Lawyer Phuong didn’t need forty-eight hours.

He called me eleven hours later.

—Miss Tong, we found your son.

I stood up immediately.

—Where?

—Bright Future Kindergarten, three blocks from Tong Cam Group.

—Is he safe?

—Yes. Our people confirmed it.

Only then did I breathe again.

—Bring him to me.

Phuong hesitated.

—There’s a problem.

My heart tightened.

—What?

—The transfer documents were signed by Mr. Co Tham.

Silence.

So Tran Van hadn’t acted entirely alone.

—What else did he sign?

—Enough that I think you should come to the office.

Thirty minutes later, a thick stack of documents was placed before me.

Co Tham had authorized Tran Van to manage several household expenses.

He had approved the kindergarten transfer.

He had also signed an internal authorization allowing her to use his executive office and company vehicle.

But the frozen cards?

Changing the villa password?

Moving my belongings?

Reporting my card as stolen?

Those were hers.

Phuong pushed another document toward me.

—She exceeded her authority repeatedly.

I looked at him.

—And my husband knew nothing?

His expression became complicated.

—Not exactly.

He opened a message archive recovered from a company device.

Tran Van had written:

“Madam spends too freely. Should I help control household expenses?”

Co Tham replied:

“Handle small matters yourself. Don’t bother me.”

Another message:

“I moved the young master to a kindergarten near the company.”

His response:

“Fine.”

Another:

“Madam may be angry.”

Co Tham replied:

“She’ll calm down.”

I read that sentence three times.

She’ll calm down.

Six years of marriage had apparently taught him one thing:

No matter what happened, I would eventually tolerate it.

I closed the file.

—Prepare the termination documents.

Phuong stared at me.

—For Tran Van?

—For Co Tham.

He went silent.

I continued:

—Revoke every executive authorization connected to the family trust.

—Miss Tong, if we do that immediately, he loses voting authority over several subsidiaries.

—I know.

—The board will notice.

—They’re supposed to.

At noon, my son was brought to me.

The moment Tieu Than saw me, he ran forward.

—Mom!

I knelt and held him tightly.

He buried his face against my shoulder.

—Aunt Tran said you were angry and didn’t want me.

Everything inside me went cold.

I pulled back.

—Who told you that?

—Aunt Tran.

He looked confused.

—She said Dad was busy and I should listen to her now.

I kissed his forehead.

—Listen to Mom. You did nothing wrong.

That afternoon, I took him to my father’s house.

Then I went to Tong Cam Group.

I hadn’t entered headquarters for almost three years.

The receptionist didn’t recognize me.

But the old employees did.

One stood immediately.

Then another.

—Miss Tong?

Tran Van came out of the elevator before anyone could say more.

She wore a cream-colored suit.

On her wrist was my watch.

A wedding anniversary gift from my father.

For several seconds, I simply stared at it.

Tran Van followed my gaze and smiled.

—Madam, you came to the company?

—Take off the watch.

Her smile disappeared.

—General Manager Co gave it to me.

That answer was worse than I expected.

—Did he?

—He said it was sitting unused at home.

I nodded.

—Good.

I walked toward the executive elevator.

She blocked me.

—General Manager Co is meeting important investors.

—Move.

—Madam, this isn’t your home.

I looked at her.

—You’re right.

Then I tapped my access card.

The executive elevator opened immediately.

Tran Van’s expression froze.

—How did you—

The elevator doors closed.

The boardroom was on the thirty-sixth floor.

When I entered, Co Tham was presenting a new expansion plan to twelve directors.

He stopped mid-sentence.

—Why are you here?

I placed the documents on the table.

—To take back something I lent you six years ago.

His expression changed.

Tran Van rushed in behind me.

—General Manager Co, I tried to stop her.

One director frowned.

—Stop Miss Tong?

Tran Van blinked.

The elderly chairman slowly stood.

—Miss Tong, why didn’t you tell us you were coming?

Tran Van looked between us.

—You know her?

Nobody answered.

The chairman pulled out the seat at the head of the table.

My father’s seat.

The controlling shareholder’s seat.

—Please.

Tran Van finally understood that something was wrong.

Co Tham’s face hardened.

—Tong An, whatever happened at home can wait.

—No.

I opened the first document.

—Effective immediately, your authority to represent the Tong family trust is revoked.

The room erupted.

Co Tham stared at me.

—What are you talking about?

—Your position as general manager was appointed through the trust’s controlling vote.

I placed the second document down.

—That vote is being withdrawn pending an audit.

Tran Van laughed nervously.

—Madam, you can’t remove the general manager because you’re jealous.

The entire room became silent.

I looked at her.

—Who told you I was jealous?

—Everyone knows you’re angry because General Manager Co trusts me.

I almost admired her confidence.

—Tran Van, do you know who owns this building?

She frowned.

—Tong Cam Group.

—And who controls Tong Cam Group?

