Chapter 1 — The Empty Rescuer and the Female President Hide a Will

The current swept the rescue boat off the marked path.

I held the handlebars tightly, listening to the sound of rain hitting my helmet. On the left is the roof flooded up to the window, on the right are tree trunks floating among the trash. Captain Tuan shouted over the radio that there were still three people trapped in the neighborhood ahead.

I saw a child on the roof of the truck. The boy hugged the metal box, did not cry, just looked down at the brown water.

"Han, ignore it! The current is too strong!" Tuan said.

I turned off the engine, tied the rope to the light pole and jumped down. The cold water lashed my chest, pulling me toward the car. I swam with one hand, holding the buoy with the other. When he arrived, the boy held out the box.

"I'll hold it for you. Mom told me to give it to someone named Gia Han."

Before I could ask where his mother was, a piece of the wall fell down. I pulled the boy into the buoy, holding them both to the lifeline. The boat pulled us back just as the truck completely sank.

Arriving at the medical station, the boy was picked up by his mother. The woman only had time to say thank you and get into the relief team's car. The metal box was in my pocket, heavier than a normal small object.

After the shift, Tuan called me into his room. On the screen was a camera clip showing me voluntarily leaving the boat, abandoning another area.

“This part is cut,” I said.

"I know. But the superiors can only see that."

“Who sent it?”

Tuan did not answer. He decided to suspend me for one month for investigation.

I returned to the rented room and placed the metal box on the table. The lock is shaped like a curved leaf. Inside the box is a copper key, a piece of paper with the bank address and an inscription from my father, who passed away twelve years ago:

“Don't trust the person who holds the highest chair.”

Father used to work as an accountant for Thien Ha, a group run by female president Vu Tuong Vy. He was rumored to have embezzled rescue funds and then fled.

I never believe rumors. But that night, Tuong Vy's name was on the phone screen when a new article appeared: "Thien Ha prepares to sell riverside residential area."

That residential area is where I just saved people.

I held the key, knowing I was no longer the person who just pulled others out of the water.