The waves slammed relentlessly against the side of the boat. It was a moonless night, with only a faint light spilling from the small cabin. Thu sat next to her husband – Hưng – still holding onto the faint hope that this sea trip would mend the cracks in their relationship. She had no idea that behind Hưng’s forced smile lay a dark conspiracy.

Thu and Hưng had been married for five years. She was a gentle woman, devoted entirely to caring for her family. He worked in sales, energetic and ambitious, but he had also fallen into extramarital affairs. Recently, Thu noticed changes in her husband: coming home late, irritable, often using work as an excuse to avoid intimacy. Her instincts told her something was wrong, yet Thu wanted to keep her family together—for love and for their three-year-old daughter.

“Why are you bringing me out to the sea this late?” Thu asked softly.
“Just to change the atmosphere. Don’t worry, I’m here with you,” Hưng replied with a smile, his eyes avoiding hers.

The boat rocked slightly. Suddenly, Hưng moved closer, wrapping his arms around Thu’s waist. In that instant, she felt a powerful push from behind.

“A… Hưng! Save me!” Thu screamed in despair.

The cold seawater swallowed her whole. Through her panic, she only had time to see Hưng standing on the boat’s edge, his face calm, showing neither remorse nor urgency. Instead, his gaze was cold and decisive, and he quickly turned his back and walked away.

Thu struggled, coughing violently, her hands grasping at nothing but the endless darkness. The salty water filled her mouth and lungs. She realized: it was her own husband who had tried to kill her. The pain was not only the sinking of her body but the cruel betrayal of her trust.

At the moment of utter despair, a fishing boat passed by. The fisherman rescued her in a near-unconscious state, barely breathing. Thu was brought to shore and hospitalized in a deep coma. News of her disappearance spread, but Hưng quickly fabricated a story: “My wife was swept away by the waves. I tried to save her, but it was too late.” Relatives and neighbors mourned, while he hastily cleaned up all evidence and openly lived with his mistress – Mai, a young, beautiful, sharp woman.

To everyone else, it was Thu’s tragic fate. But few knew that between life and death, she had returned from the brink, carrying a flame of hatred that had never extinguished.

Three years had passed since that fateful night, but the memory of the salty water, the roaring waves, and Hưng’s cold eyes remained deeply etched in Thu’s mind. To everyone, she was dead. A small shrine had been set up in her hometown, with incense burning in her memory. But in a distant coastal town, Thu had survived and endured a painful journey of rebirth.

In the early days at the hospital, Thu could not move; her lungs were severely damaged from drowning. The fisherman, named Tám, who had rescued her, stayed by her side like a guardian angel. He was kind, living alone, and moved by the plight of the stranger. When she awoke, her eyes full of tears and voice hoarse, the first words she uttered were: “Why did he do this to me?”

Mr. Tám didn’t know the details, only advising: “You’re alive because fate spared you. Forget the cruel man and start a new life.” But how could Thu forget? The husband she had trusted wholeheartedly—the father of her little daughter—had heartlessly pushed her into the sea to chase another woman.

At first, Thu lived in darkness, fear, and confusion. But for her daughter, and fueled by hatred, she gradually pulled herself together. By day, she helped with seafood trading; by night, she studied accounting, introduced by an acquaintance of Mr. Tám. Slowly, Thu built a new identity—a stranger to everyone, under a different name.

Three years later, Thu had completely transformed. No longer the gentle, submissive wife, she had become a strong, clever woman with a stable career. She became chief accountant at a major seafood import-export company in Central Vietnam. Outwardly, she appeared calm and diligent, but deep inside, a raging flame burned: the day she would return to face Hưng.

Thu kept tabs on him quietly through acquaintances. Hưng not only showed no remorse but also lived comfortably with Mai. They had opened a small real estate business, earning a substantial income. Their young daughter, now six, lived with her grandmother, and Hưng rarely visited. Mai hardly cared. Just thinking about it made Thu’s heart ache, tears streaming endlessly.

“My dear, I’m coming back to you. And I’ll show you that I never left you.” – Thu whispered every night, gazing at the photo of her only daughter still kept in her wallet.

Her chance came when the company Thu worked for signed a project in partnership with Hưng’s real estate company. Fate seemed to push them into crossing paths. When she received the list of partners and saw the familiar name, Thu froze. That night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The moment she had waited for three long years had finally arrived.

