Chapter 11 — The Photograph Without a Third Person

The coffee shop at the end of Le Loi Street is small and modest, hidden behind the old market, the type of shop that only people familiar with the area know about. Ha arrived at exactly eight o'clock at night, her heart pounding as she walked through the foggy glass door.

Nam was already sitting in the innermost corner, the most hidden place from the street. He wore a dark coat, different from his usual oil-stained clothes, as if he had tried to seriously prepare for this meeting.

"Thank you for coming," he said as Ha sat down opposite.

"I'm the one who should thank you," she replied, trying to keep her voice calm even though she was filled with so many emotions.

Nam ordered two cups of tea and was silent for a long time before starting to speak, as if gathering his courage after four years of hiding. "My real name is Phan Gia Bao," he said, his voice shaking slightly but firmly. "I think you already know that, right?"

Ha nodded, without interrupting, letting him continue at his own pace.

"I used to be the chief engineer in charge of construction quality at Phan Group," he continued, his eyes gradually becoming distant as he recalled the past. "Four years ago, I discovered a serious structural crack at Lam Dien project - a large apartment project that the group was rushing to complete to meet the handover schedule. I immediately reported it and asked to stop construction for comprehensive reinforcement."

"But they refused," Ha said quietly, recalling the handwritten note in red ink in the file she found.

Nam looked at her, a bit surprised. "You already know that much?"

"My lawyer and I went to survey the project. We found your report, along with the initials 'T.D.' note the refusal of your request."

Nam closed his eyes for a moment, as if trying to suppress a pain that had been dull for many years. "Tran Dat," he said, his voice filled with bitterness. "He was then the CEO, the person who had the final decision on all financial and progress issues. He told me that stopping construction would cost the group tens of billions of dong, that the crack was 'not at a dangerous level', that I was being 'unnecessarily too cautious'."

"But I don't agree."

"I can't agree," Nam replied, his voice becoming tougher, echoing the shadow of the principled engineer in the old article Ha once read. "It's not just a financial issue. It's the safety of hundreds of families who will move in there. I have threatened to report directly to the construction management agency if the corporation does not stop to fix it properly."

"And that's when everything changed."

Nam nodded, his hand tightening the cup of tea in front of him. "A week later, I was summoned to an emergency meeting with Tran Dat and my younger brother, Gia Huy. They told me that if I continued to insist, they would be forced to fire me for 'causing internal trouble', and spread the news that I had deliberately exaggerated the severity of the crack to demand an increase in my department's own budget — a completely false accusation, but enough to destroy the entire professional reputation I had built over many years."

Ha felt anger rising in her heart when she heard this. "So why did you have to 'die'? Why not simply be fired?"

Nam was silent for a long time, to the point that Ha thought he would not answer this question. Finally, he spoke, his voice so low it was almost a whisper.

"Because I refused to stay silent even after being threatened with dismissal. I began to collect evidence, intending to send an official complaint to the management agency. Tran Dat discovered that plan." He stopped, took a deep breath. "That night, while I was driving home after working late, a truck intentionally rammed into my car on the highway. I was lucky to survive, but was seriously injured."

Ha held her breath, her hand unconsciously grasped the edge of the table. "That accident was not accidental."

"No," Nam replied, his voice shaking with a mixture of old fear and relief at finally being told the truth. "After the accident, while I was still in the hospital, Tran Dat came to see me alone. He made a 'proposal': if I agreed to completely disappear, so that they could declare me dead in the accident, he would make sure my mother and Gia Huy were safe, not being implicated in anything. If I refused, he implied that the next 'accident' might not be as lucky as this one, and might not only affect me."

Ha felt cold all over her body. "He threatened my whole family."

Nam nodded, his eyes were red but without tears, as if he had cried all his tears a long time ago. "I had no other choice. I agreed to sign papers giving up my identity, let the hospital falsify death records, and completely disappear from the life I knew. In return, I asked for only one thing: that my mother be told the truth, even if she was not allowed to tell anyone."

"So for the past four years, she has kept in secret contact with you."

"You're the only one," Nam replied, his voice softening at the mention of his mother. "She helped me have enough money to start a new life, teaching me how to repair cars — a skill she learned from my father before he passed away. She said that profession would help me keep my skills, even though I could no longer do the engineering job I once loved."

