Chapter 3 — Unclosed Profile

Three days later, the victim's identity was fully determined - Mr. Bui Thanh Son, fifty-two years old, was a land contract consulting lawyer who retired a few years ago. This information makes Thao Vy and Bao Nam even more certain about the connection with the old case.

"I found it," Minh Duc said, his voice full of excitement as the group gathered in the common office. "Mr. Son was a consulting lawyer for the Song Xanh urban area project twelve years ago, at the same time as the first case in Ms. Vy's father's file."

Bao Nam nodded, his eyes seriously analyzing the information. "So that means, both victims — Vu Dinh Long twelve years ago and Bui Thanh Son this week — are directly related to the same real estate project. This is no longer a coincidence."

"I have found a list of key people involved in the Song Xanh project at that time," Minh Duc continued, projecting a complex organizational chart on the big screen. "The main investor is Yen Phat Real Estate Group, chaired by Ms. Cao Thi Yen. There are also a number of small shareholders, legal partners, and even a few local officials involved in planning approval."

Thao Vy listened attentively, carefully writing down each name. "Is Ms. Cao Thi Yen still running this group?"

"It's still there, and the group has grown much stronger than it was twelve years ago," Minh Duc replied, opening a few more pages of public information about the group. "She is known as one of the famous real estate businessmen, regularly appears in charity activities, and is highly appreciated by society."

"A beautiful public image does not mean absolute purity," Bao Nam commented, his voice cautious but full of meaning. "We need to investigate thoroughly before drawing any conclusions, to avoid causing undue influence if this hypothesis is incorrect."

In the afternoon, the group decided to visit victim Bui Thanh Son's family to gather more information. His wife, Mrs. Tran Thi Lan, welcomed them in the small house, her face still etched with the unrelieved pain of loss.

"My husband seems worried about something lately," Ms. Lan said, her voice trembling. "He often receives strange phone calls, then seems restless, but never tells me what it is."

"Did you mention any names, or any old jobs related to any real estate projects, ma'am?" Thao Vy asked gently, trying to evoke the grieving woman's memories.

Mrs. Lan thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered something. "Ah, one time, I heard him talking on the phone, mentioning the name 'Green River project', his voice was very tense, saying 'that can't be revealed'. When I asked, he just brushed it off, saying it was about old work, nothing important."

Thao Vy and Bao Nam exchanged meaningful looks. This is further evidence to confirm their theory — Mr. Son, as a former lawyer for the project, must have known something important, possibly directly related to the reason why he became a victim.

"Do you keep any of your old documents and papers related to your previous work as a lawyer?" Bao Nam asked, his voice cautious.

"Yes, he has a separate filing cabinet in his office, I don't never touch it because he always keeps it a secret," Mrs. Lan replied, leading them both into a small room at the back of the house.

The old filing cabinet was filled with legal documents from many years ago, arranged in order but covered with a thin layer of dust showing that no one had touched them for a long time. Thao Vy and Bao Nam carefully searched and finally discovered a thin file with a yellowed cover, written on the outside: "Song Xanh Project - Internal legal records, not public."

"Here it is," Bao Nam said, his voice unable to hide his professional excitement. "We need to bring this file for careful analysis, it may be an important key to the entire case."

Mrs. Lan nodded and agreed to lend them the documents, her eyes filled with hope. "Please find the person who harmed my husband. He was a good man, he didn't deserve to die like that."

"We will try our best, ma'am," Thao Vy replied, gently holding Mrs. Lan's hand to comfort her, her heart also filled with a deep sympathy - she understood better than anyone, the feeling of waiting for justice for a loved one who passed away in turmoil, lasting for many years.

On the way back to the headquarters, sitting in the car with Bao Nam, Thao Vy looked out the window, her mind still lingering on the image of Mrs. Lan with red eyes, the pain of losing her husband was still so new. "Looking at her, I remember my mother from before," she said, her voice low. "That same look, that same hopeless waiting, lasting for many years."

"You had to witness that at such a young age," Bao Nam said, his voice much gentler than his usual official demeanor. "It certainly wasn't easy."

"There were nights when I saw my mother sitting alone in the living room, looking out the window late into the night, as if still waiting for my father to return from a late shift," Thao Vy said, her voice choked by the memories rushing back. "It took her many years to truly accept the fact that he would never return."

Bao Nam was silent for a moment, his hands gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. "I promise you, this time, we won't let another family endure such a hopeless wait. Whoever is behind all this, we will bring them to justice."

Thao Vy turned to look at him, her eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you, for trusting and accompanying me on this journey, no matter how complicated and sensitive it is."

Returning to headquarters, the whole group gathered in the office to review the internal legal documents just obtained from Mr. Son's house. Minh Duc carefully scanned each page of the document, while Bao Nam and Thao Vy skimmed the content, trying to grasp the most important details.

"Here," Thao Vy said, stopping at a page of handwritten notes in the margin of a land transfer contract. "It seems like this is Mr. Son's own note — 'The actual area does not match the compensation documents, there is a large discrepancy suspected, it needs to be clarified before signing for approval.'"

"Compensation area difference," Bao Nam repeated, his eyes lighting up at the important discovery. "This could be a clue as to the motive of the whole incident — if the compensation land area is misrepresented, the financial difference could reach a huge amount."

"Let me look up the public cadastral records of the Song Xanh project area at that time," Minh Duc said, his hands quickly typing on the keyboard, "comparing with what is written in this internal document."

While waiting for the search results, Thao Vy flipped through a few more pages of documents and found a list of individuals who had signed the land compensation documents, including a few names of local officials at that time, and the signature of Ms. Cao Thi Yen herself as the investor's representative.

"If it's true what Mr. Son suspects," Bao Nam said, his voice low and thoughtful, "then this is the motive that made someone silence him after he accidentally, or intentionally, rediscovered this truth after many years of silence."

Minh Duc, after a few minutes of searching, looked up from the screen, his serious expression was different from his usual humorous attitude. "I found it. The compensated land area in official records is nearly thirty percent lower than the actual area recovered. With the scale of this project, that difference could be equivalent to hundreds of billions of dong."

The whole room was silent for a moment, everyone fully aware of the enormity of what they had just discovered. "This is no longer a simple murder," Bao Nam said, his voice heavy. "If this hypothesis is correct, we are facing a large-scale property appropriation plot that has lasted for more than a decade, and has claimed at least two lives to keep it a secret."

"And maybe dad," Thao Vy said softly, her eyes looking down at her father's old file still placed on the table.

Bao Nam looked at her, nodded, without needing to say another word to understand the meaning behind that statement. The whole team continued to work late into the night, carefully taking notes and comparing every detail, building a solid foundation for the next steps of investigation in a case that was increasingly complicated, but also getting closer and closer to the truth.