Chapter 38 Vấn glanced at his rearview mirror, a sense of unease washing over him. A black Lincoln had been tailing him for over half an hour; it had followed him from the Santa Monica Freeway and onto the 405 just as he did. Vấn made this trip to the Bank of America branch in Santa Monica every week to oversee the accounting. Usually, the only nuisance on this Tuesday route was rush-hour traffic; otherwise, it was a routine drive that never gave him cause for concern. But his instincts told him something was wrong with that massive black vehicle—its windshield tinted so darkly that no one could see inside—as it doggedly followed him on the drive back.
He hadn't paid much attention to the car until, lost in thought, he nearly missed the exit to the 405 and had to swerve across two lanes at once to catch it. A chilling screech of tires behind him made Vấn check his rearview mirror. The Lincoln behind him had also cut across sharply, keeping pace as it merged onto the 405. The blaring horns of cars in the adjacent lanes—forced aside by the Lincoln—startled Vấn, drawing his full attention to the sleek, menacing vehicle that seemed to lunge forward, closing the gap until it was right on the tail of his Camry.
He stepped on the gas, accelerating to nearly 75 miles per hour, and checked the mirror again. The Lincoln surged forward too, maintaining the same distance. Vấn shifted two lanes to the left. The Lincoln changed lanes right along with him. Vấn swore under his breath. There was no longer any doubt: that Lincoln was following him for a reason.
Vấn immediately thought of Lữ, his enemy. It had to be him! His bank work involved only paperwork; he never handled the kind of cash transported by armored trucks—the usual targets of robberies. Vấn knew of no other enemy who would trail him in a sinister-looking black car to issue threats. He was convinced the vehicle was linked to Lữ—specifically to the arson job he had hired Battaglio to carry out on the Garden Grove apartment complex. Vấn had paid the thug Battaglio in full immediately after the successful burning.
Battaglio had taken the money and left without a word after counting it. Vấn did not believe the car belonged to Battaglio or his associates; for one thing, Battaglio could not possibly afford such a brand-new, gleaming vehicle. Furthermore, Vấn had double-checked with Frank Rutter—the detective who had introduced him to Battaglio—and learned that Battaglio had left Los Angeles and was currently in Florida. Unless Battaglio had returned to Los Angeles to threaten or extort him, the Lincoln tailing Vấn could only belong to Lữ or one of Lữ’s henchmen.
The thought of Lữ made Vấn’s blood boil; his past attempts at revenge seemed trivial and feeble—hardly enough to settle the score. The scheme to torch the apartment complex and frame Lữ had gone nowhere. Vấn had made inquiries at the police department and learned that Lữ was not a suspect; the police were pursuing other leads to identify the actual perpetrator. Vấn realized that his effort to hire Battaglio for the arson had not yielded the desired success; it had merely caused Lữ minor inconvenience without inflicting any significant damage.
Vấn learned that the insurance company had agreed to pay compensation to Lữ’s firm, and when passing by the apartment complex, he saw workers already beginning reconstruction. The only thing that gave Vấn a measure of satisfaction was the news that Miriam was seeking a divorce from Lữ; he had made inquiries and discovered that the Leibovitz law firm was already processing the divorce paperwork. Vấn was certain that the anonymous photos he had sent to Miriam—showing Uyên and Lữ embracing outside the Holiday Inn—had achieved exactly the result he desired.
Vấn shook his head a few times. The image of Uyên and Lữ appeared vividly before his eyes. They had been embracing after a night of passionate lovemaking in the hotel, while he sat across the street, his insides torn apart, listening to the click of Frank Rutter’s camera! Vấn felt like a madman. What could he do to exact revenge for this grievance? What meaning did his life hold other than vengeance? He could not let his enemy live freely, brazenly cuckolding him and making love to the woman he cherished most in the world. His previous acts of revenge had been mere trifles; they hadn't inflicted enough damage on his sworn enemy.
Vấn glanced in his rearview mirror. The Lincoln was still tailing him closely. His enemy had caught wind of his actions. Vấn didn't know if Lữ was inside that black car or if it was just a team of hired hitmen. Regardless, the enemy knew, and things were about to get much more difficult. His immediate problem was the black car right on his tail. Vấn wondered what move they would make. He drove past the exit for Beach Boulevard without turning off to head home; unsure of their intentions, he couldn't lead them to his residence.
Vấn was driving straight down the highway toward San Diego, hugging the far-left lane to prevent the Lincoln from overtaking him on that side. He slowed down slightly to gauge the reaction of the car behind. The Lincoln’s driver began to accelerate, pulling up until he was nearly parallel with Vấn’s vehicle. Vấn glanced sharply to his side. He caught a glimpse of a dark-tinted window slowly rolling down. A sinister face appeared in the back seat, and in a split second, Vấn saw the barrel of a silenced gun emerge in the man's hand.
Vấn reacted instantly. He ducked down low, keeping his eyes just high enough to see the road, and slammed his foot hard onto the accelerator. His car shot forward like an arrow, leaving the Lincoln far behind. He heard a faint *phut* sound followed by the shattering of glass behind him. He knew he had just narrowly escaped death; the bullet from the hitman’s silenced weapon had missed its mark, grazing his neck and shattering the car window.
Vấn kept the pedal floored, driving like a madman.
He realized he was up against professional hitmen sent to kill him—and the person who hired them was undoubtedly Lữ. Lữ had anticipated his revenge plot and moved to eliminate him! A surge of rage at the thought of Lữ helped him steady himself after the near-death shock and focus on handling the critical situation at hand. Vấn knew his Camry was significantly less powerful than the V8 Lincoln chasing him; within moments, the Lincoln would catch up, and this time, they would aim with greater precision.
Vấn began shifting back into the left lane. He noticed traffic in the inner lanes starting to slow down. In the distance, he spotted a tow truck on the shoulder, hoisting up a wrecked vehicle. Ahead of his car was another vehicle with flashing red and blue lights on its roof—a police car! Elated, Vấn pulled close into the innermost lane. He could make out the silhouette of an officer standing by a car door, writing up a report for a vehicle involved in an accident.
Vấn slowed down and pulled over to the curb right next to the police car. He sat still and watched. The Lincoln continued to follow him but dared not stop. Its windows were fully rolled down, and Vấn could see two thugs with menacing, vicious expressions glaring out from inside. They never expected Vấn to find a police car—his salvation—at such a critical moment.