Chapter 157: Evidence of the Xiao Family's Crimes
"President Xiao, this is a misunderstanding!"
"A misunderstanding? Then tell me, what kind of misunderstanding is this?" Xiao Ye looked at him with a half-smile. "I have all the evidence."
"How about this? I'll just report the lot of you to the higher-ups and let them investigate. I'm sure they'll be able to find even more evidence."
"Each of you has embezzled at least a million from the company. That's a huge amount. To put it mildly, you'll probably rot in prison."
They hadn't expected Xiao Ye to be so hard-headed, even planning to get the higher-ups involved.
At that point, there would be truly no way for them to salvage the situation.
Any powerful family, no matter how large, is fragile before the machinery of the state!
The manager with the weakest nerves was so scared he dropped to his knees. "I was wrong, President Xiao! I'm begging you, please spare me just this once."
"I swear I'll never do it again! I had no choice… I have old parents and young children to support at home…"
Before he could finish, Xiao Ye kicked him aside. His cold gaze made the other men shrink back in fear.
"If you don't want to go to prison, that's fine too. Return every single cent you embezzled. Not a penny less."
"I'm giving you three days. If you can't pay it back in three days, you'll be taken away directly!"
The men's faces turned deathly pale. Three days? Where were they supposed to get a million?
When they first started embezzling, they might have been cautious, but their nerve grew the longer they did it.
They had already squandered that money long ago.
Some bought houses, others bought cars; none of them could produce the cash.
Xiao Ye couldn't care less about their excuses. After saying his piece, he left. As for what they would do, that was their own problem.
Night fell.
He arrived at the bar.
Shishi came over, swaying her hips. "Master Xiao, you're finally here."
"That coffee shop I had you investigate—how's it going?"
"The owner of that coffee shop is a woman. I've looked into it, and there's nothing suspicious about her."
"The shop has been open for about three or four years without any issues. As for the assistant suspected of planting the bomb, he does go there often."
"But for a coffee shop in that location, as long as it tastes good, people from pretty much all the surrounding office buildings will go there."
Xiao Ye nodded. "Anything else? Has the assistant done anything unusual recently?"
"No, he hasn't met with anyone strange. But I did find one useful piece of information. About four days ago, he received a transfer from an international bank."
"The transfer amount was three million, but I can't trace the source of the funds."
Once international banks are involved, there are a lot of loopholes. If the other party is careful enough, they'll be untraceable, no matter how skilled of a person Xiao Ye hires.
That's why many people who play dirty these days choose to use international banks.
"Is the assistant's family short on money?"
"Yes." Shishi knew Xiao Ye would have guessed. "His daughter has leukemia. For a long time, they couldn't find a matching bone marrow donor. They finally found one, but the other party made an exorbitant demand for one million."
"I figure he took the money to pay for his daughter's treatment. He's a pitiful man, but trying to harm you is unacceptable!"
"Do you need me to make a move?"
Xiao Ye shook his head. "No need. He probably doesn't know much. Since it was life-saving money, they must have given the assistant direct instructions on what to do."
"I'll have someone else handle this matter. Alright, you continue your investigation."
Xiao Ye got up, intending to leave.
No matter how many times he came to this kind of place, he still didn't like it.
Shishi reluctantly took his arm. "Master Xiao, every time you come to my place, you don't drink or have any fun."
"People are already getting suspicious of our relationship. I was even tested on it a few days ago, but I shut them down."
"Also, I had someone fabricate some evidence to prove we knew each other from before, back in the mountain range where you used to live, Master Xiao."
"I faked a story about how I once visited, got lost in the mountains, and you saved me."
Xiao Ye knew what Shishi—or rather, the Hongyuan Organization—was capable of. Fabricating a bit of backstory was nothing to them.
"That doesn't mean we have to be this close." Xiao Ye pulled his arm away. "We can meet somewhere else."
"Wouldn't that be even more conspicuous? If we meet at the bar, they might just think you've actually taken a liking to me."
Shishi laughed, her body swaying enchantingly. "After all, so many men in the Imperial City are fond of me."
She didn't dare reach for Xiao Ye's arm again, so she could only lean her body as close as possible. "Master Xiao, there's one more thing. I've obtained incriminating evidence against the Xiao Family."
"A hundred years ago, they were indeed related to that reclusive Xiao Family. They were one of the branches, but they were exiled, so to speak, after losing a power struggle."
"To ensure the purity of their bloodline, they initially chose to intermarry with close relatives. Later, however, they switched to marrying into other prominent families to preserve the nobility of their lineage as much as possible."
'Just a minor branch of the Xiao Family. Anyone who didn't know better would think they had a throne to inherit, pulling this kind of disgusting nonsense.'
Just as Xiao Ye was about to speak, the sound of footsteps approached.
A tall, handsome man walked up to them, his gaze unfriendly. "Shishi, who is he?"
Shishi cursed inwardly. 'This is bad.' If she had known this troublemaker was coming, she wouldn't have tried to act so intimate with Xiao Ye.
"Young Master Zhuo, why did you come without telling me beforehand?"
Young Master Zhuo sneered, "If I had told you, I wouldn't have gotten to see you lying in another man's arms today!"
"Young Master Zhuo, you're slandering me! I did no such thing!"
Shishi stood up and grabbed his sleeve placatingly. "This is my brother."
"Brother, my ass! I've heard all about it. He's not your real brother, he's just some 'dear brother' you've adopted!"
'Any male 'relative' not related by blood is a love rival!'
"He really is my brother." Shishi looked at Xiao Ye. "Bro, since there's nothing else, you should head out."
She didn't want Xiao Ye to see her fail to placate a man—that would mean she wasn't competent enough.
But this Young Master Zhuo was no ordinary person. He had a very strange and fickle temperament. Despite her attempts to appease him for so long, he hadn't even cracked a smile.
Xiao Ye had no intention of wasting his time here either, so he got up to leave.
Young Master Zhuo's icy voice rang out. "Stop. Did I say you could leave?"
Shishi immediately grew anxious. If she really let Young Master Zhuo cause trouble today, she would inevitably get a reputation for being incompetent.
The Zhuo Family and the Yang Family were not on the same level!
"Young Master Zhuo, he really is my brother. Don't you even believe me now?"
Young Master Zhuo pushed her aside and walked right up to Xiao Ye. His sanpaku eyes were like a viper's. Although he bore some resemblance to Zhuo Qinglin, their expressions were worlds apart. One was open and honorable; the other, sinister and cunning. He was clearly the latter.
"Shishi is the woman I've set my sights on!"
Xiao Ye stuck his hands in his pockets, his face expressionless. "So?"