“What’s going on?”
The familiar voice came from behind Lam Thi Ngu.
Tran Dieu Duong walked out of the conference room surrounded by several department managers.
The moment he saw me, his expression darkened.
“To Van?”
His eyes dropped to the cardboard box in my arms.
Then to Lam Thi Ngu.
“What happened?”
Lam Thi Ngu immediately walked toward him.
“General Manager Tran, she came back to cause trouble.”
I almost laughed.
“Cause trouble?”
Lam Thi Ngu pointed at me.
“She said she deliberately canceled President To Cam Hoa’s 200-million-yuan contract because the company fired her.”
Every manager in the hallway stopped breathing.
Tran Dieu Duong’s face changed instantly.
“What did you say?”
I calmly repeated it.
“The contract has been canceled.”
He stared at me for three seconds.
Then he laughed.
Not because he found it funny.
Because he didn’t believe me.
“To Van, stop throwing a tantrum.”
“I’m not.”
“You followed that client for three months. You told me this morning that only the final signature remained.”
“That was before I learned I had already been fired.”
His jaw tightened.
“That decision has nothing to do with the contract.”
“It has everything to do with it.”
He stepped closer.
“You were negotiating on behalf of the company.”
“And now I’m no longer part of the company.”
“The work you completed while employed belongs to us.”
I nodded.
“Correct.”
For a moment, triumph flashed across his face.
Then I continued.
“But To Cam Hoa has never signed anything.”
His expression froze.
“And without her signature, you own exactly nothing.”
The hallway became completely silent.
Tran Dieu Duong lowered his voice.
“Where is the contract?”
“With President To.”
“Give me her number.”
“You already have it.”
“I called. Her assistant refused to connect me.”
“That sounds unfortunate.”
His face hardened.
“To Van, don’t be childish.”
There it was.
That tone.
The same tone he used whenever we argued outside work.
As if I were never his equal.
Only the girlfriend who eventually had to give in.
He leaned toward me.
“You’re angry because I promoted Thi Ngu.”
“No.”
“You’re upset because you think I embarrassed you.”
“No.”
“Then what do you want?”
I looked at him.
“I want my belongings.”
I lifted the cardboard box slightly.
“And then I want to leave.”
His expression became strange.
For the first time, he seemed to realize I wasn’t negotiating.
Lam Thi Ngu crossed her arms.
“General Manager Tran, don’t waste time with her. President To wants this project. She won’t abandon hundreds of millions just because To Van is upset.”
I looked at her.
“You seem very confident.”
“Because business people care about profit.”
“Exactly.”
I smiled.
“And my aunt has no reason to give profit to people she doesn’t trust.”
Lam Thi Ngu went pale.
Tran Dieu Duong’s head snapped toward me.
“What did you just say?”
I said nothing.
He stared at me.
“To Cam Hoa is your aunt?”
Before I could answer, the receptionist came running down the corridor.
“General Manager Tran!”
“What now?”
Her face was white.
“President To Cam Hoa is downstairs.”
The entire floor erupted into whispers.
Lam Thi Ngu straightened her Chanel jacket immediately.
Tran Dieu Duong’s expression changed from anger to relief.
“See?”
He looked at me.
“She came because of the contract.”
I shrugged.
“Maybe.”
Five minutes later, the elevator doors opened.
My aunt stepped out.
Behind her were her chief legal officer, two executives, and an assistant carrying the same red contract folder I had left in her office.
Tran Dieu Duong rushed forward with a smile.
“President To! I apologize for the misunderstanding. We were just discussing your project.”
My aunt barely looked at him.
Her eyes moved past everyone.
Then stopped on me.
“Van Van.”
The hallway went dead silent.
I walked toward her.
“Auntie.”
Someone behind me inhaled sharply.
Lam Thi Ngu looked like she had forgotten how to breathe.
My aunt glanced at the cardboard box in my hands.
“What is that?”
“My belongings.”
“Why are they in a box?”
I tilted my head toward Lam Thi Ngu.
“She packed them for me.”
My aunt looked at the handwritten note still attached to the side.
Take it quickly, otherwise it will be treated as trash.
