Chapter 2 — The Scariest Betrayer Is The One You Trusted

The atmosphere in the hall felt like someone was squeezing it. General Director Tran immediately asked the administrative department to turn off the live broadcast screen and had someone lock the meeting room door. Today's year-end review was attended by partners, supplier representatives, and several industry media units. Lam Hieu Hieu deliberately chose this right moment to strike. Because she knows very well that once the rumor spreads, whether the truth remains or not is no longer important. A director of the Planning Department was accused by his real identity for revealing the bid price. Even if the investigation clears it up later, my reputation has been completely destroyed. General Director Tran took the stack of documents, the more he looked at it, the more unsightly his face became.

“Truong Nghien, the format of this document is exactly the company's internal document.”

The Finance Director standing next to him also glanced through a few pages.

“The quote structure also matches perfectly.”

The chatter in the hall grew louder. Lam Hieu Hieu stood on stage, her body trembling slightly, but her spine was still straight. She is exactly like a weak girl, reluctant to stand up and expose the darkness for the sake of justice. I tried to suppress my anger and walked onto the stage.

“Show me the documents.”

Lam Hieu Hieu immediately took a step back, clutching the stack of papers tightly in her arms.

“Miss Truong... are you planning to rob and destroy the evidence?”

I burst out laughing because I was angry.

“There are so many people here, are you afraid that I will swallow it right on the spot?”

A few soft laughs rang out from below. But most people still just stand and watch the play. General Director Tran gave me a photocopy. I glanced over. At first glance, it was true that the bid price list was created by my department. Title, font size, project code... Everything is no problem. But very quickly, I discovered that some groups of data had errors. Not the usual type of mistake. It's the type of error that only the person directly creating the table can recognize. I raised my head to look at Lam Hieu Hieu.

“Where did you get this from?”

She pursed her lips tightly.

“I saw it printed out with my own eyes from the printer next to your desk.”

I asked again:

“Which printer?”

“The printer is next to the window of the Planning room.”

She paused for a moment.

“Around four o'clock the other day.”

I nodded. My calm attitude made Lam Hieu Hieu start to panic. She immediately opened her phone and showed a screenshot on the big screen. In the photo, there is a conversation. The opposite person's name is saved as "Husband". The other party's message:

"The bid price has been received. This time I really have to thank you."

The account with my profile picture replied:

“Don't let anyone find out.”

The entire meeting room immediately exploded.

“How can you deny this anymore?”

“Even the chat history is there.”

"Is Director Truong crazy? Selling out the whole company because of men?"

"Normally, I just pretend to be a strong woman, but I would have thought that I would play so dirty behind my back."

My colleagues standing next to me reflexively took a few steps away. The familiar dull pain in my stomach began to roll up again. Not because I'm afraid. But because I feel nauseous. I have been mentoring Lam Hieu Hieu for a long time. She knows how much I risk my life for my job. Also know how meaningful the Tinh Ha Trade Center project is to me. This project is a do-it-yourself project I built from scratch. Customers used to make things difficult for me. The supplier has been negligent in its response. The plan was revised and revised eighteen times. For a month straight, I almost ate and slept at the office. All of that... She witnessed it with her own eyes. But in the end, she still chose to destroy everything. Destroy me too. Lam Hieu Hieu wiped her tears and her voice softened.

“Miss Truong, don't blame me.”

“I don't want things to turn out like this either.”

"As long as you proactively resign now and admit this is a personal act, maybe the company still has a chance to keep the project."

“I will help you pray to General Director Tran.”

I looked at her and suddenly asked:

“If I resign... who will take my place?”

Lam Hieu Hieu's face stiffened. Below, many people began to look at each other meaningfully. Very quickly, she bowed her head, her voice full of self-pity.

“Sister Truong, how could you think of me like that?”

“I'm just a trainee who hasn't yet signed an official contract, what can I possibly seek?”

“What I think about is only the company's benefits, the bread and butter of all my colleagues.”

She acted extremely passionately. If the victim wasn't me... Maybe even I would have believed her. At that moment, another person stood up in the crowd. It's Chu Thien, a veteran employee of the Planning department. Up until now, she hasn't gotten along very well with me. In her eyes, I was too young to be a director, and it was I who blocked her path to advancement. Chu Thien sighed softly.

“Director Truong, I originally didn't intend to speak up.”

“But if Hieu Hieu has the courage to stand up... then I can't continue to pretend like I don't know anything anymore.”

My heart suddenly sank. Sure enough... They were still preparing their next move.