Chapter 16 — The Photograph Without a Third Person

Four days before the hearing, Ha left the studio later than usual, engrossed in completing the final set of presentation documents with Dieu Thao. As she walked out onto the empty street to go home, an unlicensed motorbike suddenly pulled up to the side, a man wearing a helmet covering his face grabbed the bag she was carrying on her shoulder and sped away before she could react.

"Rob!" Dieu Thao shouted, but the car disappeared around the corner.

Ha stood dumbfounded, not because she lost her property, but because in that bag there was a backup hard drive containing all copies of the most important documents that she planned to bring to the final meeting with Minh Tuan the next day.

"Are you okay?" Dieu Thao ran back, her voice panicked.

"I'm fine," Ha replied, her hands still shaking. "But the hard drive... all the original evidence..."

"You said backup copy, right? The original copy is still with Minh Tuan, right?"

Ha nodded, trying to calm down. "That's right, luckily you always keep two separate copies. But this is not a random robbery, Thao. This is a warning."

She immediately called Minh Tuan and recounted the incident. His voice became visibly tense over the phone. "This is exactly the type of reckless action I was afraid would happen when they felt cornered. You need to report it to the police immediately, although I don't think they will find the culprit, but at least this will be an official record of threatening behavior."

That night, Ha couldn't sleep. She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, her mind racing with the fear she had been suppressing for weeks. Near morning, her phone vibrated, a text message from Gia Bao: "I just heard the story. Are you safe?"

"I'm fine," she texted back. "It's just a bag."

"Don't hide it from me," he texted back immediately. "I know better than anyone how reckless they can be. I want to see you, right now if that's possible."

They arranged to meet at an all-night cafe near Ha's new studio. When she arrived, Gia Bao was already sitting there, his face full of worry.

"You shouldn't be alone at night anymore," he said as soon as she sat down. "I know I have no right to ask anything from you, but please be more careful. I can't bear it if because of me you are in danger."

"I'm not the reason you're in danger," Ha replied, taking his hand across the table. "It was Tran Dat and what he did that was the cause. I will not let fear stop me from pursuing justice, just like you did not let fear stop you from living these past four years."

Gia Bao looked at her for a long time, his eyes contained a deep concern mixed with emotions that he no longer tried to hide. "I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you," he said softly, his voice shaking with emotion. "Over the past four years, I've learned to live without hoping for anything. But from the day I met you, I started to fear losing something precious."

Ha felt her heart tighten at that confession. She reached out and gently touched his face. "Me too," she said softly. "I didn't expect to let my heart fall into the hands of a mysterious man repairing cars in a small alley."

A rare, completely genuine smile appeared on Gia Bao's lips. In that moment, in the middle of a deserted cafe at midnight, he leaned down, gently touching his lips to hers - a gentle, hesitant kiss, as if asking for permission, but containing all the emotions that both of them had suppressed for weeks.

When they pulled apart, Ha smiled, her cheeks pink. "So you finally dare to do it."

"I've been waiting for this moment longer than you think," Gia Bao replied, also smiling, although his eyes still showed concern about the dangers lurking ahead.

***

The next morning, news of the robbery reached Minh Tuan, who quickly contacted the area police to make an official report, and requested to increase security measures for all remaining documents.

"From now until the hearing, all important documents will be stored at my law office, under strict security," he announced during the group meeting. "We cannot leave any last-minute mishaps."

"Do you think they'll do anything else?" Dieu Thao asked, her voice filled with worry.

"I'm not sure," Minh Tuan replied, his face serious. "But we need to prepare for every possibility. Tran Dat has proven that he is willing to do many reckless things to protect himself. The closer the hearing date gets, the more desperate he will feel."

Ha looked around the room, seeing the worried but determined faces of those who had gone through this arduous journey with her. She thought of last night's kiss, of the promise she had made to Gia Bao, and felt a stronger determination than ever rising in her heart.

“We've come too far to stop now,” she said, her voice ringing with determination. "No matter what they do, we will not back down until justice is served."

Minh Tuan nodded, then opened a small, hand-drawn map of the security schedule for the remaining days. "I have arranged for a friend who works in the private security industry to assist in monitoring the area around Mr. Bao's studio and auto repair shop for the next few days, just until the hearing is over. We cannot risk anything more at this critical stage."

"What will the cost be?" Ha asked, worried because the studio's financial situation was still tight after the hasty relocation.

"Don't worry about it," Minh Tuan replied, smiling slightly. "Consider it my contribution to this case. This is not just a job, but something I believe is the right thing to do."

Dieu Thao, still in shock after the robbery, began reviewing the studio's entire digital security system, changed passwords, and set up two-factor authentication for all online data storage accounts. "We can't leave any more loopholes," she said, her hands still shaking as she typed commands on the computer.

In the afternoon, Khanh Vy stopped by the studio, carrying a thin file of documents. "I found more information about Mr. Dang Van Son's case," she said, placing the documents on the table. "My father accidentally mentioned that he had seen a 'special consulting fee' transferred to a shell company right after Mr. Son left the group. Maybe this was the money used to buy his silence."

Ha took the documents, grateful for Khanh Vy's courage in continuing to support even though it meant betraying the interests of her husband's family. “Thank you so much,” she said. "I know this isn't easy for you."

"I've decided," Khanh Vy replied, her voice determined. "No matter what happens to my marriage, I cannot continue to live in a house built on a foundation of lies and injustice."

Late that night, after everyone had left, Ha sat alone in the studio, looking out the dark window. She thought about the kiss with Gia Bao, about the threatening robbery, about the remaining tense days before the important hearing. There was a dull fear in her heart, but at the same time a strong belief that they were on the right track, that the truth, no matter how costly it was, would eventually prevail.

Her phone vibrated, another text message from Gia Bao: "Good night. I will always be here, just a call away." She smiled, a warm feeling spreading in her heart, dispelling some of the surrounding anxiety. Although the road ahead is still full of thorns, she knows she no longer has to go alone.

She texted him a short message: "You too. Good night." Then put down the phone, turn off the studio lights, and lock the door more carefully than usual before stepping out. The private security guard that Minh Tuan hired was waiting at the corner of the street, nodding discreetly to her before silently following her car all the way home.

Lying in bed that night, Ha reopened the original photo — the photo that started it all, the photo of a man standing quietly behind a marble pillar. She looked at it again, no longer with the eyes of a photographer trying to explain a strange phenomenon, but with the heart of someone who loved the man in that photo. She wondered, if she hadn't paid attention to photo number seventeen that day, what her life would be like now - perhaps still peaceful, safe, but definitely missing something she never knew she was looking for.

She turned off her phone, closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep even though her mind was still full of thoughts. Four more days. There are only four days left, and this entire long journey will come to a decisive turning point.