Chapter 8 — The City Behind the Mist

Bốn ngày sau, Việt Hoàng nhận được kết quả phân tích đầy đủ từ phòng thí nghiệm về các mẫu đất đã thu thập. He immediately invited Khanh Linh to the small office he rented to review the report together, unable to hide the seriousness on her face when she entered.

“The results were worse than I initially feared,” he said, spreading the analysis report on the table. "The clay soil at depths of two to five meters has an extremely low stability index, especially when humidity rises during the rainy season. Given the expected load of the new structures in the current design, the risk of landslides is very real and could be even more serious than it was fifteen years ago because of denser construction."

Khánh Linh cầm lấy báo cáo, đôi mắt cô lướt qua từng biểu đồ, từng con số được trình bày một cách khoa học, chính xác. "This is the independent, objective evidence we need," she said, her voice both relieved and worried. "But it also means that, if we don't act now, a similar disaster could happen."

"I have prepared an official petition, accompanied by all scientific data, to send to both the Project Management Board and the Provincial Department of Construction," Viet Hoang said, showing her the carefully drafted document. "Chúng ta cần yêu cầu thiết kế lại hoàn toàn hệ thống thoát nước và gia cố nền đất, theo đúng tiêu chuẩn an toàn, trước khi bất kỳ hạng mục xây dựng nào được phép tiến hành."

Khanh Linh carefully examined the petition, nodding in agreement with each point. "I will sign my consent as the project's chief architect," she said. "Nhưng em nghĩ, chúng ta cũng nên đính kèm cả những bằng chứng liên quan đến thảm họa mười lăm năm trước, để làm rõ bối cảnh lịch sử và tính cấp thiết của vấn đề."

"That was a bold move," Viet Hoang commented, his eyes both worried and admiring. "Once this document is sent, there will be no turning back, and will certainly cause Mr. Truong to react violently."

"It's time," Khanh Linh replied, her voice determined. "Chúng ta không thể chờ đợi thêm nữa, khi biết rõ nguy cơ đang treo lơ lửng trên đầu hàng trăm người dân đang sinh sống tại khu vực này."

They spent the afternoon perfecting the petition, including the full geological survey report, photos of the original drawings and official archive drawings for comparison, along with a careful summary of the suspicions related to the disaster fifteen years ago, presented from an objective professional perspective rather than directly accusing any individual.

When everything was ready, Khanh Linh looked at Viet Hoang, a question suddenly appeared in her mind. "Have you ever regretted deciding to stay in Van Son, instead of leaving like me?" she asked, her voice mixed with curiosity mixed with something hard to name.

Viet Hoang pondered for a moment before answering. "Có những lúc anh cũng nghĩ đến việc rời đi, đặc biệt sau khi cha anh mất vì di chứng của vết thương trong thảm họa," anh nói, giọng anh chậm rãi. "But I always feel, if everyone who understands the dangers of this land leaves, who will warn, who will protect the next generations from repeating the same mistakes?"

"Đó là một trách nhiệm rất nặng nề để một mình gánh vác," Khánh Linh nói, ánh mắt cô đầy sự cảm thông và ngưỡng mộ.

"I'm not completely alone," Viet Hoang replied, his eyes looking at her with a special warmth. "Now, I have you with me, and that makes this burden so much lighter."

At that moment, a warm silence covered the small room, both of them felt a connection silently growing between them, beyond the scope of a joint investigation. Nhưng trước khi bất kỳ ai kịp nói thêm điều gì, điện thoại của Khánh Linh reo lên, cắt ngang khoảnh khắc riêng tư ấy.

It was a call from her assistant at the project office, her voice filled with panic. "Cô Linh, cô cần về văn phòng ngay. Có người đã đột nhập vào đây tối qua, và... một số hồ sơ quan trọng của dự án đã biến mất."

Khanh Linh's heart tightened. "What records are missing?" she asked, her voice extremely tense.

