Chapter 9 — Thirty Billion Under a Tin Roof

The woman's name is Lan, she used to work in the same factory as Ms. Nguyet. The ticket she brought matched part of the numbers but did not win the special prize. She said Ms. Nguyet had promised to share the money if the group won, but her name was not in the book.

Ha explained that money cannot be divided according to promises without evidence. Lan didn't cry, she just asked if Mrs. Nguyet had ever called her.

Lower check the call schedule. There was a call twelve seconds before Ms. Nguyet left the kiosk. The content is not recorded, but Lan's number appears.

Mai wanted to skip it because she was afraid it would drag on. Ha said it is impossible to turn the poor into invisible people just because of lack of records.

They found a spare book in the old medicine warehouse. Ms. Nguyet recorded the people who contributed tickets and the people she helped buy their own. Lan has a name, but is not a member of the group.

Lan did not receive the prize money, but was refunded what Ms. Nguyet had paid on her behalf. She said she just needed to know that she didn't forget her.

Ms. Nguyet's money was temporarily kept by the court. Mai agreed to use part to pay off legal debt, part to create a roof fund according to the will, and the rest to be divided according to inheritance.

Ha asked to put Duy on the list of fund managers but did not allow him to keep the money alone. Duy objected, then accepted after understanding that belief was not an exemption from inspection.

Vinh was investigated for using agents to force people to deliver tickets. He said he just wanted to protect the process, but messages with Tan showed another motive.

Man received a partial refund of the loan with valid documents, but was not allowed to keep the ticket. He was not satisfied, but first returned the original contract to Mai.

Ha prepares to close the file. She discovered that the seventeen minutes of camera deletion was not due to lightning. The technician received money from a company related to Vinh.

The technician claimed that he only deleted the image of the gray shirted man taking the wallet, but did not know that the group tickets had been exchanged. The individual ticket with the number 1 was given to Man earlier, while the group ticket was left in the wallet.

Ha realized that Mrs. Nguyet had predicted that someone was looking for tickets. She deliberately placed the flyer in her purse, so that if it was taken, the person taking it would take with them something that did not belong to them.

She left behind no miracles. She left behind a trap created with care.

The eighth person is Mr. Phuc. He came to the office with an old lunch box, inside there was a ticket stub and a letter Ms. Nguyet wrote before the drawing day.

“I said I would just let her keep the ticket,” Phuc said. "Actually, I'm the eighth contributor. I don't want to be named because I'm being sued by the car owner."

Ha placed the ticket stub next to the group list. The series of numbers matched the first six numbers, but the last number was 7. Phuc said that Mrs. Nguyet invited him to contribute on Hau's behalf for a period, then return the money when Hau returned. So there are only seven people in the book, but in the account there are eight transfers.

Nhi asked why he hid this story.

Phuc looked at Mai. "I'm afraid that Ms. Nguyet's part will be considered the family's. If I confess, her daughter will lose her part. I think silence is protection."

Ha heard that sentence and remembered Vinh also saying he wanted to protect. People often use that word as a cloak to cover up when they hold someone else's hand too tightly.

Ms. Nguyet's letter clearly stated: "Phuc has contributed one installment. If the ticket wins, divide the contribution first, then the rest to fund the roof of the house. No one can receive it on my behalf."

Mai read the letter for a long time. She burst into tears not because she lost money, but because she realized that her mother had included people without names in the book. She asked the council to add Phuc to the list of people with the right to request a refund, but not to allow him to receive an equal share of the seven main members.

Outside, news of the award spread throughout the province. Strangers flocked to the kiosk, some sent wishes, some offered to buy back the winnings, and some claimed to have bought tickets with Ms. Nguyet. Ha had to close for two days to avoid chaos.

Duy set up a public board, only recording the transaction code and contribution amount, not the address or phone number. He said people need to see that money follows evidence, not the loudest shout. Ha looked at him, for the first time seeing him use his impulsiveness to do useful things.

The court's postponement of the foreclosure case was postponed because the bank received a guarantee from the market's charity fund. Ha knew that money came from people who bought tickets at the kiosk, each person tens of thousands. No one asked for it back.

Vinh was asked about the support he once gave Ha. He said it was goodwill. Nhi shows the recording at the old bridge, in which Vinh threatens Duy. He turned to blame Man, Man blamed Tan, Tan said he was just following the technician.

When everyone pushed responsibility to each other, Lan stood up. She placed on the table a piece of paper with the seal of the shell company. "All four people received money from the same account. The person who sent the money was Ms. Tuyet."

Snow turned pale. She admitted that she received money to find a list of funds, but did not know what Vinh used it for. She gave the agent's database password, in exchange for the promise of protection from creditors.

In the data warehouse, investigators saw hundreds of customer records marked with the letter "M". These are people who have won small prizes or have large debts. Agent Vinh sold that list to lending companies.

The thirty billion ticket is just the first case large enough for all traces to appear at the same time.

Ha walked out of the interrogation room at nearly midnight. The weather has stopped, the corrugated iron roof no longer has the sound of rain. Mai stood waiting on the steps, holding the court's temporary decision.

"Sister Ha," Mai said, "if I finally receive my mother's portion, I want to set up a fund right away. But I'm afraid I'll use the money wrongly."

Ha replied: "Don't let one person decide. Let the file, the contributor and the person being helped speak up together."

Mai nodded. Behind them, the printer in the secretary's room suddenly started. A new page slid out, recording the name of the ninth beneficiary: Duy.

Ha held the paper and saw her signature at the bottom, even though she had never signed it.