Chapter 12 — Don't Open The Door At 2 A.M

At that time, I was still surprised. Because she's not the type of person who remembers other people's birthdays. The speaker is always placed next to the TV shelf in the living room. Normally I use it to play music, check the weather, and set alarms. Sometimes I called my mother, turned on speakerphone, and cleaned things up in the living room while chatting. My throat was dry. “Could it also be a problem?” Officer Tran said: “We can't rush to conclusions, but we have to check.” He called his colleagues who were staying at my house and told them to focus on finding that speaker. Ten minutes later, the phone called back. "Found, the outer shell has traces of disassembly, the screws on the base are not original." Officer Tran's expression became even darker. I sat there, my body feeling like it was sinking into cold water little by little. It turns out that what Duong Ly said was this. Not something I don't know. It's something I turn on every day and place it in the middle of the living room. I even told him to play music to sleep. Maybe at that time, someone on the other end was laughing. At 11:30 p.m., Ha Xuyen's side finally confessed. He admitted that someone helped him sell the equipment and also helped him contact the channel to collect money. But when asked the name, he started to play dumb. "I only know the nickname." Officer Cao came out of the interrogation room, holding a notebook in his hand. "He said that person was called Lao Mieu." I asked: "Can you find it?" Police officer Cao said: "Ha Xuyen's phone has a deleted chat history that is being restored." The white hallway light was blinding. I sat on the bench, my whole body feeling numb and tired. But I didn't dare go back to the hotel, nor did I dare go home. I was afraid that as soon as I closed my eyes, I would remember the little black hole in the living room and my mother's choked voice crying. Just after twelve o'clock at night, my phone vibrated again. This time it wasn't a strange message. It's my company's working group. Someone sent a photo. The photo was quickly withdrawn. But I saw it. That's a photo of me sitting in the hotel lobby. Below is a line of text: "She's in big trouble right now, stay away from her."14The company group was silent for a few seconds. Then someone sent a question mark. Someone asked again, "What just happened?" The person who recalled the message was an administrative colleague in the company, usually quiet. She quickly texted me privately. "Ninh Ninh, sorry, I just received a photo from a stranger. I thought you asked me to forward it for help, but mistakenly clicked on the group." I looked at that sentence, my fingertips went numb. The opponent does not intend to release everything at once. He's testing the waters. Test my reaction. Also try to see who in the company will help him spread the word. I sent a screenshot of the chat to police Tran. Police Officer Tran finished looking and immediately asked, "How did the stranger contact her?" I passed the question on to my administrative colleague. She sent a screenshot. The other person uses a new account, the profile picture is blank, and the nickname has only one dot. In the chat, the other person said I was her friend, currently caught up in an economic dispute, and asked her to send a photo to the group to remind everyone not to lend me money. The administrative colleague asked who the other person was. The other person did not reply, only sent photos. Officer Cao finished looking at the photos, his face was very unsightly. "He has begun to sabotage your social relationships." My breathing was choking. "How do I go to the company tomorrow?" Police Officer Tran said: "Tonight we will contact the police station in the area where your company is located, first block the sending account and network address." I asked softly: "What if they continue to send?" Officer Tran looked at me. "You need to clarify the situation with the person in charge of the company first, don't let them have the power to explain." I opened my boss's profile picture, my finger stopped for a long time. I don't know how to speak. Finally sent only one

sentence. "General Manager Vuong, I have a criminal case. There may be people who will spread photos and rumors about me in the company. I am coordinating with the police to handle it. Tomorrow morning I would like to ask you for ten minutes to explain." Sent, I looked at the screen. One minute. Two minutes. Five minutes. The boss replied. “Are you safe now?” My nose was stinging. I replied: "It's safe, I'm at the police station." He said: "First protect yourself, I will go to the company tomorrow morning and you will call me." I held the phone, the painful tension in my chest finally relaxed a bit. But this little relaxation didn't last too long. The technical department transmitted the news. After removing the smart speaker, there is an additional renovated module inside. Not only can it record, but it can also transmit data over a nearby wireless network. It also means that the sound in the living room may have been sent out early. I remember countless evenings. My mother and I talked about the savings in the house, talked about her health examination results, and talked about hesitation when I changed jobs. I also had online meetings with colleagues, reading case codes and customer names. Those sounds that were so normal that they couldn't be more normal, now they all turn into daggers that can be exploited. Officer Tran asked me, "Did you tell Duong Ly your wifi password?"