harleyscars Chapter 71 Qi Tongwei Arrives, Zhao Xiaohui Collapses!
Chapter 71 Qi Tongwei Arrives, Zhao Xiaohui Collapses!
Three o'clock in the morning, in the west of the city.
This is the old industrial area of Jingzhou, where large red brick houses are hidden among the weeds.
Inside a small, two-story building with its own entrance and courtyard, the firelight flickered faintly.
A gaunt old man in a gray Zhongshan suit was kneeling in front of the fireplace, frantically throwing documents and ledgers into it.
Flames licked at the paper, and black ash danced in the room.
He was the Zhao family's old steward, serving Zhao Lichun for thirty years. He was the Zhao family's most loyal dog and also the person who held the most secrets.
The ear-piercing screech of brakes echoed outside the courtyard.
"Bang!"
The courtyard gate was smashed open by the SWAT team's breaching hammer.
"Police! Don't move!"
Zhao Donglai took the lead and charged into the living room like a bull.
Hearing the commotion, the old steward turned pale, but instead of surrendering, he grabbed the thickest ledger and tried to shove it into the fire.
"Trying to destroy the evidence?"
Zhao Donglai kicked out and struck the old butler's wrist.
With a crisp "crack," the sound of bone breaking made one's teeth ache.
The ledger flew out and landed on the floor, with only one corner charred.
Several special police officers rushed up and pinned the screaming old butler to the ground.
Qi Tongwei strolled in from the back.
He bent down to pick up the ledger, dusted it off, and casually flipped through a couple of pages.
The document is filled with detailed records of the Zhao family's asset transfers overseas over the past few years, as well as the transfer records of their employees, such as "Gray Shadow."
This is not just an account book; it's a death warrant for the Zhao family.
"Old Huang, oh Old Huang," Qi Tongwei sneered, looking at the butler lying on the ground like a dead dog. "Your master left you here to handle his affairs while he himself hid away at the Mountain and Water Manor, enjoying a life of luxury. Was that loyalty worth it?"
The butler gritted his teeth, his forehead covered in cold sweat from the pain: "Qi Tongwei...you touched me...the old man won't let you get away with this..."
"I have no intention of letting him off the hook either."
Qi Tongwei closed the ledger and handed the items to the technician behind him.
"Seal it; this is top-grade physical evidence."
He turned around, his gaze fixed on the southern suburbs outside the window, his eyes as fierce as a wolf's.
"Next stop, Shanshui Manor."
……
Shanshui Manor, Villa No. 1.
Zhao Xiaohui had just finished showering and was sitting in front of her dressing table, lost in thought.
She changed into a burgundy silk slip dress, the fabric extremely thin and somewhat transparent, clinging to her ripe, delicate body.
It was top-grade mulberry silk, flowing like water over her body. The deep V-neck design at the chest couldn't completely conceal her two proud, snowy mounds; their full curves trembled slightly with her breath, and the tips were even faintly visible.
She crossed her legs, and the hem of her skirt slid down her thighs, revealing two long, shapely, and fair legs.
She was barefoot, with bright red nail polish on her toenails, and her feet on the dark carpet created a breathtakingly erotic atmosphere.
She held her phone, but couldn't dial the number no matter what she tried.
"What's going on..." Zhao Xiaohui was extremely flustered, her charming face full of anxiety.
Suddenly, a commotion of footsteps and car engine sounds came from downstairs.
There was even the roar of helicopters circling overhead.
Zhao Xiaohui's heart skipped a beat, and she rushed barefoot to the balcony to look down.
At the manor's main gate, dozens of police cars with flashing lights surrounded the area, making it impossible to pass through.
Fully armed special police surged into the manor like a black tide, while the manor security guards who were usually so arrogant were now all squatting on the ground with their hands behind their heads.
Qi Tongwei strode over to the lead police car.
Zhao Xiaohui felt her legs go weak and she almost knelt on the ground.
A few minutes later.
"Bang!"
The bedroom door was pushed open roughly.
Qi Tongwei led Zhao Donglai and several special police officers in.
Zhao Xiaohui instinctively grabbed a coat to cover her exposed body, but the coat slipped to the ground. She could only hug her chest with both hands, trying to cover the large expanse of exposed skin. However, this action only made her deep cleavage appear even more exaggerated, and the soft flesh of her breasts almost overflowed from between her fingers.
Beneath the gossamer-thin nightgown, her graceful waist and hip curves were on full display, and this flustered and disheveled state only added to her allure, making one want to destroy her.
