Chapter 63 — Shrimp Street Without Name

A week after the threatening phone call, the worst news the group had feared finally came, though not in the way they had imagined. Mr. Tam Lanh, the former recording clerk who helped Hai Yen and Kien from the early days of the investigation, had a serious traffic accident on the way home in the evening, when a truck with an unknown license plate crashed directly into his motorbike and then fled.

Hai Yen received news from Kien through a panicked call, his voice shaking uncontrollably. "Uncle Tam is in the emergency room at the provincial hospital, in critical condition. The doctor said he has a severe brain injury and is needing emergency surgery."

The two immediately rushed to the hospital, waiting outside the operating room for many tense hours, along with Mr. Tam's family, who were in a state of extreme panic. Hai Yen couldn't help but feel a surge of guilt, blaming herself for dragging a kind-hearted man, just because he wanted to help, into deadly danger.

“This is not your fault,” Kien said, trying to reassure her even though he himself was shaking with worry. “We don't know for sure whether this was a real accident or a targeted attack.”

But they both understood that, in the context of what had happened over the past several weeks — from international phone threats, to suspicions about a strange car near Ms. Hong's child's school — the possibility that this was a random accident was very low.

After nearly six hours of surgery, the doctor came out to announce to the family, his voice serious but carrying a ray of hope. "The surgery was technically successful, we were able to stop the bleeding and reduce intracranial pressure. But the patient is still in a coma, and it is impossible to predict the possibility of a full recovery."

Mr. Tam's wife, a small woman in her sixties, burst into tears when she heard the news, and was helped by her children into the recovery room to see her husband for the first time after the surgery. Hai Yen stood silently in the hallway, her tears kept falling, looking at that scene made her heart ache.

“We need to notify the lieutenant immediately,” she told Kien, her voice choked but determined. "This cannot be just a normal traffic accident. We need to carefully investigate the security cameras along the route, find the truck that caused the accident and then ran away."

The lieutenant arrived at the hospital less than half an hour after the call, wearing an equally serious expression. “We will treat this as a highest priority incident,” he said. "If it is determined that this was an intentional act, this will be evidence that the level of audacity of those behind it has escalated to the point of being willing to directly endanger lives."

That night, Hai Yen and Kien stayed at the hospital until late, not wanting to leave while Mr. Tam's condition was still critical. Sitting on a cold hospital hallway bench, Hai Yen covered her face, letting her pain and self-blame surge uncontrollably.

"If Uncle Tam doesn't survive," she said, her voice breaking, "I will never forgive myself. He just wanted to help, just because he trusted us, but now he has to lie there, on the line between life and death."

Kien hugged her, not saying anything for a long time, just letting her cry in his arms. “Uncle Tam will get over it,” he finally said, his voice unable to hide the choking. "Uncle he is a strong person. And if anything happens, it is not your fault, but the crime of those who caused this. We must not let guilt weaken us, because that is exactly what they want.”

The next morning, news of Mr. Tam's accident spread quickly in the community, making many local people, who had followed Hai Yen's journey for many months, angry. Some people spontaneously organized donations to support his family's treatment costs, a small but meaningful action, showing the solidarity of the community in the face of what is happening.

When Mrs. Sau heard the news, she immediately went to the hospital to visit, bringing some savings to help Mr. Tam's family. "Mr. Tam and your father were very close in the past," she told Hai Yen, her voice choked up. "He helps me now, it's like repaying my father for helping him many times in the past."

Attorney Hoang, after understanding the situation, immediately contacted the investigation team to ensure the accident was handled with the highest priority, and proposed expanding the scope of witness protection to include those who provided important information to the investigation, not just limited to official witnesses.

“This is a stern wake-up call,” she said in an emergency meeting with Hai Yen and Kien. “We need to review the entire list of people who assisted with the investigation, ensuring each person was fully warned of the risks and provided with the necessary protection.”

Three days later, the first positive news appeared: Mr. Tam began to show signs of regaining consciousness, although he was still weak and needed more time to fully recover. When Hai Yen visited, he could only whisper a few short sentences, but his eyes still shone with the familiar determination.

“Don't... don't stop,” he said, his voice weak but clear, holding Hai Yen's hand. “I... I'm okay. I... I just keep going.”

Hai Yen squeezed his hand, her tears rolling down uncontrollably. “I promise, Uncle Tam. I will not let what you have sacrificed be in vain.”

Leaving the hospital, although her heart was still heavy, Hai Yen felt a new determination, sharper than ever, forged through the pain and loss she had just witnessed. She understands that the price of this war is becoming more and more expensive, but that only further confirms that what she is pursuing is truly meaningful, great enough to make those behind the shadows afraid to be so reckless.

The following week, the preliminary results of the accident investigation were announced: a nearby store's security camera recorded a blurry image of the truck causing the accident, its license plate intentionally covered with mud, a clear sign that this was not an accidental accident. The investigation team determined that the vehicle was a type commonly used in transporting industrial goods and is continuing to search for the specific origin.

“We believe this was a targeted attack, carried out to spite or punish Mr. Tam for cooperating with the investigation,” the lieutenant announced during the update meeting. “This case will be handled as part of the entire large case file, not separate.”

That news, despite confirming bad suspicions worst of the bunch, also brought a certain sense of vindication to Mr. Tam's family, who had previously been skeptical as to whether Hai Yen had exaggerated the danger of the situation.

While waiting for Mr. Tam to recover, Hai Yen decided to take the time to visit him every day, not only out of responsibility, but because of the sincere bond that had formed between them during their recent journey. Every time she visited, she brought small stories about the progress of the investigation, carefully selecting the positive news so as not to add to his stress during his recovery.

"You know," she said during one visit, when Mr. Tam was able to sit up and talk longer, "thanks to what you told me from the first days, we got the first clue about the human trafficking ring. Three victims were saved, and there will probably be many more thanks to what you bravely shared."

Mr. Tam smiled weakly, his eyes shining with quiet pride. “So it was worth it,” he said, his voice much steadier than in the early days. “It's worth taking a beating like this, if it helps save someone else.”

Those simple words of Mr. Tam, more than anything else, engraved in Hai Yen's heart a lesson about silent sacrifice, about how the most simple people sometimes have the greatest courage, willing to pay the price with their own safety to contribute to something bigger than their own lives, a lesson she will carry with her for the rest of her life, no matter where the journey ahead takes her, no matter how many more prices she has to pay. at any rate, before everything is truly over, before justice is finally fully served.