Ha reached out and gently placed it on Nam's trembling hand. "Thank you for trusting me to tell me all of this."

Nam looked at her hand, then looked up at her face, his eyes contained a deep gratitude mixed with a fear that had not completely disappeared. "I haven't told anyone this story in four years," he said quietly. "You're the first."

"So why did you appear at Gia Huy's wedding? It was a huge risk."

Nam sighed, his eyes became distant again. "I just wanted to see my mother once, from afar, on my brother's big day. I knew it was risky, but after four years of not being allowed to be present in any important family moments, I couldn't resist the wish." He looked at Ha, a sad smile crossed his lips. "I didn't expect that moment of weakness would lead me to you."

Ha felt her heart choke at that confession. She looked at the man in front of her — no longer the mysterious "Nam" at the car repair shop, but Phan Gia Bao, a man who had to sacrifice everything to protect the people he loved, and now, after four years of living in darkness, is gradually finding a small ray of faith and hope.

"Mr. Bao," she called, using his real name for the first time, "I will help you get justice. I promise."

Hearing his real name being called after four long years, Gia Bao shivered slightly, as if a part of his old self had just awakened from a long hibernation. "It's been a long time since anyone called me that," he said, his voice choked up.

"So from now on, I will call you that, if you allow me," Ha said, gently squeezing his hand.

Gia Bao nodded, then asked, his voice filled with worry. "But if you continue to pursue this, you will be in danger. Tran Dat and maybe even Gia Huy will not leave it alone. I don't want you to have to pay the price because of me."

"I chose this path myself from the moment I saw you in the photo," Ha replied, her voice determined. "Not because you asked, but because I can't live peacefully knowing such a great injustice is being buried."

They sat and talked for a while longer, Gia Bao told more about the first days after "death" - the feeling of extreme loneliness when having to learn to live under a completely new identity, the fear every time he saw a strange vehicle parked near his place, and the small comfort every time he received a short message from his mother through a secret phone number used only for communication between the two.

"So are you ready to face it publicly now?" Ha asked, trying to gauge his level of determination. "If we want to bring the truth to light legally, you will need to appear, testify officially."

Gia Bao was silent for a long time, his eyes clearly revealing the intense inner struggle. "I'm scared," he admitted, his voice shaking. "Not afraid for myself. Four years of living in the dark have made me used to taking risks for myself. But I'm afraid for my mother, for Gia Huy - even though he was the one who kept silent and let me suffer everything, he's still my younger brother."

"Do you still love your younger brother, even though he's been silent for four years?" Ha asked, a bit surprised by his altruism.

"Gia Huy is not a bad person by nature," Gia Bao replied, his voice low. "He is just weak, easily manipulated by Tran Dat because he is afraid of losing the position and reputation he has tried to build. I believe, deep inside, he is still tormented by what happened to me."

Ha recalled the tense meeting with Gia Huy at the studio, his panicked eyes when asked about his twin brother. Perhaps Gia Bao is right — his younger brother is not an outright villain, but a man torn between guilt and fear, just like their mother.

"I think, if you are willing to face it, maybe it will also be an opportunity for Gia Huy to be freed from the burden he is carrying," she said softly. "The truth, no matter how painful, is better than a lie that lasts forever."

Gia Bao looked at her for a long time, then nodded slightly, a big decision seemed to have just been made in his heart. "Okay. I'll deal with it. But I need time to prepare, and I need to know that my mother will be kept safe during the process."

"I will ask my lawyer to arrange everything carefully," Ha promised. "We will follow the legal process and not let anyone get hurt any further if avoidable."

When they left the cafe, it was late at night, the street was quiet except for the streetlights shining on the wet road surface after the afternoon rain. Gia Bao saw Ha off to the parking lot, and in the moment of parting, he held her hand again.

"Thank you, Ngoc Ha," he said, his voice filled with an emotion he had suppressed for four years. "For not looking at me as a mystery to be solved, but as a human being to be heard."

Ha smiled, looking deeply into his eyes under the dim streetlight. "That's the minimum that anyone deserves, Mr. Bao."