Chapter 16 — When I Stop Being Invisible

He sighed.

"Miss To, if twelve years ago someone would listen to you seriously... Hang Vien would not have reached the situation today."

That's the most bitter statement I've ever heard. But I didn't show anything.

"There's no need to repeat the past. As for Chu Han, how should we handle it?"

"For the financial issue, I have had the outside lawyer and the audit team review it in parallel. Based on your notes, most of the historical issues can be adjusted in advance. Chu Han wants to use that as an attack... there are not many opportunities left."

“What about his labor lawsuit?”

"There is no possibility of winning. The reason for dismissal is profiteering, the evidence is complete. The lawyer has assessed that the arbitrator will not side with him."

“That's good.”

“But there's one more thing.”

"Before quitting her job, Phuong Ngan formatted the computer. However, the IT department recovered part of the data from the server backup. Including a folder..."

Co Vien Chu pushed a USB stick towards me.

"In here is the conversation history between Phuong Ngan and Chu Han. Including the plans they had prepared before entering Hang Vien."

I picked up the USB.

“What are the things?”

"The fact that Chu Han came to Heng Vien, from the beginning, was not just for a job. After being forced to quit by his old company, he targeted Hang Vien - because Hang Vien's management was very lax, Ha Kien Quoc was used to letting loose internally, this is the type of business most susceptible to taking advantage of loopholes. The first thing he did after coming here was to understand the company's procurement and financial processes.

The second thing—” He paused for a moment.

“The second thing is to fire you.”

I didn't speak up.

“Miss To, do you know why the first person he fired was you?”

“Because I ‘got in too deep’.”

"No. Because he has investigated you. He knows you are in charge of the work of eight departments, knows you know every detail of the company's operations in the palm of your hand. If he wants to play tricks, the first person to eliminate is the person most likely to detect the problem."

I sat there, my mind blank. I thought he fired me because he found me entangled. Turns out it was because he was afraid I would get in the way. He is not afraid of an administrative specialist. He is afraid of someone who knows too much.

“So…” I said slowly, “What he said the day he fired me—the possibility of replacement is very high—”

"It was said on purpose. He needed that reason so that everyone would feel that firing you was very reasonable."

I bowed my head. Twelve years. Salary is one hundred and forty thousand. Work of eight departments. In the end, he was accurately identified by someone who had just joined the company a month ago, considered the biggest threat, and was the first to be eliminated. It's not because I'm useless. It's because I'm so useful. So useful that it had to disappear. I raised my head.

"It's okay. Continue talking."

Co Vien Chu has completely handled all legal issues related to Chu Han. Hang Vien's outside lawyer team completed the evidence fixation in just two weeks. As a result, Chu Han lost the labor dispute. The amount of profiteering from shopping activities was verified as eighty-three thousand. Hang Vien immediately sent a dispatch requesting civil compensation to Chu Han and related parties. At the same time, Ha Kien Quoc's wife signed a power of attorney on his behalf - officially inviting me to be an external Operations Consultant for the Group. Hang Vien, one-year term, salary of sixty thousand. Not Deputy General Director. It's the Advisor. It's my own choice. Because I don't want to go back to being Hang Vien's insider anymore. Once an insider, it means becoming the type of person who "does everything, but no one sees". As for consulting, clear boundaries, service fees, and contracts. Each work item is priced transparently. Tham Dich is very satisfied with this arrangement.

“Hang Vien's consulting fee is sixty thousand per year, plus dividends from Thuy Hoa, your total income this year—”

“Don't count anymore.”

“To Van, aren't you curious?”

“Curious. But right now I'm more interested in something else.”

"Turn the operating toolkit into a product. I have seriously thought about the SaaS that Ha Duy mentioned last time. This is worth doing."

Tham Dich immediately sat up straight.

“Have you decided?”

"Decided. But it's not for Thuy Hoa to do. I will start my own company."

“Don't go 'oh'. I want to invite you to be a co-founder.”

He stopped.