Chapter 6 — The Door Closes, You Also Leave

A few seconds later... He let go of the door handle. My ears felt like there was a sharp buzzing sound. 3:16 am. Tham Nhu leaned against the wall. At her feet is a dining chair. She looked at the door one more time. Then pull the chair aside. The backrest of the chair tilted down. Cleverly blocking the front door of the bedroom from the outside. Then, she squatted on the ground, hugged her knees, and burst into tears. 3:19 am. The fire department arrived. By this time, the screen was almost completely covered by smoke. No one can see clearly anymore. The whole office was in silence. Tham Nhu's face turned pale. There was no longer a trace of blood. She cowered in the corner of the room. Lips trembling constantly. Can Nghiem was also present. After watching the recording, his whole body seemed to be drained of strength. He had to hold on to the wall to be able to stand. I looked towards Tham Nhu. The throat is still sore and hoarse. But I still spoke.

“You... were the one who locked the door.”

Tham Nhu frantically shook her head.

"No... that's not it. I don't know. I really didn't know that the latch was locked from the outside!"

Lawyer Phuong spoke coldly.

“You've been here three days.”

“How do you not know how the bedroom door is locked?”

Tham Nhu burst into tears.

"At that time, I was so scared. I just wanted to block the smoke. I didn't expect that Kha Kha couldn't open the door."

I looked straight at her.

“What about the chair?”

Tham Nhu's crying immediately stopped. I continued to ask.

“Why did you drag the chair there?”

Her whole body began to tremble.

“My legs are soft, I just held on to one... accidentally knocked it over...”

Trinh Da stood next to him and spoke calmly.

“The image is recorded very clearly.”

“She used both hands to pull the chair to that position.”

“It wasn't accidentally spilled.”

Tham Nhu completely collapsed. She knelt down on the ground and crawled step by step towards me.

“Kha Kha... I really don't want to hurt you.”

“I'm just too scared.”

“I'm afraid you'll blame me after you get out.”

“I'm afraid everyone won't need me anymore.”

“Afraid of having to pay too much compensation…”

I looked at her.

“So... you locked the door?”

She cried so much that she couldn't utter a word. At that moment, Can Nghiem suddenly spoke up. His voice was hoarse. Tham Nhu immediately raised her head. His eyes looked like he had just seen a blade of grass that saved his life.

“Can Nghiem... tell me something for me.”

“I'm not that kind of person.”

“I know…”

Can Nghiem's face turned pale. But his eyes... Avoided her again. I turned to look at him.

“I touched the door handle.”

His throat moved slightly.

“Hua Kha, I…”

I looked straight at him.

“I banged on the door... did you hear that?”

He slowly closed his eyes. It took a long time for his hoarse voice to respond. The last bit of hope left in my heart... At this moment, it was completely shattered. I asked again.

“So why did you let go?”

His voice trembled.

"At that time, Tham Nhu kept crying. She said there was a lot of smoke inside and told me not to jump in and die. I thought the fire department was about to arrive..."

I interrupted.

“It's not because I'm afraid of death.”

He opened his eyes and looked at me. I looked straight at him and slowly said each word.

“It's because you think... I can still wait.”

His eyes immediately turned red.

“Hua Kha, that's not true…”

I smiled softly. Throat hurts like it's being torn apart ripped. But I still laugh.

“Even now... do you still want to deny it?”

He bowed his head. The fingers tightened until they turned white. At this point... Everyone present understood. The fire... Could have been an accident. But that door... My parents rejected all requests for private mediation. Lawyer Phuong arranged each part of the documents into a thick file. Conclusion of preliminary investigation of the cause of the fire. Hospital diagnostic records. Image from hallway surveillance camera. Recordings stored on the cloud of indoor cameras. Lock test results. Minutes of breaking the door of the fire department. Everything is sealed and becomes evidence. When Tham Nhu's mother rushed to the hospital... The first thing she said was not to ask about my condition. It was crying and begging my mother.

"The children have grown up together since childhood. Nhu Nhu definitely did not do it on purpose. She is a coward, panics every time something happens. Please don't push her into a corner."

My mother sat on the chair. The face is cold and scary.

“My daughter crawled back from death's door.”

Tham Nhu's mother choked. After a moment, he turned to look at me.

"Kha Kha, please. You also know Nhu Nhu's family situation. Her father abandoned her a long time ago. If she had a criminal record, her whole life would be over."