrough. "If we can record Mr. Tien's official statement before he is no longer lucid, or before Mr. Truong's family tries to stop it, that will be the final decisive evidence," Viet Hoang said, his voice filled with excitement.

"We need to contact Mr. Nguyen Trong Hai immediately, to arrange an official testimony, witnessed by lawyers and investigation agencies," Khanh Linh said, her voice assertive. "We don't have much time to wait."

That same evening, Khanh Linh contacted Mr. Hai, explaining the entire events of the unexpected meeting with Mr. Ho Van Tien. Mr. Hai, although initially cautious about the legality of his initial approach, quickly realized the importance of this potential testimony. "We will need to take the testimony according to the legal process, to ensure its validity in court later," he said. "I will arrange for an official investigator, accompanied by legal representation, to attend the nursing home as soon as possible."

"We need to hurry, Mr. Hai," Khanh Linh emphasized, her voice filled with worry. "Mr. Tien's health is not good, and I am worried that if Mr. Truong's family finds out about his intentions, they may find ways to prevent or even completely limit access to him."

"I understand this urgency," Mr. Hai replied. "We will try to arrange a formal deposition within the next two days, before any possible intervention occurs."

Just as Khanh Linh feared, the next day, when the nurse tried to contact her to update the situation, she informed that Ho Xuan Truong's family had suddenly decided to transfer Mr. Tien to another care facility, citing "need for a quieter environment to convalesce," a move that Khanh Linh and Viet Hoang both suspected was intended to isolate him from any outside access.

"We need to act immediately," Viet Hoang said, his voice filled with urgency when he heard the news. "If we let them complete the transfer, we may lose our only chance to get an official statement from Mr. Tien."

Khanh Linh immediately called Mr. Hai urgently to explain this worrying new development. After some consideration, Mr. Hai decided to mobilize an emergency investigation team, in coordination with lawyers, to go straight to the nursing home that afternoon, before the transfer was completed.

Khanh Linh and Viet Hoang hurriedly drove after the investigation agency's convoy, their hearts heavy with anxiety all the way to the nursing home. When they arrived, a private ambulance was parked in front of the gate, and staff were preparing to take Mr. Tien to the car for transfer to the hospital. The investigator accompanying the group quickly presented legal documents, requesting a postponement of the transfer to the hospital to conduct testimony according to authority.

The family representative present, a young lawyer sent by Ho Xuan Truong, tried to protest vehemently, citing the reason that Mr. Tien's health did not allow any activities that would cause tension. But when the nursing home's direct treating doctor confirmed that Mr. Tien was completely lucid enough to answer a few brief questions, the investigator determined to conduct a testimony session on the spot, with all necessary legal procedures.

In a small, quiet room of the nursing home, in the presence of investigators, lawyers representing both sides, and an official tape recorder, Mr. Ho Van Tien, with a trembling but clear voice, confirmed everything he had confessed to Khanh Linh — about having directed the swapping of records, and spending money to buy silence to protect his son from responsibility for the construction errors that led to the disaster fifteen years ago.

When the official testimony was completed, recorded and fully documented, Khanh Linh stood silently in the hallway, tears of happiness and relief flowing uncontrollably. The final, most important piece of the entire chain of truth has finally been officially, irrefutably confirmed.