👉 Previous Decision: You chose Option B – Confront Kevin privately at the Bolsa Avenue land lot at midnight with the car.
Liem drove the Camry to the empty, gated commercial lot on Bolsa Avenue, the very piece of land that had become the focal point of Kevin’s greed. It was just past midnight, the lot cloaked in shadows, a stark contrast to the buzzing street beyond its fence. Kevin was already there, leaning against a rusted lamppost, his silhouette stark against the distant streetlights.
“Father,” Kevin greeted, his voice laced with bitter sarcasm. “Came to mourn your lost empire?”
Liem stepped out of the Camry, leaving the engine running, its low hum the only sound between them. “Why, Kevin? Why go to such lengths?”
Kevin laughed, a hollow, mirthless sound that echoed in the empty lot. “Because I’m drowning, Father! Drowning in your shadow, your failures!” He pushed off the lamppost, walking towards Liem. “I lost $140,000 in crypto-margin trades. Loan sharks are at my door. I need that deed, and I need it now, before your pathetic bankruptcy drags me down too!”
His eyes, usually so calculating, now held a wild, desperate glint. “You were meant to be declared incompetent. The land was mine. It was all a simple plan.”
He reached out, his fingers closing around the car keys still in Liem’s hand. He yanked them free with surprising force.
“But you just wouldn’t break, would you?” Kevin sneered. He gestured to the Camry. “Fine. You want to prove you’re not crazy? You want to believe in your ghost stories, your superstitious trash?”
Kevin pulled a small, silver pistol from inside his jacket, the metallic glint catching the faint light. He pressed it into Liem’s side. The cold barrel sent a shock through Liem’s body.
“Get in the passenger seat, Father,” Kevin commanded, his voice trembling with barely controlled rage. “We’re going for a drive. And I’m going to show you that your ‘Shadow Boulevard’ is nothing but your own sick imagination.”
Liem felt the hard, cold steel against his ribs. He slowly opened the passenger door and slid into the seat, his eyes fixed on the gun in Kevin’s hand. Kevin climbed into the driver’s seat, a twisted, triumphant smile on his face. He revved the engine, the Camry’s lights cutting through the darkness of the empty lot.
➡️ Read CHAPTER 14 to continue the story
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