Chapter 2 — Dead Man's Special Award

Mail does not respond to messages. She sent a photo of the ticket to Nam, the lawyer who helped Huy handle a small fraud case.

Nam told her to keep the original envelope and not give the original to the lottery company. "If the serial number was locked, someone would have reported losing their ticket before knowing Huy died."

The letter went to the hospital where Huy was said to have been examined before the fire. Records recorded that he was admitted to the hospital at 9:10 p.m. on the 14th, but hallway cameras showed that no one resembling Huy entered. The doctor who signed the death certificate was a person who had been retired for six months.

In the burning file warehouse, Thu picked up a piece of memory card. The remaining data is just a snapshot of the spreadsheet, including dozens of "consulting fees" and lottery ticket codes.

Nam enlarges a line. "Each payment falls on the day the company receives the project. This is a bribe."

Thu remembers Huy complaining that he was forced to sign an incorrect report. She told me to quit my job. Huy just smiled: "If you leave, someone else will sign for you."

That night, her mother heard the door open. Thu went downstairs and saw a man searching Huy's locker. He ran away through the backyard, dropping the Minh Khang employee card bearing the name **Trong**.

The next day, Trong appeared at the company as if nothing had happened. The letter went straight to the director's office, asking to see Huy's insurance contract. He refused and threatened to sue her for spreading information that affected her brand.

Thu put the ticket on the table. “I just need to know why the company blocked the serial number before the family received the death notice.”

The director pressed the button to call security. Before going out, Thu heard him say to Trong: "If she still keeps the original, change the plan."

On the way home, Thu's motorbike lost its brakes. She just had time to crash into a pile of sacks on the side of the road.

Nam called to report that the ticket had been requested to be canceled a second time by an anonymous person.

Thu looked at her scratched hands. She understood Huy hadn't left a gift. You leave behind a war that I must learn to win.

Nam checked Thu's car and found a brake wire that had been cut with pliers, not naturally damaged. He told her not to drive anymore. Thu replied that she would walk if necessary, but did not stop.

They went back to the hospital and asked for the camera records with a lawyer's order. In the hallway on the 14th, a staff member wearing a Minh Khang jacket appeared, pushing an empty medical cart. That person entered the storage room, stayed for exactly seventeen minutes, and then left.

Name card enlarged letter. The text is covered up, only the ending **—ng** remains. Trong's full name is Dang Trong, but in the personnel list there is another person named Truong.

The school quit immediately after the fire. The last address is a riverside boarding house. The room is empty, there are rectangular tape marks on the wall where the account map used to hang.

The innkeeper gave Thu a key. “He said if a woman asks, he will deliver.”

The key opens a locker at the bus station. Inside is an old camera, memory card and Huy's photo standing next to the file storage. Huy is still alive after his death, but there are bandages on his wrists, and behind him is a figure holding a bouquet of white flowers.

Letter sending photos to Nam. He recognized the figure as Doctor Son, the person who signed the death certificate.

As soon as they left the bus station, a woman ran after them. She introduced herself as Ngoc, a warehouse employee. She said Huy asked her to keep the camera, but she didn't dare hand it over because Trong was watching.

Ngoc could only say: "Huy was not burned. He was erased."

A black car drove up. Ngoc fell down, and the driver sped away. In her hand she still held one piece of memory card labeled Project 14.