Chapter 12 — The Family That Accused Me Now Wants Me Back

The headquarters of Ninh Phat Group was engulfed in an unusually tense atmosphere when Mr. Ninh Chan Vu convened a closed meeting, only Ms. Chu Bao Tram, Kha Ai, and the family's personal lawyer, Mr. Lang Dac Nhan, attended. The meeting room door was locked tightly, the curtains were drawn tightly, as if what was about to be discussed was not allowed to leak out even a single word.

"The situation has become more serious than I thought," Mr. Chan Vu began, his voice heavy. "The girl Gia Han found Pham Dac Vinh. If he gives evidence, the whole story we created six years ago will collapse."

Lang Dac Nhan, a man in his fifties with a calm demeanor but cold eyes, lightly tapped his finger on the file in front of him. "First, we need to clearly determine what she has collected. If it is only Dac Vinh's oral testimony, without any written documents, then its legal value is not too great, it can be easily refuted by reasons of personal hatred due to being fired."

"But what if he kept the original documents?" Ms. Bao Tram asked, her voice undisguisedly worried.

"If so, we need a different strategy," Dac Nhan said, his voice still terrifyingly calm. "The most effective way, and also with the least legal risk, is to convince Ms. Gia Han to voluntarily give up her intention to turn the case over, by offering conditions that are attractive enough, or if necessary, pressure strong enough for her to realize that continuing to pursue this matter will cause more harm than benefit."

Kha Ai sat silently from the beginning of the meeting, her hands clasped tightly together in her lap, the mixed feelings of guilt and fear made her not dare to speak up. When her father's eyes glanced over, seemingly asking for his opinion, she just nodded slightly, not having the courage to object to the plan being drawn up, even though inside, a part of her heart was still screaming in protest.

Dac Nhan continued to present his plan, his tone was cold as if he were discussing a normal business deal. "First of all, we need to apply indirect pressure: contact the owner of the printing factory where she is working, tactfully hinting at the legal risks of continuing to hire an employee who is involved in a complicated family dispute. At the same time, I will draft an official document, sent to her in the name of the family's legal representative, warning of the consequences of unfounded slander, if she continues to publicize unproven allegations."

"Unfounded slander?" Mr. Chan Vu frowned. "But we are the ones..."

"Mr. Chairman," Dac Nhan interrupted, his voice still calm but somewhat firmer, "in the legal world, the truth is not as important as what can be proven in court. As long as we control the sources of evidence, control the people who can testify, the official story will still be the story we established six years ago."

The coldness in the way Dac Nhan handled the problem made even Kha Ai, who was used to self-interested calculations in her family, feel a bit shaken. She realized that this was no longer simply protecting family honor, but had become an organized war, ready to use every trick to suppress the truth.

A few days later, just as planned, Mr. Thanh, owner of Thanh Tin printing factory, received a strange phone call, claiming to be a legal representative, cleverly suggesting that hiring Gia Han could cause the printing factory to get into unnecessary trouble related to a family dispute that was being reviewed. Mr. Thanh, although not completely believing in those vague warnings, still couldn't help but feel a little worried, called Gia Han into his office to ask.

"Are you in any trouble, Gia Han?" He asked, his voice concerned but unable to hide his reservation. "I received a strange call yesterday, about a family dispute involving you."

Gia Han was stunned, immediately realizing that this was the preemptive strike that she and Bach Tuong had feared before. She briefly told Mr. Thanh about her true situation, about how she was trying to clear her name in a wrongful case six years ago, without hiding anything.

Mr. Thanh listened attentively, his face gradually relaxing as he understood the story. "I trust you," he said, his voice firm. "In the past three years, I have never seen you do anything wrong, only a hard-working, honest girl. If they call to bother you again, I will say directly that I don't care about such vague threats."

Mr. Thanh's trust warmed Gia Han's heart, but at the same time made her realize more clearly than ever the level of fierceness her family was willing to use to prevent the truth. A few days later, an official document from Lang Dac Nhan's law office was sent to her boarding house, with a strict warning about legal consequences if she continued to "spread false information that affects the honor of Ninh Phat Group and its family members".

Gia Han brought that document to Bach Tuong that night, her hands shaking as she showed it to him. "They're trying to scare me into giving up," she said, sounding both angry and a little confused.

Bach Tuong carefully read each word in the document, his eyes gradually becoming sharp. "This is just a psychological pressure tactic, with no real legal value, because she has never made any accusations public. This is actually a good sign, even though it sounds counterintuitive."

"Good sign?" Gia Han asked back in surprise.

"That's right," he nodded, his voice firm. "If they didn't feel truly threatened, they wouldn't have needed to react so harshly. The fact that they hastily sent out a warning text and put pressure on your workplace shows that we are getting very close to the truth that they are trying to hide. We just need to maintain our stance and not let these psychological blows shake our determination."

Gia Han took a deep breath, feeling the steadfastness in his words spread to her. "So what should we do next?"

"We need to speed up the process of collecting the remaining evidence," Bach Tuong said, his eyes steady. "The more solid evidence they have in hand, the harder it will be for them to continue using intimidation tactics like this to stop us."

Meanwhile, at the Ninh family villa, the secret meeting has not yet ended completely. After the warning document was sent, Lang Dac Nhan continued to propose another, more drastic plan.

"If the written warning is not enough of a deterrent, we need a more direct measure," he said, his voice still chillingly calm. "I propose to prepare a sum of money, large enough to be an offer that is difficult to refuse, to give to Ms. Gia Han in the name of life reintegration support, with the condition that she must sign a document committing not to continue pursuing any legal action related to the old incident."

Mr. Chan Vu pondered for a long time, his fingers lightly tapping on the glossy wooden table surface. "That girl is not the type of person who is easily bribed with money. She has lived for six years without us, money is not something she lacks to the point of exchanging the truth."

"Then we need to attack another weak point," Dac Nhan said, his eyes flashing with a hint of calculation. "Everyone has something to lose. For Ms. Gia Han, perhaps it's the new relationships she's building, her job, her friends, or even the lawyer who's helping her. If we can make her believe that continuing to pursue the case will harm the people she cares about, psychological pressure will be much more effective than money alone."

That sentence made Kha Ai shiver, even though she tried to keep her face calm. She realized that Dac Nhan's plan was gradually going beyond the boundaries of a normal legal strategy, becoming a sophisticated psychological manipulation plot, targeting the relationships that Gia Han had worked hard to rebuild after six years of collapse. She wanted to protest, to say that maybe it was time to stop, to confess the truth, but fear of her own future once again crushed any remaining thoughts of resistance.

"Okay," Mr. Chan Vu finally nodded in agreement with his personal lawyer's proposal. "But it must be done very discreetly, without leaving any traces that can come back to harm us later."

The meeting ended, but in Kha Ai's heart, the feeling of insecurity continued to increase, like a time bomb gradually accumulating pressure, just waiting for the day to explode, but no one, including those trying to control the situation, could predict how devastating the consequences would be.