But Thu did not want a dramatic confrontation or extreme revenge. She wanted Hưng to experience the pain and betrayal himself, just as he had inflicted on her. She planned meticulously: using the accounting and financial knowledge she had acquired, she infiltrated Hưng’s company, uncovering its dark corners, step by step dragging him down into a pit of despair.

On the day of her return, Thu chose a completely new look. Her hair was cut short, makeup subtle, demeanor poised and confident. Entering the meeting room, her eyes met Hưng’s. He was briefly surprised, eyes wide, but quickly masked it with a polite smile. Hưng could not have guessed that the “new partner” he was about to collaborate with was the very wife he had cruelly wronged.

Inside, a surge of emotion rose in Thu. But outwardly, she maintained a calm expression, extending her hand:
“Hello, I’m Thuỳ Linh – responsible for finance on behalf of the partner company.”

The handshake was as cold as ice.

Since meeting Hưng in the boardroom, Thu’s heart burned with a quiet fire. She signed contracts calmly, maintaining professionalism, yet in her mind, she meticulously plotted her next moves. Every meeting, every financial report, every work exchange became a “brick” in her plan for revenge.

Hưng, however, was different. The first time he saw Thu, he was momentarily shocked but reassured himself: “Impossible! She’s dead.” He convinced himself it was just a coincidence of resemblance. Yet the more he worked with “Thuỳ Linh,” the more he was captivated by her new demeanor: calm, sharp, confident. At times, he even froze at her smile – a smile so much like his late wife’s.

Mai – Hưng’s mistress – began to notice. She grew secretly jealous, fearing her fiancé might be drawn to the “new partner.” But Hưng dismissed it, as Mai remained a crucial financial support. She had helped him start the company and held the titles to multiple assets.

Thu quietly gathered evidence of Hưng’s fraudulent business dealings: money laundering, tax evasion, embezzlement of investment funds. Thanks to her position as chief accountant and her skillful interactions, obtaining data was not difficult. The deeper she delved, the clearer it became that Hưng had betrayed not only their marriage but also the trust of many others.

One evening, looking at the stacks of files proving Hưng’s illegal activities, Thu shed tears. This was the “knife” she had been waiting for. Yet in her heart, she was torn: should she strike him down immediately, or make him suffer gradually?

Her opportunity arrived when Hưng invited Thu to dinner to discuss the project further. Under the warm lights of a luxury restaurant, Hưng looked at her with sparkling eyes, slightly tipsy:
“Linh, there’s something so familiar about you… Do you believe in fate?”

Thu smiled softly, raising her glass:
“Of course. Fate always brings people together… whether to love or to settle scores.”

Hưng did not understand the implication, only sensing the strangeness in her eyes.

Gradually, Thu began to “guide” him. She never avoided him but cleverly created ambiguity, letting Hưng voluntarily step closer. The more he interacted with her, the more he doubted himself: Could it be that his wife had never died? At times, looking into Thu’s eyes, he shivered.

At the same time, Thu approached her daughter. Under the guise of being her mother’s “distant cousin,” she often visited her grandmother, bringing gifts and books. The first time she held her daughter in her arms after three years, tears streamed down her face. The little girl, innocent, had no idea that this woman was her mother. Thu suppressed her pain and silently promised: “Soon, you’ll be back with me.”

When everything was ready, Thu delivered the final blow. She sent all of Hưng’s illegal records to the authorities while leaking some details to Mai – his mistress. Ambitious as she was, Mai, realizing Hưng had been secretly pursuing Linh and was now at risk of legal trouble, immediately betrayed him, transferring all assets into her name.

One morning, when the police raided Hưng’s company to arrest him for fraud and money laundering, he was stunned. Looking around, Mai had disappeared, employees panicked, and the “Thuỳ Linh” partner stood silently in the corner, eyes cold. Handcuffed, Hưng shouted:
“Linh! Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?”

Thu stepped closer, whispering just enough for him to hear:
“I am your wife – the one you pushed into the sea three years ago. Today, I am simply returning to you what you sowed.”

Hưng went pale. His eyes widened in shock and confusion, mixed with a trace of regret. But it was already too late.

On the day he went to court, Thu sat quietly in the back. Her daughter was also there, brought by her grandmother. Thu didn’t reveal the truth to the little girl yet, only watching silently. She knew that from this moment, life was turning a new page.

After exacting her revenge, Thu felt no satisfaction, only relief. Because in the end, justice had been served, and her daughter would grow up with a profound lesson: betrayal always comes with a price.

Outside, the sound of the waves continued to crash. This time, it was no longer a haunting memory, but a reminder of the power of survival and the strength of rebirth.