Chapter 1 — Mystery At 3 A.M

It pulls messages in the group back up. Pulled up at two fifty-eight in the morning. At that time, no one was talking in the group. Continuing to scroll up, is the notice sent by the management at half past eleven last night.

"At night, the line will be checked for a short time, without affecting the rest of the residents."

Khuong Hoa frowned. She had never seen this notice. An An click on the management board's representative photo, then open the photo below the notice. The photo has a red stamp of the management service center. At first glance there are no problems. An An enlarges the lower right corner of the photo. There is a very small text there.

“A household on the seventeenth floor is requested to cooperate in checking the house.”

Khuong Hoa was stunned.

“What does that mean?”

An An did not answer. She continued to pull up. Someone in the group asked why it was only announced to the seventeenth floor. Management did not respond. At eleven fifty-seven, a resident sent a message.

“Is the house on the seventeenth floor in the group?”

After that no one answered. Khuong Hoa remembers very clearly. After eleven o'clock last night, she and An An were both asleep. She didn't watch the group at all. No one knocked on the door either. The other two men came for them. At half past eight, the police arrived at the hotel. A young policeman named Ha and an older policeman called Captain Dien. Team leader Dien asked very carefully. Time of power outage. Route leaves. Heard how many people were in the stairs. Can you see your face or not? Khuong Hoa responded in turn. When it was An An's turn, Captain Dien softened his voice.

“Why did you call mom to leave?”

An An bowed her head. Team leader Dien did not urge him. He placed a photo on the table. In the photo is the security desk on the first floor. The key box was opened, there was a spare key missing inside. Captain Dien asked.

“You know the key is there?”

An An raised her head to look at him.

“I've seen it before.”

Team leader Dien looked at her for a few seconds, then switched to another photo. This is a photo from the seventeenth floor hallway camera. The image stopped at two forty-nine in the morning. At the end of the hallway there is a person wearing a black coat. His face was obscured by the brim of his hat. He raised his hand, preparing to knock on their door. Khuong Hoa's breathing stopped for a moment. But An An did not look at the photo. She always stares at the time in the corner of the photo. Captain Dien asked.

“Have you met this person before?”

An An shook her head. Khuong Hoa asked softly.

“Did he knock on the door?”

Captain Dien put the photo away.

“The camera lost signal for exactly three hours.”

“The back part cannot be rotated.”

On Khuong Hoa's wrist there are still red marks from An An's fingernails. She lowered her head to look and suddenly asked.

“There are so many people in the whole building, why are we the only ones running out first?”

The room was silent. An An's shoulders trembled slightly. Team leader Dien also looked towards her.

“Baby, do you know something?”

An An raised her head. The girl looked at Khuong Hoa, her eyes filled with blood.

“Didn't you know we had to run.”

“But I already died in that building once.”

Khuong Hoa thought he heard wrong. Captain Dien's pen stopped on the page. Officer Ha also raised his head and looked at An An sitting next to the bed. Outside the window, the sound of fire trucks still rang out. That sound passed through the transmission glass in, as if from a very far place, entering into human bones. Khuong Hoa stared at her daughter.

“What did you say just now?”

An An's face turned white. The baby doesn't cry. Just slowly tighten your fingers, each knuckle gradually turns blue.

“I said, I died once.”

Khuong Hoa's throat choked.

“An An, you can't talk nonsense now.”

“I don't talk nonsense.”

An An raised his eyes to look at her.

“Last time, I didn't wake mom.”

“When I woke up, the house was filled with smoke.”

“Someone is knocking on the door outside.”

"He said he was from the management board and told us to open the door to check the line."

Khuong Hoa's spine was cold. Captain Dien's expression became heavy.

“Do you remember what that person said?”

An An closed her eyes.

"He said the electrical room downstairs was on fire, the elevator stopped working, and told us to take the stairs."

“Do you open the door?”

An An shook her head.

“I was just about to open the door when mom stopped me.”

“Mom said the management team won't knock on every door without notice at three o'clock in the middle of the night.”

Khuong Hoa's fingers trembled slightly. That's exactly what she would say. An An continued.

“Then the people outside the door burst out laughing.”

“He's not pretending anymore.”

"He said, Ms. Khuong, it's okay if you don't come out, the smoke will help you get out."

Khuong Hoa's face immediately changed. She hadn't heard anyone call her that for a long time. Since leaving the training center, she has edited a number of manuscripts at home, most of her neighbors only know her by her last name Khuong. Captain Dien immediately asked.

“You were a teacher before?”

Khuong Hoa nodded.