"Bai Sheng, are you even aware of what you've done?" Liu Yue's voice rang out like thunder, her fury palpable. Her eyes blazed with righteous anger, and even the shareholders could feel the oppressive weight of her wrath hanging in the air.
Bai Sheng, pale and sweating, tried to maintain composure. "Director Liu, there must be some misunderstanding," he said, forcing a calm smile. "Du Yao was just a bodyguard I recently hired. I barely know him."
That bastard! Where the hell is he now? Bai Sheng cursed Du Yao silently, fuming that his supposed ally had vanished without a trace.
Liu Yue narrowed her eyes. "Are you really going to stand there and pretend you don't know the man who stabbed Ye Chen?"
Bai Sheng's throat tightened, but he stuck to his script. "Of course. I had no part in that. In fact, I was about to call his agency to file a formal complaint."
As Bai Sheng pulled out his phone in a clumsy attempt at acting innocent, Liu Yue's lips curled with icy calm. "Fine. I'll take your word for it—at least for now." She turned to Ye Chen. "Ye Chen, show them the video."
Ye Chen nodded. He reached into his pocket, retrieved his phone, and played the damning recording for all to see. The voices echoed across the room with unmistakable clarity:
---
Bai Sheng: "Mr. Du Yao, are you sure the poison you gave Situ Rui this time will actually kill her?"
Du Yao: "You don't need to worry. She'll be dead in a week. This poison is impossible to detect, impossible to cure."
Bai Sheng's Wife: "Perfect. Once she's gone, we'll have full control of the Liu family's assets."
Bai Sheng: "As long as that old hag dies, all her shares will go to Liu Yue. Then we just have to make her hand them over to us."
Du Yao: "I'll prepare a drug that makes people obey without question. Just give it to Liu Yue—you'll control her like a puppet."
Bai Sheng: "Excellent. I'm glad we're working together, Mr. Du Yao."
Du Yao: "Just remember our deal—15% of the company shares. Betray me, and I'll bury you myself."
Bai Sheng: "Relax. Once the plan works, I'll keep my word."
---
As the video ended, silence swallowed the room whole. You could hear a pin drop. Faces turned ashen. Even Bai Sheng looked like the life had drained from his body. He collapsed back into his chair, muttering, "It's over… everything is over…"
BANG!
The door burst open, crashing against the wall with a resounding slam. All eyes shot toward the entrance.
Luo Bing stood in the doorway, no longer dressed in her usual office attire. She now wore her police uniform, her sharp gaze scanning the room. Her presence demanded attention, authority radiating from her like a storm about to break.
Bai Sheng and Bai San instinctively shrank back in fear.
Luo Bing's eyes swept over the ruined conference room. The overturned chairs, the scattered documents, the lingering aura of battle—this wasn't the scene she had expected after regaining consciousness. Where are Du Yao and the other one from the evil sect? she wondered, puzzled.
Did someone fight them off… while I was unconscious?
Earlier, when she awoke in another room, she was stunned to find her uniform disheveled, her undergarments displaced. A faint bite mark on her chest only added to the rising fury. That bastard! Who touched me? she seethed, quickly redressing before storming back to the meeting room.
Now, seeing Du Yao gone and order somewhat restored, her confusion deepened.
"Where… where are the enemies?" she murmured.
Liu Yue stepped forward, pulling Luo Bing's attention back. "Since you're here, Officer Luo, let's return to the matter at hand." Her voice was cold and sharp. "Bai Sheng, all the evidence is out in the open. Tell me—how are you going to escape this?"
Bai Sheng's face was ghostly pale. His hands trembled as he realized the net had closed around him. "My plans… all my years of work… ruined," he mumbled.
"You shameless snake!" one of the shareholders who had once backed Bai Sheng suddenly spoke up. "How could you scheme to murder Director Situ and manipulate Director Liu?"
Another shareholder chimed in. "You don't deserve to be part of this company. Director Liu, we should hand him over to the police immediately."
Liu Yue raised an eyebrow, her expression unreadable as she watched Bai Sheng's supporters rapidly abandon him.
Ye Chen chuckled inwardly. What a bunch of cowards. They were praising Bai Sheng moments ago. Now they're all desperate to save themselves.
He glanced at Liu Yue, who clearly wasn't fooled.
"Oh? You're all turning on him now?" Ye Chen asked aloud, his tone laced with mockery. "Didn't you support every one of his decisions before? Suddenly you've grown a conscience?"
"We were just business associates," one of the shareholders stammered. "We never would have supported him if we knew he was involved in something like this!"
"That's right," another added. "Director Liu, please believe us. We've always respected the Situ family. We would never betray them."
Liu Yue said nothing. Her silence was heavy—she had evidence on all of them. Embezzlement, bribery, corruption. They didn't know it yet, but their time was coming.
"Officer Luo," Liu Yue finally said, turning back to the stunned policewoman. "Have your people found anything from Bai Sheng's residence?"
Luo Bing blinked. She'd been lost in thought, still replaying the battle she must've missed. Who fought those two… and won? Was it Ye Chen? But how?
"Officer Luo?" Liu Yue raised her voice slightly. "Miss Luo Bing?"
"Huh? Yes!" Luo Bing snapped to attention. "Sorry, I was… thinking. What did you ask again?"
Liu Yue gave her a long look, but decided to let it go. "I asked if your team recovered any evidence from Bai Sheng's property."
"Oh—yes. We did. Several documents, including suspicious financial records and communications with known black-market contacts. Enough to charge him, definitely."
"Good." Liu Yue turned back to Bai Sheng, her voice resolute. "You won't be weaseling out of this."
Bai Sheng buried his face in his hands, defeated. Not a single ally remained. The empire he'd spent years building had collapsed in a single morning.
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