Chapter 30
Chapter 30 — The Empty Rescuer and the Female President Hide a Will
The day I received my father's name back, it didn't rain.
Thien Ha organized a meeting to announce the fund report. No big stage, no photo of my father on the screen. There are only books, maps, boat lists and returns.
Vy said first:
"Corporations used to use silence to maintain image. Today we use data to maintain trust."
I said it later, without mentioning that I was the heir.
"My father did the right things in a non-transparent way. Quoc Thanh did the wrong things and called it business. The two facts are not the same."
Mother Hanh and Mrs. Nhu sat in the front row. The two of them visited rescue stations together, no longer fighting over who had the right to talk about the past.
Nam asked me if I was going to quit rescue work.
“No. I just want one more person who knows how to sail.”
Khang welcomed me after the ceremony with a hot lunch box. He gave me another key.
“What key?”
"New house. Has windows overlooking the river, but not in the flooded area."
“With what money did you buy it?”
"Profits of six kitchens. Full receipts."
I laugh. People who didn't want to be saved built a place for us to return to.
Vy texted asking if she wanted to go swimming with her this weekend. I answered yes, with the condition that she must bring the cake.
That night, I opened the metal box for the last time. The brass key is old, the letter is blurred, but the words are still clear:
“One person understands the water flow, one person understands the cash flow.”
Dad was wrong to think we had to wait until he died to stand together. But he was right to believe that two understandings could save a city.
I closed the box, placed it in the open storage room. No more locking.
The first day I met Vy, she was the female president who hid a will. Today, you are my sister, the one who knows how to stand in the rain, and I am the one who understands that not every door needs to be broken.
There are doors that only open when the person inside tells the truth.