CHAPTER 7: THE PRICE OF IGNORANCE
1088 Words
The atmosphere inside Nguyen Group had changed overnight.
Employees no longer chatted in the hallways.
Every face carried the same uneasy expression.
The company's stock continued to fall.
Investors who had once trusted Nguyen Group were becoming cautious.
Several important projects had already been delayed.
No one knew how much worse things could become.
Inside the president's office, Nguyen Khang stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
The city stretched beneath him, but he barely noticed it.
His thoughts were somewhere else.
They were trapped in the image of Linh standing calmly inside the Tran mansion.
For three years, he had believed he understood everything about his wife.
Now he realized...
He had known almost nothing.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in."
His assistant entered quickly, carrying another stack of documents.
"President Nguyen, we've completed another investigation."
Khang turned around.
"What did you find?"
The assistant hesitated before speaking.
"We interviewed several people who worked closely with Miss Linh during the past three years."
Khang frowned.
"And?"
"They all said the same thing."
He opened the file.
"She never spent your money."
Khang's expression stiffened.
"What?"
"Every household expense was carefully recorded."
"She even paid many bills using her own savings."
The assistant slid several copies of bank statements across the desk.
"There were also transfers to several charity organizations."
Khang lowered his eyes.
The signatures were unmistakably hers.
His chest tightened.
He remembered countless occasions when he had accused her of marrying him for wealth.
Yet she had never touched his fortune.
Not even once.
The assistant continued quietly.
"President..."
"There is something else."
Khang looked up.
"Speak."
"The servants all confirmed that Miss Linh personally prepared your breakfast every morning."
"You rarely ate it."
"Most of the time, it was thrown away."
Silence filled the office.
A memory flashed through Khang's mind.
He remembered leaving home early without looking at the dining table.
He remembered telling the housekeeper not to bother preparing breakfast.
He had never once asked who cooked it.
He had simply assumed it was the staff.
Now...
He finally knew.
His jaw tightened.
Another memory surfaced.
A winter night.
He had returned home with a high fever after an exhausting business trip.
He vaguely remembered waking up once during the night.
Someone had been changing the cold towel on his forehead.
Someone had stayed beside him until morning.
Back then, he had believed it was a nurse.
Now he realized...
It had been Linh.
The realization struck harder than any business loss.
The assistant spoke again.
"There is one final report."
He placed a small notebook on the desk.
"We found this in the storage room after Miss Linh moved out."
Khang picked it up.
It was old.
Simple.
The cover was worn from years of use.
He opened the first page.
The handwriting was neat.
"Today's breakfast: seafood porridge.
Khang doesn't like ginger.
Remember to remove it."
He turned another page.
"Khang has another meeting tonight.
Prepare medicine in case his stomach hurts."
Another page.
"He looks tired recently.
I hope he gets enough sleep."
There were hundreds of entries.
Not a single complaint.
Not a single accusation.
Only small notes about him.
Things he himself had forgotten.
Khang slowly closed the notebook.
His breathing became heavier.
For the first time in years...
He felt something he could not describe.
Regret.
Not because he had lost a powerful ally.
But because he had thrown away someone who had genuinely cared for him.
At the Tran mansion, Linh sat across from her grandfather in the family study.
Several executives were reporting the latest developments.
"Our acquisition has exceeded expectations."
"The market is reacting strongly."
"Nguyen Group has already lost several important partnerships."
Grandfather Tran nodded with satisfaction.
"Excellent."
He turned to Linh.
"What is your next move?"
Linh calmly looked through the reports.
She did not appear excited.
Nor did she seem satisfied.
"This isn't enough."
Everyone looked at her.
Grandfather Tran smiled slightly.
"What do you have in mind?"
"I don't want to destroy Nguyen Group."
The room fell silent.
One executive looked confused.
"But Miss Linh, wasn't this our objective?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"I only want them to understand the price of their choices."
Her grandfather observed her quietly.
"You still care about him."
Linh smiled faintly.
"No."
"I care about justice."
"There is a difference."
Uncle Tran couldn't help asking,
"Then why stop now?"
Linh stood and walked toward the window.
Outside, the garden was peaceful.
"The company is innocent."
"The employees are innocent."
"They shouldn't pay for one man's arrogance."
Grandfather Tran slowly nodded.
"You've grown."
She didn't answer.
Because deep inside, she knew something else.
Destroying Khang's company would be easy.
Making him live with regret...
would be far more painful.
Meanwhile, across the city, Lan sat inside a luxury café.
Her expression was no longer calm.
She placed several photographs on the table.
Every one of them showed Linh entering the Tran mansion.
Every article praised the mysterious heiress.
Her fingers slowly tightened.
"This wasn't supposed to happen."
The woman sitting across from her lowered her voice.
"What will you do now?"
Lan's smile slowly disappeared.
"If Khang discovers everything..."
She stopped.
The other woman frowned.
"Discovers what?"
Lan looked toward the window.
For several long seconds, she remained silent.
Then she whispered,
"He can never learn what really happened three years ago."
Her companion's eyes widened.
"You mean..."
Lan interrupted immediately.
"No matter what it costs."
Her voice was soft.
But the determination inside it was frightening.
That evening, Khang drove home alone.
The mansion felt unusually quiet.
He walked into the bedroom he had once shared with Linh.
Everything was spotless.
Yet strangely empty.
His eyes landed on a small wooden box hidden in the wardrobe.
He frowned.
He had never noticed it before.
Slowly, he opened the lid.
Inside lay dozens of carefully wrapped gifts.
Each one had a small handwritten label.
"First wedding anniversary."
"Happy birthday."
"Congratulations on your new project."
"Merry Christmas."
Every gift remained unopened.
None had ever reached him.
Khang stood frozen.
He reached for the smallest package.
Inside was an expensive fountain pen.
Attached to it was a tiny card.
I hope one day you will smile when you see me.
There was no signature.
There didn't need to be.
Khang lowered his head.
For the first time in his life...
He couldn't bring himself to open another gift.
Because he finally understood...
Ignorance had a price.
And he had only just begun to pay it.
- Writer