She read it once.
Then again.
“Interesting.”
Tran Dieu Duong quickly interrupted.
“President To, this is an internal personnel matter. To Van violated attendance regulations, so—”
My aunt held up one hand.
He stopped.
“Attendance?”
“Yes.”
“She was absent for three days?”
“Yes.”
My aunt turned toward me.
“Where were you for those three days?”
I answered calmly.
“Shenzhen.”
“Doing what?”
“Negotiating your company’s project.”
She looked back at Tran Dieu Duong.
“And who approved that business trip?”
No one spoke.
My aunt’s lawyer opened his briefcase.
He removed a copy of the travel authorization.
At the bottom was Tran Dieu Duong’s signature.
My aunt placed it on the table beside him.
“You fired my niece for being absent during a trip you personally authorized?”
Tran Dieu Duong’s face became stiff.
“It was an administrative error.”
Lam Thi Ngu suddenly spoke.
“President To, General Manager Tran wasn’t aware of every detail. To Van didn’t report properly—”
My aunt looked at her.
“You are?”
Lam Thi Ngu immediately smiled.
“Lam Thi Ngu. The new customer manager responsible for your account.”
My aunt nodded slowly.
“So you’re the person replacing my niece?”
“Yes.”
“And according to what I heard downstairs, you told people you negotiated my contract.”
Thi Ngu’s smile disappeared.
“I only meant that I would continue—”
“Have we met?”
“No.”
“Have we spoken?”
“No.”
“Did you attend any of the seventeen meetings?”
“No, but—”
“Then what exactly did you negotiate?”
No answer came.
My aunt turned toward Tran Dieu Duong.
“I chose your company because of To Van.”
He swallowed.
“We deeply value her contribution.”
“You fired her.”
“That can be corrected.”
I looked at him.
Interesting.
Ten minutes earlier, I had been childish.
Now suddenly everything could be corrected.
Tran Dieu Duong turned to me.
“To Van, HR can revoke the termination immediately.”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed.
“This isn’t the time to be emotional.”
My aunt smiled.
That smile was much colder than mine.
“General Manager Tran.”
He turned toward her.
“She said no.”
Then my aunt placed the red folder on the conference table.
Everyone stared at it.
The 200-million-yuan contract.
Tran Dieu Duong’s eyes brightened.
“President To, regarding the agreement—”
My aunt opened the folder.
Removed the unsigned contract.
And tore it cleanly in half.
Nobody moved.
She tore it again.
Then dropped the pieces onto the table.
“The agreement is terminated.”
Lam Thi Ngu’s face went gray.
Tran Dieu Duong finally lost his composure.
“President To, please reconsider. Our company has already allocated teams and resources—”
“That sounds like your problem.”
He pointed toward me.
“You can’t destroy a major partnership because of one employee.”
My aunt’s expression sharpened.
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“I’m ending it because a company willing to falsify an employee’s attendance records, steal her project credit, and dismiss her while she is securing your largest deal is not a company I trust with two hundred million yuan.”
Then her lawyer placed another document on the table.
“But that isn’t why I came personally.”
Tran Dieu Duong stared at it.
“What is this?”
“A notice.”
“For what?”
My aunt looked toward me first.
Then back at him.
“During our due diligence, we discovered several financial transfers connected to this project that To Van never authorized.”
The color drained from his face.
I frowned.
“Auntie?”
She looked at me.
“You didn’t know?”
“Know what?”
Her lawyer opened a second folder.
Inside were payment records.
Consulting fees.
Private transfers.
And one account name that appeared repeatedly.
Lam Thi Ngu.
I slowly turned toward her.
She backed away.
Tran Dieu Duong whispered:
“This isn’t what it looks like.”
My aunt gave a short laugh.
“That sentence usually means it’s worse.”
Then the elevator opened again.
This time, three men in dark suits stepped onto the floor.
My aunt’s lawyer turned toward them.
“The auditors are here.”
Tran Dieu Duong’s face finally collapsed.
And that was the moment I understood something.
I had come back only to collect my belongings.
But apparently, losing a 200-million-yuan contract was about to become the smallest problem my boyfriend had that day.