"Qi Tongwei! Are you crazy?" Zhao Xiaohui screamed, her voice trembling with fear. "This is trespassing! I'm going to sue you!"
Qi Tongwei didn't even glance at her alluring figure; his gaze was as cold as ice.
With a wave of his hand, two special police officers escorted the dusty old butler in and shoved him onto the carpet.
The moment Zhao Xiaohui saw the housekeeper, her face instantly turned pale, as if her soul had been ripped out.
"Do you recognize him?" Qi Tongwei pointed to the butler on the ground. "Mr. Zhao, is this the middleman you hired for fifty million US dollars?"
Zhao Xiaohui opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
"Take him away," Qi Tongwei coldly ordered.
The special police officers stepped forward and dragged the butler out like a dead dog.
Zhao Xiaohui lunged forward to stop her, but the strap of her silk nightgown slipped to one side, revealing most of her rounded shoulder and collarbone. With the violent movement, her chest almost completely disappeared.
"You can't take him away! He's part of our family!" she screamed hysterically.
A SWAT officer, expressionless, reached out and shoved her, sending her staggering backward and crashing heavily onto the sofa.
The hem of her nightgown was lifted up to her waist, exposing her bare, white thighs to the air, which were plump and exuded a decadent air.
Qi Tongwei walked up to her and looked down at the disheveled woman.
"Zhao Xiaohui, save your energy."
He took a cell phone out of his pocket and threw it on the coffee table in front of Zhao Xiaohui.
That's the butler's phone.
"Want to get someone to bail you out? Want to call Zhao Lichun? Or want to contact your 'sworn brothers' in Beijing?"
Qi Tongwei placed his hands on his knees, bent over, and brought his face close to Zhao Xiaohui's.
The two were extremely close; Zhao Xiaohui could even smell the faint scent of tobacco on Qi Tongwei and the suffocating sense of oppression emanating from him.
"Make the call." Qi Tongwei pointed at his phone, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "I'll watch you make the call right here. Look at this hour, who dares to answer the Zhao family's call?"
Zhao Xiaohui picked up her phone with trembling hands.
She didn't believe in superstitions.
The Zhao family has been operating in Handong for twenty years, and they are deeply rooted in the business. How could they possibly collapse overnight?
She dialed the number she knew by heart—Zhao Lichun's secret red hotline.
In the past, the other end would always answer after three rings.
"Beep...beep...beep..."
A long, drawn-out silence.
Ten seconds, twenty seconds, one minute.
No one answered.
Zhao Xiaohui's hands began to tremble, and cold sweat slid down her forehead, dripping onto her snow-white chest.
She hung up and called again.
This time, the money was allocated to Zhao Ruilong's powerful backer in Beijing.
"Sorry, the number you dialed is busy..."
Another busy signal.
The third one, the fourth one...
Like a madwoman, Zhao Xiaohui dialed the phone numbers of all the big shots in her contacts whom she usually called brothers.
The results were all the same.
Busy tone, turn off the phone, or hang up directly.
The whole world seemed to have abandoned the Zhao family overnight.
The phone slipped from her hand and fell onto the carpet.
Zhao Xiaohui raised her head and looked at Qi Tongwei. Her once charming peach blossom eyes were now filled with despair and fear.
"Why..." she murmured to herself, "Why isn't anyone answering..."
Qi Tongwei straightened up and adjusted his cuffs.
"Because the world has changed."
He looked coldly at this once arrogant woman, without a trace of pity in his eyes.
"Secretary Sha will be overseeing things at the Municipal Public Security Bureau tonight. Old Master Ye from Beijing has also spoken. At a time like this, who would dare get involved with the Zhao family's mess?"
Qi Tongwei turned and walked out, the sound of his leather shoes on the floor steady and powerful.
He stopped at the door without turning around.
"Zhao Xiaohui, pack your things. This villa will be seized soon."
"By the way, tell your brother Zhao Ruilong not to hide in there pretending to be dead. There are quite a few interesting stories about him in the butler's ledger. Tell him to wash his neck clean and wait for the consequences."
After saying that, Qi Tongwei opened the door and strode away.
Outside the gate, the first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone on the huge stone signboard of the Mountain and Water Manor.
Inside the villa, Zhao Xiaohui curled up on the sofa, her expensive silk nightgown now resembling a ridiculous shroud, wrapping the soon-to-decompose corpse of the Zhao family.
She stared at the phone that would never ring again and let out a heart-wrenching wail.