Chapter 15 — Unclosed Profile

In the following days, Minh Duc focused all his efforts on finding the true identity of "Bao An Toan Dien Company" and the person who broke into Mr. Sau's house. The job was not easy, because this organization was clearly set up with the purpose of hiding the identities of the people behind it.

"I found a clue," Minh Duc announced in the morning meeting, his voice cautious. "The IP address used to register this shell company matches an IP address that appeared in another case three years ago — a corporate extortion case that we never solved. Apparently, this is not the first time this organization has operated."

"So this is an organized criminal organization, specializing in providing intimidation and extortion services to those who need it," Bao Nam commented, his voice serious. "We need to coordinate with the organized crime unit to expand the investigation."

While waiting for more information, Thao Vy spent time completing an appraisal report of old crime scene photos related to her father's death. The criminal technical expert, after thorough analysis using modern technology, confirmed her findings were correct.

"Scratches on the brake system are completely consistent with signs of intentional manual intervention," the expert concluded in the official report. "Combined with Pham Anh Tuan's testimony, we can confirm with high confidence that this is a murder disguised as a traffic accident."

Holding the official report in her hand, Thao Vy felt a surge of complicated emotions - finally, after twelve years, her father's death was officially recognized as a murder, no longer a vague, questionable "accident" like the old conclusion.

She brought the report to Lieutenant Colonel Trung, asking to officially restore her father's honor. "Sir, I hope the agency can officially re-recognize my father's case as a murder, and at the same time award him a worthy memorial title for his contributions during his work."

Lieutenant Colonel Trung carefully reviewed the file and nodded in sympathy. "I will propose to my superiors immediately. Investigator Dang Van Hung deserves to be recognized as having died while on duty, not just as a victim of a normal traffic accident. This is the least we can do to commemorate a comrade who devoted his life to justice."

In the afternoon, when the news about the restoration of her father's honor was officially confirmed, Thao Vy could not hold back her tears of happiness and emotion. She immediately called her mother to share this good news.

"Mom, dad has officially been recognized as killed in action," she said, her voice choking over the phone.

On the other end of the phone, Mrs. Hoa was silent for a long time before bursting into tears of happiness. "Finally... finally your father is getting the recognition he deserves," she said, her voice shaking between tears. "Thank you, Thao Vy. You have done something I never dared to hope to see in my life."

That evening, the whole small family - just mother and child - came together to burn incense in front of their father's altar, telling him the entire long journey they had gone through to find the truth, to win the war. bring back the honor he deserved after twelve years of being misunderstood and unjustly humiliated.

Thao Vy lit an incense stick, placed it in front of her father's portrait, and looked at the familiar gentle face in the police uniform that she had seen countless times over the past twelve years. "Dad," she whispered, her voice choking, "I did it. I found the truth, brought those who hurt you to justice. You can rest in peace."

Mrs. Hoa stood next to her daughter, her hand gently placed on Thao Vy's shoulder, both of them remained silent in front of the altar in a sacred, emotional moment. “He must be smiling somewhere,” she said, her voice filled with confidence. "You have become the daughter I always wanted you to be."

After the ceremony, while sitting at the simple dinner table, Mrs. Hoa looked at her daughter with meaningful, searching eyes. "That guy, Nam, seems to be very close to you lately, isn't he?"

Thao Vy blushed and tried to maintain a natural look. "Mom is teasing me again."

"I'm not teasing," Mrs. Hoa replied, smiling gently. "I just want to say, if you find your own happiness, don't hesitate to embrace it. You have sacrificed too many years of your youth for the journey of seeking justice, now it's time for you to think about your own happiness too."

"I know, mom," Thao Vy replied, smiling slightly. "And I thought, I've found that."

The next day, at headquarters, the working atmosphere continued to be tense as Minh Duc continued to dig deeper for clues about the organization behind the break-in. "I just discovered something more disturbing," he reported, his voice low. "This organization seems to be much larger than I initially thought, with many underground branches in many different cities. This is not simply a single incident involving Mr. Thinh, but could be a large-scale organized crime network."

“We need to be more careful,” Bao Nam said, his voice stern. "If this is truly a large-scale criminal organization, the investigation will be much more complex and dangerous than what we have faced so far."

"I will continue to dig deeper, but I need more time," Minh Duc said, his voice rarely serious. "This organization is very sophisticated in hiding its tracks. They use many layers of intermediary servers and many virtual accounts to avoid being tracked. I need to coordinate with a specialized network security team to be able to penetrate deeper into their system."

"Just do what's necessary, within the legal framework," Bao Nam said, "but always report progress regularly. I don't want anyone on the team to face unnecessary risks."

Thao Vy, listening to the entire exchange, felt a new anxiety gradually forming. "Do you think this organization might try to retaliate, or continue to endanger us?" she asked, her voice unable to hide her uneasiness.

"We need to prepare for that possibility," Bao Nam replied frankly, not wanting to hide anything from her. "But I promise, we will always be careful, always have a full protection plan for everyone on the team, especially you."

The meeting ended in an atmosphere of both optimism for the achievements that have been achieved and caution for the potential dangers that still lie ahead, a clear sign that, despite the After a long journey, Thao Vy's journey to find complete justice has not really ended.

That night, before going to bed, Thao Vy opened her notebook and wrote down a summary of what had been achieved during the past two tumultuous weeks: "Ms. Cao Thi Yen and Pham Anh Tuan have been arrested and given full statements. Mr. Luong Duc Thinh has been arrested, confirming the corruption ring related to the Song Xanh project. Dad's death has been officially recognized as murder, honor has been restored. But there is still a mysterious criminal organization behind the raid. intrusion, larger scale than expected — this will be the next target that needs to be completely destroyed before the case can be considered truly closed."

Closing the notebook, she looked out the window, the late moonlight gently illuminating the familiar small street. Twelve years have passed since her father's unjust death, and now, even though much of the truth has been revealed, she understands that the journey to protect justice never truly has a complete stop — there are always new dark corners that need to be illuminated, new threats that need to be stopped, to protect innocent people from having to endure the same pain as what her family has experienced.

The phone vibrated slightly, a text message at the end of the day from Bao Nam: "Good night, Thao Vy. No matter what challenges tomorrow brings, we will face them together." She smiled, feeling a reassuring warmth spreading, dispelling some of the lingering worries in her heart before falling asleep, mentally preparing for the next stage of the journey that was still ongoing, a journey that she believed, no matter how many hardships lay ahead, would eventually lead to a perfect ending, worthy of everything she and her loved ones had sacrificed.