Chapter 20 — The Heiress's Selection of a Husband

"I have proof." Anh Thu said, her voice was decisive. She opened the cloth bag, took out an old photo, and held it high in front of everyone. "This is your father and uncle Vinh Toan in their youth, wearing a pair of trust jade pendants. The other half, I still keep with me throughout this journey."

She placed half of the jade pendant next to the photo. The morning light shone on the blue stone, highlighting each vein that matched the image in the photo. Chu Vinh Toan trembled and walked forward, holding both evidence, tears began to fall from his eyes. "That's right. It's the one I gave to Dac Nghia that year."

"This is just a piece of jewelry, it doesn't prove anything." Bach Dinh spoke up, trying to keep his voice calm, but his tone was more shaky than usual.

"So what about this?" Vinh Khang walked up, opened his laptop, and projected an image of a scrap of paper to practice his signature on the large screen set up for the family document screening ceremony. "This is a photo of a piece of paper found in an old file, recording the practice of forging Mr. Ton Dac Nghia's signature. The bottom corner of the piece of paper has the abbreviation B.D."

The crowd simultaneously turned to look towards Bach Dinh. He stood dumbfounded, his hands clenched until they turned white. Some of the family's long-time guests began to whisper, recalling small doubts that they had overlooked for many years: how he always avoided mentioning the period when Ton Dac Nghia was in office, how he firmly opposed all proposals to review old financial records on the grounds of "respecting the closed past". Now, each of those small details suddenly became clear pieces of denunciation.

"The abbreviation B.D could be anyone, why would it be attributed to me?" Bach Dinh tried to save his life, but his voice began to crack because of panic.

"In the entire leadership of Chu Nguyen Group at that time, there was only one person with this abbreviation who had the motivation and opportunity to access core financial records." Vinh Khang replied, his voice not wavering at all. "And now we have more living witnesses confirming it directly."

"Nonsense! This is fake evidence, someone set it up to harm me!" Bach Dinh shouted, his voice had completely lost its usual calmness.

"If it's fake, what do you think when I have another living witness?" Vinh Khang said, turning to Mr. Dinh Van Tho who was standing quietly in the crowd.

Mr. Tho stepped forward, his voice trembling but clear. "I am Dinh Van Tho, I worked as an accountant under Mr. Dac Nghia twenty-five years ago. I saw with my own eyes Chu Bach Dinh sneaking into the file room in the middle of the night, right before the day Mr. Dac Nghia was charged. I did not dare to speak out because I was afraid, and I have regretted my silence for twenty-five years. This is a copy of the original document I kept, proving that Mr. Dac Nghia's real signature is completely different from the signature in the accused dossier. crime."

He handed over a stack of yellowed papers. Vinh Bach took it and compared it in front of everyone with the help of a signature expert invited to the party, who confirmed on the spot the clear difference between the two signatures.

"No... it's impossible..." Chu Vinh Toan staggered, his voice cracking in pain. "Dinh, is it really you? Is it you who harmed Dac Nghia, your closest brother?"

Bach Dinh stood still, his face pale, all the calm shell of the past twenty-five years collapsed in an instant. He raised his head, his eyes were no longer fake but full of pent-up bitterness. "You entrusted him with everything! Your core capital, your absolute trust, while I, your younger brother, could only stand back and watch him shine! I contributed no less than him, so why did you choose to trust a stranger more than your own blood?"

The confession burst out like a broken dam, unable to be stopped anymore. "I just want to regain the position that belongs to me! I don't think things will go as far as pushing Dac Nghia to death. But once it's over, we have to keep it to the end, there's no turning back!"

The whole ceremony yard was plunged into heavy silence. Lam Ngoc Dung covered her face and cried, the guests stood dumbfounded before the horrifying truth that had just been revealed. A few older shareholders shook their heads in frustration, whispering to each other about having to review the entire financial management structure over the past twenty-five years, because if Bach Dinh was able to fabricate evidence once, no one could be sure that this was the only time.

Mr. Tho stood still, his old eyes filled with tears, finally letting go of the burden of conscience that had been weighing him down for a quarter of a century. "I'm sorry for being silent for so long. If I had the courage to speak up that day, perhaps Mr. Dac Nghia would not have suffered such injustice that he had to leave this world in such humiliation."

"You are not at fault." Anh Thu said, walking over to hold the old accountant's hand. Her voice was choked but warm. "You've been withholding evidence for so many years, and today you're brave enough to tell the truth. That's enough, sir."

"And you, Lam Vinh Phat." Vinh Khang turned, his voice cold. "You came here today not for justice, but because you colluded with Chu Bach Dinh to eliminate Anh Thu before the truth was exposed. I have evidence of the call recording between the two of you, collected by my friend in charge of network security when he discovered an anomaly in the internal communication system."

Lam Vinh Phat turned pale and took a step back. "I... I don't know anything about harming others, I just want justice for myself!"

"What is fair when you intend to use money and power to silence an innocent girl forever?" Vinh Phong interjected, his voice full of indignation. "Get out of my mansion immediately, before I send someone to call the police."

The two lawyers accompanying Lam Vinh Phat quickly packed up his papers and pulled him out of the ceremony yard under the scornful eyes of all the guests. Chu Vinh Toan stood trembling, turned to look at his younger brother one last time, his voice filled with pain. "Dinh, for the past twenty-five years I have lived in torment because I thought I was wrong in trusting Dac Nghia. You have robbed me not only of my honor as a friend, but also of the peace in my soul for a lifetime."

"I'm sorry, uncle." Anh Thu said, her voice was gentle but firm. "I didn't come here to destroy my family, but just to seek justice for my father. I believe that you have suffered just as much as I have all these years."

Chu Vinh Toan nodded, tears rolling down his old face. "I will hand over Bach Dinh to the law to deal with the crime. Dac Nghia, the best brother I have ever had, will be vindicated before the entire family and the Xuyen Giang business community today."

The mansion security team, following Vinh Bach's orders, moved to escort Chu Bach Dinh out of the ceremony yard to wait for the authorities to arrive. He no longer resisted, just quietly bowed his head and walked away, all pride and calculations for a quarter of a century now completely collapsed in front of the whole family and the witnesses.

Before being escorted out of the ceremony yard, Bach Dinh looked back at Anh Thu one last time. His eyes no longer had the cold threat as before, but only the emptiness of someone who had just lost everything. "You won. But did you know, your father was also in my position today, having the whole world turn its back on him in just a moment?"

"The difference is that your father is innocent, and you are not." Anh Thu replied, her voice was calm but determined. "And I will not let my father's injustice repeat itself to anyone else."

Bach Dinh did not say anything more, just bowed his head and walked between the two security guards, his once authoritative appearance now completely gone. Chu Vinh Toan watched his brother's back disappear, his shoulders trembled in pain, but he still stood firm, because he knew he needed to be strong to partly compensate for what Ton Dac Nghia's family had endured over the years.

Anh Thu stood in the middle of the ceremony yard, tears rolling down but her heart felt lighter than ever. Finally, after many difficult days, the truth about her parents was exposed to the light, right where her family's tragedy began twenty-five years ago. Vinh Khang walked up and held her hand in front of everyone, without any hesitation, as an affirmation that from now on, she would never have to face anything alone again.