Chapter 9 — Lottery Ticket On The Last Train

The red bag woman's name is Mai, a former accountant of Hao Logistics.

Mai came to see An herself after reading Hanh's article. She said Quan hired her to check the books, then discovered hundreds of lottery tickets were used as payments outside the books. Each ticket is a money transfer without leaving the recipient's name.

“Why did you kill the replacement?” An asked.

Mai replied that she did not kill anyone. The man on the train was hired to play Quan, but he died from the drugs in the glass of water. Mai just took back the ticket, then ran away in fear.

She gave An a small, plastic-wrapped notebook. His father's name is on the last page, next to a sum of money he never received.

An read that his father refused compensation in exchange for the company repairing all the brakes. Hao used a fake signature to prove that he received the money and then arbitrarily withdrew it.

The evidence is enough to reopen the accident case, but the notebook could lead to Mai being prosecuted. An said she had to testify. Mai asked him if he was going to keep the bonus.

An looked at the account being blocked. “If I accept, what will I do with the dead person's money?”

Hanh proposed establishing a fund to support victims' families and monitor railway safety. Lawyers warn the money could take years to be disbursed.

An agrees. But right before the announcement, someone broke into the storage room and took the ticket. He didn't take the money, just the original.

The camera showed that the person was wearing a lottery company uniform.

An called Mai. No one answered the phone.

He ran to Hao Minh dealership. The rolling door was slightly open, the light in the counter was still on. On the floor is a red bag, inside is Mai's phone and a new ticket.

The back of the ticket reads: **23:40, last train. This time you have to get on the train yourself.**

An understands that the person behind wants to end everything right where it started. He sent the location to Hanh, then walked onto the station platform amid the sound of the loudspeaker announcing the night train.

An didn't know if the red bag woman was really on the train or was trying to pull him away from protection. He informed the group leader and asked to seal car number eight, but did not say that the ticket was with him.

As the train left, a little girl gave him a folded piece of paper. The girl said her mother asked her to deliver it, but the woman accompanying her left the carriage before An returned. On the paper was a diagram of the carriage and a sentence: **The signal box is not under the station. It's in the service car.**

An opened the connecting car door. The service car was empty, just water crates and a red suitcase. There was no money in the suitcase, but there was a screen broadcasting live from the last compartment. Diep is holding Mai, Hao's old accountant, forcing her to recite the names of the recipients of the money.

“What do you want?” An asked through the camera.

Diep replied: "I want one person to be responsible, not the whole system. Hao sold me to save himself. If you hand over the ticket, Mai lives."

An looked at the list in his pocket. There is enough evidence to take Diep down, but Mai may not survive if he takes the risk.

He took off his jacket, revealing the fake ticket. “I will deliver, but you must open the compartment door.”

Diep laughed. “You still think you have the right to bargain.”

An pressed the ship's emergency alarm button. All speakers in the train played a recording of what Diep had just said. Passengers started calling the police, and the train driver slowed down at the nearest station.

Diep panicked. Mai kicked her feet, pulling the rope. An rushed into the last compartment when the door opened. They struggled on the shaking train floor, the real ticket slipping through the seat slot.

Diep grabbed it first, but another hand pick it up. That person was Quan, standing at the carriage door with a haggard face.

“I went to the terminus,” he said. “Now it's your turn to get off the train.”