"Cháu không chắc chắn toàn bộ, nhưng có vẻ như tất cả các bản sao báo cáo khảo sát địa chất mà anh Hoàng gửi đến văn phòng tuần trước đều không còn ở đó nữa," trợ lý đáp, giọng cô run rẩy.

Khánh Linh nhìn sang Việt Hoàng, cả hai đều nhận ra ngay lập tức điều này có ý nghĩa gì — ai đó đã bắt đầu hành động để cố gắng che giấu, hoặc phá hủy bằng chứng, và điều đó có nghĩa là, họ đang tiến rất gần đến sự thật, gần đến mức khiến những kẻ đứng sau tất cả những bí mật này cảm thấy thực sự bị đe dọa.

Họ lập tức lái xe đến văn phòng dự án, nơi cảnh tượng hỗn loạn đang chờ đợi họ — ngăn kéo tủ hồ sơ bị lục tung, một vài chiếc bị phá khóa cưỡng ép, giấy tờ vương vãi khắp sàn nhà. Khanh Linh's assistant, a young girl named Yen, stood there with a look of shock on her face.

"Cháu đến văn phòng sáng nay như thường lệ thì thấy cửa đã bị cạy, mọi thứ trong phòng lưu trữ hồ sơ đều bị xáo trộn," Yến kể lại, giọng cô vẫn còn run rẩy. "I called the building security immediately, but they said the security camera on this floor had a technical error last night and couldn't record anything."

"Again, the camera had a technical error at the right time," Viet Hoang said, his voice filled with bitter sarcasm. "This was clearly not an ordinary theft. The intruder knew exactly what to look for and had prepared carefully, leaving no trace."

Khanh Linh rechecked the entire storage area and confirmed that, besides the geological survey reports, some of her working notes related to the old disaster investigation had also disappeared. Fortunately, she always backed up important documents to a secure cloud system, so the core data remained intact.

"At least, they didn't take away what's really important," she said, trying to calm herself even though her hands were still shaking from shock. "But this shows that someone is watching our every move very closely, and they are ready to take illegal action to prevent the truth from being exposed."

"We need to report this incident to the local police," Viet Hoang said, his voice serious. "Although I am not sure whether they will investigate to the end, given the complex relationship between the local authorities and powerful figures in this town, we at least need an official record of the break-in, should we need it later."

Khanh Linh nodded in agreement, although she couldn't help but feel a new insecurity creeping in. She looked around the ransacked room, then looked at Viet Hoang, her eyes filled with worry. "Do you think, are we putting ourselves in real danger?" she asked, her voice quiet.

"I think we need to be more careful than ever from now on," Viet Hoang replied, his voice serious, placing his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring gesture. "But I also believe that this break-in is the strongest indirect evidence that we are on the right track. No one would risk breaking the law to hide something harmless."

They spent the rest of the afternoon reporting the incident to the town police, making a detailed record of what was lost, although both of them were not very optimistic about the possibility that the incident would be thoroughly investigated. On the way back, Khanh Linh immediately called her former colleague in Saigon to immediately send an official petition before any further incidents could happen, ensuring that the most important document was sent to the right authorities, out of the reach of anyone who wanted to stop it.

"Now, no matter what happens, at least the petition is in the hands of the Provincial Department of Construction," she told Viet Hoang, her voice somewhat relieved after receiving confirmation that the email had been successfully sent. "They can't stop the truth once it goes beyond their control here."

"That's a smart move," Viet Hoang replied, nodding in agreement. "Nhưng anh nghĩ, chúng ta cũng cần chuẩn bị tinh thần cho những phản ứng dữ dội hơn sắp tới, khi họ nhận ra bản kiến nghị đã được gửi đi và không thể thu hồi lại được nữa."

Khanh Linh nodded, looked out the car window, where the evening mist was beginning to cover the familiar streets of Van Son again, and told herself that, no matter how dangerous the road ahead was, she would not back down, because for the first time in fifteen years, she felt she was really getting closer to justice for her father.