She looked at Co Tham.

That was her mistake.

The chairman answered instead.

—The Song family trust.

Her face slowly changed.

I continued:

—The villa you changed the password to belongs to me.

—The Maybach you use for company errands belongs to my family’s asset company.

—The household account you attempted to control is funded through my personal trust.

I pointed toward her wrist.

—And that watch belonged to my mother.

Her hand immediately covered it.

—General Manager Co said—

I turned toward my husband.

—Did you give it to her?

Co Tham looked at the watch.

Something flashed across his face.

—No.

Tran Van froze.

—General Manager Co?

—I never gave you that.

Her lips parted.

—But you said I could use things that weren’t being used—

—I meant office equipment!

The room went silent again.

I understood.

Tran Van had taken his careless permission and expanded it until she was living inside my life.

But Co Tham wasn’t innocent.

He had opened every door.

She had merely walked through them.

I slid the recovered messages toward him.

—“She’ll calm down.”

His face stiffened.

—Tong An—

—You allowed another woman to make decisions about our four-year-old son without consulting me.

—The school transfer was temporary.

—You allowed her to control household spending.

—I was busy.

—You let her answer your phone.

He said nothing.

I looked at him for several seconds.

—And when she kept crossing boundaries, you enjoyed not having to deal with them yourself.

That hit him.

Because it was true.

Tran Van suddenly stepped forward.

—General Manager Co, don’t let her humiliate you! You’ve managed this company for years. Everyone respects you. She stayed home doing nothing!

Several directors visibly flinched.

Co Tham closed his eyes.

He finally understood what she didn’t.

I smiled.

—Doing nothing?

Phuong entered carrying another folder.

He placed it before Tran Van.

—Assistant Tran, your employment is terminated effective immediately.

Her face went white.

—You can’t fire me!

—I can.

She turned desperately toward Co Tham.

—Say something!

He remained silent.

Security entered.

Only then did her confidence break.

—General Manager Co!

She grabbed his sleeve.

—You told me your wife depended on you!

I stopped.

Co Tham’s head snapped toward her.

—I never said that.

Tran Van began crying.

—You said she didn’t understand business anymore! You said everything at home was handled by you!

I looked at my husband.

He couldn’t meet my eyes.

There it was.

Not an affair.

Perhaps something more pathetic.

He had allowed another woman to worship a version of him that didn’t exist.

The self-made executive.

The powerful provider.

The man whose wife lived comfortably because of his generosity.

And correcting her would have required admitting the truth.

That six years ago, he had arrived at the Song family with one suitcase and a doctor’s salary.

That everything afterward had been built on an opportunity my family gave him.

Security escorted Tran Van away.

At the door she suddenly turned.

—You think removing me will save your marriage?

I said nothing.

She laughed through her tears.

—Ask him where he spent last Friday night.

Co Tham went pale.

I looked at him.

—Where were you?

—Business dinner.

Tran Van smiled.

—Then ask which hospital he visited afterward.

My heartbeat slowed.

Co Tham stood abruptly.

—Take her out.

—Why are you afraid?

Tran Van shouted as security pulled her away.

—Tell your wife what the doctor said!

The doors closed.

Nobody in the boardroom moved.

I looked at Co Tham.

—What doctor?

He remained silent.

—Answer me.

Finally, he sat down.

For the first time since I had met him in that poor mountain clinic, he looked like the young doctor who had once admitted he had nothing to offer me.

—Tong An…

His voice was hoarse.

—I didn’t betray you with Tran Van.

—That wasn’t my question.

He opened a drawer.

Inside was a hospital envelope.

He pushed it toward me.

I opened it.

The first page was a medical examination.

The second was a genetic report.

Then I saw my son’s name.

Tieu Than.

My fingers tightened.

—Why did you test our son?

Co Tham lowered his head.

—Because two months ago someone sent me an anonymous message.

—What message?

He took out his phone.

The photograph on the screen made my blood turn cold.

It showed me leaving a hotel five years earlier.

Beside me stood a man.

My former fiancé.

A man Co Tham had never known existed.

Underneath were six words:

“Your son may not be yours.”

I looked up.

—You believed this?

—No.

His answer came immediately.

Then he looked at the report.

—That’s why I secretly tested him.

My chest tightened.

—And?

Co Tham didn’t answer.

He simply turned the final page toward me.

The paternity result was there.

But that wasn’t what shocked me.

Someone had handwritten another instruction across the bottom:

“Sample mismatch. Repeat testing required.”

Phuong picked up the document.

His expression changed.

—Miss Tong…

—What?

He looked at me.

—The child’s blood type recorded here doesn’t match Tieu Than’s hospital birth record.

The room suddenly felt too small.

Co Tham whispered:

—That’s why I’ve been investigating for two months.

I stared at him.

—Investigating what?

He finally raised his eyes.

—Whether the child we brought home four years ago is actually the baby you gave birth to.