Chapter 7 — The Invisible Employee Knows French

As expected—the budget item was corrected. I heard a soft suction sound around me, and on the other side—Vuong Ky almost couldn't hold back his laughter. I didn't show any emotions, just gently closed the file, then opened the browser and logged into my personal cloud account. I downloaded the backup with the same name. Open “properties”: Edit time: 9:30 p.m. last night. I opened it—the budget entry was perfect, the decimal point was exact. I placed the two files side by side on the screen—the errors were clear as day.

“Director, please take a look.” – I spoke up, not loudly but loud enough for the whole office to hear.

Director Truong walked quickly, dragging a long line of colleagues to chat. He looked at the screen, his anger gradually turning into confusion.

“What is this?” – he asked.

“Very simple.” – I stood up, my eyes scanned the crowd, finally stopping at Vuong Ky—his face pale.

“Last night, before leaving work at 9:30, I backed up the final project to my personal cloud.

The version on the computer was edited by someone else at 1:23 this morning. Not only did that person intentionally change the budget figures, but he also intended to blame me.” The whole office was silent. All eyes simultaneously turned to look at Vuong Ky. She stood there, her lips trembling, her face drained of blood.

"You... you're slandering! Who knows if you're trying to correct mistakes and blame them?!" – She argued weakly, her voice had lost confidence.

"Whether it's false or not, just review the surveillance cameras to see clearly."

A calm male voice rang out from behind. Ly Uong didn't know when he stood there, adjusted his glasses and said:

“For data security, the company has installed HD cameras in every corner of the office, recording 24/7.

Just ask for an extract of last night's video—anyone who stays at the company until dawn will know right away.” Ly Uong's words were like the final blow to collapse Vuong Ky's defense line. She staggered, almost unable to stand anymore, her eyes filled with panic and despair. Director Truong's face was as black as ink. He's not stupid—everything has come to this point, it's clear who's right and who's wrong. He glared at Vuong Ky, so angry that his voice seemed to hiss through his teeth:

"Vuong Ky! Follow me into the office now!"

She fell to her knees and was helped by two colleagues. I watched her back without the slightest bit of gloating. Just a cold, empty space. The workplace war—compared to my imagination, was much dirtier and crueler. After Vuong Ky was called into the office, first Director Truong's angry shout rang out, followed by her hoarse screams and excuses. The entire sales department seemed to hold their breath, no one dared to breathe loudly. I sat still in my seat, like an outsider, calmly opened the computer, sent the exact project back via email to Director Truong, and CCed it to the relevant departments. Email sent successfully. I leaned back in my chair, feeling a wave of fatigue come from the bottom of my heart. I never wanted things to get this ugly. I just want to work stably, make money, and support my mother. But there are always people who want to push you to the edge. About half an hour later, the door to the director's office opened. Vuong Ky came out with red, swollen eyes and messy hair. As she passed my table, her steps stopped. A malicious gaze swept towards me—sharp as a hidden blade. Those eyes did not carry any remorse. Just hatred. I know, in her heart, all the blame falls on me. If it weren't for me—she would still be the "darling" of the sales department. If it weren't for me—she would have been the one chosen as the project leader. She didn't think about it: I was the one who saved the entire project, indirectly withholding the year-end bonus for her and many others. But human jealousy—inherently does not need reason. Immediately after that, the handling decision was issued. Vuong Ky, because of "serious violations at work and lack of responsibility", had his three-month bonus deducted, and was criticized by the entire company. As for the matter of "deliberately editing the file", director Truong was probably worried about affecting his internal reputation, so he only spoke lightly and did not mention it in the official announcement. I understand—that's his way of "getting along and being noble". I wanted to warn Vuong Ky and at the same time save the sales department's face. For me, that's enough. At least, in the short term, Vuong Ky will not dare to play any more tricks. But I underestimated her recklessness. One plan failed—she came up with another plan. This time, it's a more dangerous, more toxic, and more damaging attack.