Chapter 14 — The Heiress's Selection of a Husband

That evening, Vinh Khang went to the security technical room in the mansion's basement and personally asked the staff in charge to extract all camera data during the three-day period before the theft was discovered. He sat for hours in front of a row of screens, patiently scrolling through each recording, comparing Anh Thu's work schedule that he had understood through weeks of observation.

According to the usual schedule, around the time the theft was said to have occurred, which was midnight two days before discovering her disappearance, Anh Thu was sleeping in the room with Ms. Mai, which was confirmed by the camera in the hallway of the annex recording the scene of her room door being closed all night without any movement in or out. But when he rewinded to the camera footage of his parents' master bedroom, which led to his mother's jewelry cabinet, the recording suddenly became strangely distorted and lasted exactly fifteen minutes, just enough time to pull off a neat burglary.

"When did this section fail?" Vinh Khang asked the technician, his voice unusually serious.

"Yes, I don't know anymore, Mr. Hai, the system reported a signal error but did not specify the cause. Maybe someone interfered with the central router for a short time." The technician replied, looking confused because this was the first time he encountered this situation.

Vinh Khang nodded, already having a clear premonition that this was not a random technical incident, but an intentional action of someone who understood the home security system and was able to access the technical room without suspicion. He asked to further check the camera in the hallway leading to the technical room area at the exact time the interference incident occurred, and discovered a familiar figure appearing briefly. Although the camera angle was not clear enough to determine the identity with certainty, the gait and height were reminiscent of someone in the family.

He continued to check the main kitchen camera at the time the lock was said to have been placed in Anh Thu's closet, and confirmed that she was busy preparing dinner during that time, with absolutely no chance to leave the kitchen to go to the annex to hide the evidence. Meanwhile, the camera in the hallway of the annex recorded a strange figure, wearing dark clothes, loitering near Anh Thu's room at the suspected time frame, before leaving in a hurry.

Vinh Khang saved all those important videos on a separate storage device, his face thoughtful all the way back to the office. He couldn't be sure who was behind this plot, but his hunch told him that person must have some power and understanding of the home security system, a list of suspects that was not too long in the entire mansion.

That night, before going to bed, Vinh Khang also spent more time calling an old friend who was currently working in the field of network security, asking for technical analysis of the mysterious interference to determine whether it was due to manual intervention from within the system or not. The results confirmed his suspicions: the interference was not a random technical error, but rather someone had intentionally temporarily disconnected the central router with a specialized device, requiring a certain understanding of the mansion's security system to be able to do so smoothly.

That information further reinforced Vinh Khang's suspicion that the real culprit was not an ordinary outsider, but someone with a certain position and knowledge within the family. He carefully noted down every detail, preparing himself for the family meeting the next morning, where he would have to present the truth tactfully to protect Anh Thu without making the family atmosphere unnecessarily tense.

The next morning, Vinh Khang summoned the whole family into the large living room, bringing with him the storage device containing the evidence he had collected. "I closely examined the security cameras last night, and have some important findings that I want to present to you all." He spoke, his voice calm but authoritative.

He showed a video confirming that Anh Thu was in the bedroom at the time of the theft, along with a video of her working in the kitchen at the time the lock was believed to have been hidden. "Ms. Thu absolutely has a clear alibi for both of the most important moments of the incident. She could not have both stolen the necklace and brought the lock back to hide in her room while she was present elsewhere."

The whole room was buzzing with discussion. Vinh Bach frowned and looked at the screen, unable to deny the authenticity of the videos with clear time stamps that could not be edited. "What about the padlock found in her closet? Could it have just suddenly flown in there?"

"That's exactly what I want to clarify next." Vinh Khang replied, continuing to show the video recording the strange figure appearing near Anh Thu's room at the time in question, along with the mysterious interference from the camera in his parents' main bedroom. "Someone deliberately interfered with the security system, stole the necklace, and then installed false evidence to frame Ms. Thu. This is a carefully calculated plot, not the spontaneous action of a normal maid."

Lam Ngoc Dung put her hand to her mouth, her face full of shock. "Oh my god, so she was really wronged? Who could do such a cruel thing to an innocent child?"

Bach Dinh stood silently in the corner of the room, feeling as if an invisible hand was squeezing his throat. He tried to keep a calm face and even spoke up to avoid causing suspicion. "It's really worrying. If it's true that there are bad guys taking advantage of security loopholes in the house to harm others, we need to investigate thoroughly, we cannot leave this matter alone."

"I think so too, Uncle Dinh." Vinh Khang replied, his eyes glanced at his uncle for a brief moment but sharp enough to make Bach Dinh feel a bit cold down his spine, even though he did not directly show any doubt. "I will continue to investigate further to find the person behind this incident, ensuring justice for everyone in the house."

Vinh Bach sighed, turned to look at Anh Thu who was standing still with emotion, her eyes no longer held the cold and contemptuous look like before. "I'm sorry for being so quick to doubt you. As the future head of the family, I need to be more careful before drawing any conclusions."

Anh Thu bowed her head, tears rolling down her cheeks, not because of humiliation like before but because she was touched by the unexpected justice she received. "Thank you Elder, thank you Second for trusting me and helping me clear my name."

The meeting ended, everyone gradually dispersed, only Vinh Khang remained to talk privately with Anh Thu in the empty hallway. "You don't need to thank me. I simply don't want to see an innocent person being wronged." He said, his eyes looking at her with deeper sincerity than ever. "But I also realized that someone in this house is deliberately targeting you for some reason. Do you know why?"

Anh Thu paused before that direct question, her heart beat fast because she knew that she was facing an important choice: continue to hide, or reveal part of the truth to the man who had twice stood up to protect her without caring about the consequences. She looked into those steadfast eyes, feeling the sincere trust that was not mixed with calculation, and in her heart, the boundary between the secret that needed to be kept and the truth that needed to be shared began to waver more violently than ever.

"I... I'm not sure, maybe I'm just unlucky." She replied, her voice hesitant, not brave enough to step over the final boundary right now, even though her heart was strongly urging her to let go of the burden of secrets she had been carrying for so many months.

Vinh Khang looked at her for a long time, without forcing him further, just nodded slightly as if accepting that answer, although in his eyes there was still confidence that one day, she would be ready to share with him everything she was hiding. "Okay, I won't ask any more questions if you're not ready. But if there's anything that makes you feel insecure, remember that I'm always willing to listen and protect you, no matter what it is."

Those words made Anh Thu almost burst into tears again, not because of self-pity but because she was touched by the unconditional tolerance of the man in front of her. She bowed her head in thanks and turned to walk away, but in her heart, the seed of an important decision had begun to germinate: perhaps it was time for her to seriously consider sharing part of the truth with Vinh Khang, before the enemy hidden in the darkness could strike again with even more dangerous tricks.