165: Chapter 165 Confession

President Liu clapped his hands, and someone nearby immediately handed over a mobile phone. The screen displayed a video call.

President Zhou Hai looked over, his pupils constricting sharply.

On the screen, his wife was tied to a chair, her mouth taped shut, eyes red, with tear tracks on her face.

His son and daughter were tied up beside her; the daughter was only eight years old and had cried until she had no voice left.

His parents were there too. His elderly father's hair was completely white, and he was tied to a wheelchair. His elderly mother was leaning against him; both of them had their eyes closed, not knowing if they had fainted or were simply afraid to look.

In another frame, his mistress and their two-year-old illegitimate son were also tied up. The mistress was crying, her makeup ruined, while the child was still in swaddling clothes, not knowing what had happened, just crying incessantly.

President Zhou Hai's tears flowed uncontrollably, and he struggled desperately.

He just wanted to rush over, hold his children, and protect his family, but he couldn't!

He himself was currently tied to this chair, like a beast waiting to be slaughtered.

"President Liu! President Liu! I beg you! I beg you to let them go! They don't know anything! They are innocent!"

President Zhou Hai's voice was heart-wrenching, echoing by the empty fish pond, startling several water birds.

President Liu looked at him, his gaze as calm as if he were watching a play.

He took the phone, glanced at the screen, and then turned to President Zhou Hai, his tone as flat as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

"If you don't want them to be doused in gasoline, you should know what to do."

President Zhou Hai looked at President Liu, the last glimmer of light in his eyes extinguishing.

President Liu smiled contentedly and handed the phone to the person beside him.

"Untie them and send them back. Remember, you have one day. By this time tomorrow, I want to see the materials."

"If the materials satisfy me, your family will return home safely. If not..."

He didn't continue, but both President Zhou Hai and Qian Ying knew what that meant.

The ropes were undone. Deep, bloody marks were left on President Zhou Hai's wrists, but he felt nothing.

He was hoisted up by two men, his legs as weak as noodles, unable to stand steady.

Qian Ying was dragged up like a sack of mud; his pants were already soaked, leaving a wet trail on the ground.

President Liu turned around, walked back to the edge of the fish pond, took a fishing rod from someone nearby, and sat down again.

The float swayed gently on the water; a fish was biting the hook. He didn't look back, just waved his hand as if shooing away a few annoying flies.

"Send them away."

The men in black escorted President Zhou Hai and Qian Ying to the car parked on the roadside.

The car started and drove away from the fish pond.

President Zhou Hai leaned against the seat with his eyes closed, tears seeping from the corners of his eyes again. He knew his life was over...

By the fish pond, President Liu sat on the chair, the fishing rod in his hand flicked gently, and the float sank.

He lifted his wrist, and a crucian carp broke the water, its silvery scales shining in the sunlight, drawing a graceful arc in the air.

A wealthy boss beside him rushed forward, took the fish off the hook, and put it into the bucket nearby.

The fish flopped a few times in the bucket, splashing water.

By the time the car drove into the provincial capital, it was already dark.

President Zhou Hai leaned against the seat, eyes closed, the bloody marks on his wrists from the ropes still aching faintly.

He didn't go to the hospital, didn't make any calls, and didn't contact anyone; he just had the driver take the car back to his villa.

Qian Ying followed behind him like an old dog abandoned by its master, limping into the living room.

It was very quiet in the villa, terrifyingly quiet.

President Zhou Hai stood in the center of the living room, looking at the family portrait on the wall. His wife was wearing a cheongsam, his son in a small suit, and his daughter in a princess dress; the family of four was smiling so happily.

That was taken during last year's Spring Festival. The day after the photo was taken, he went to Yancheng, met that person, and accepted this task.

From that moment on, this family began to head toward destruction, only he didn't know it at the time, or rather, he thought he could control everything.

"President Zhou, what should we do?"

The injuries on Qian Ying's face were still oozing blood. He leaned against the sofa like a pile of mud.

President Zhou Hai didn't answer. He walked into the study, turned on the computer, sat at the desk, and stared at the blank document for a long time.

Then he took a deep breath and started typing.

Line by line, item by item, he wrote down all the shady things he had done over the years.

Bribery, a huge amount.

The objects included people in the province, the city, and the county.

Which department, which person, how much money, what time, what location—he listed them one by one, like bookkeeping.

Tax evasion, issuing fake invoices, loan fraud, money laundering—every item was verifiable, and every item was enough to ruin him.

Organizing prostitution—he owned several clubs. On the surface, they were legitimate entertainment venues, but he knew what kind of shady business was going on behind the scenes.

Running a casino—that underground casino in the provincial capital had a daily turnover of over a million. It had been open for three years and had never been investigated because he was behind it.

Bribery of state functionaries—he knew too many people, from top to bottom, from the province to the city; there were no connections he couldn't make.

Cumulative sentencing—he calculated it himself; it was probably a life sentence.

He finished typing the last line, read it from beginning to end, then printed it out, signed his name, and pressed his fingerprint.

He didn't leave himself a way out; he knew it was useless. President Liu wanted his life, not his money.

Money could be earned again if it was gone, but if his life was gone, everything was gone.

But he couldn't implicate his family. His son was only ten, his daughter only eight. They didn't know anything; they were innocent.

As long as he confessed and took the blame, President Liu should let them go.

The study door was knocked twice. Qian Ying walked in holding a glass of water, his hands still shaking, the water in the glass sloshing and spilling all the way.

"President Zhou, I've finished writing. Please take a look for me."

Qian Ying handed over a piece of paper with a crying tone.

President Zhou Hai took it and glanced at it, his brows furrowing.

Qian Ying had written much less than him. There were a few instances of bribery, one instance of loan fraud, and the rest were just petty crimes. Adding them up, it would probably only be about ten years.

President Zhou Hai put down the paper and looked at Qian Ying, his gaze filled with an indescribable exhaustion.

"Qian Ying, are you trying to leave yourself a way out?"

Qian Ying froze, his lips trembling.

President Zhou Hai continued, "Do you think President Liu will be satisfied with just writing this? Your wife and children are still in his hands, and your mistress and illegitimate son are also in his hands. By writing only this, are you trying to get them killed?"

Qian Ying's tears fell instantly. He knelt on the ground with a thud, hugged President Zhou Hai's legs, and cried like a child.

"President Zhou... I want to live... I don't want to die! President Zhou..."

President Zhou Hai sighed and said with a sense of frustration, "Playing tricks on a figure like President Liu! Do you think you're Nezha? Growing three heads!"

"President Zhou, I won't dare to do it again... I won't dare... I'll add it, I'll add it, okay..."

"Qian Ying, we are both finished. From the day we agreed to work for them, we were already finished."

"All we can do now is confess and take the blame, so we don't implicate our families. How much you write and how long you are sentenced is your own business."

"But you have to think clearly: your wife and children are still in their hands."

Qian Ying slumped in the chair and picked up the pen. His hand was shaking so much he could barely hold it. He added bribery of state functionaries, running a casino, organizing prostitution, and money laundering to the paper.

Adding them one by one, the sentence went from ten years to fifteen years, from fifteen to twenty, from twenty to twenty-five, and from twenty-five to a suspended death sentence.

Finally, he put down the pen and looked at the paper filled with dense writing.

That's it, a suspended death sentence.

Early the next morning, President Zhou Hai and Qian Ying walked into the gates of the Provincial Public Security Department together.

President Zhou Hai was wearing the same wrinkled shirt from yesterday. He hadn't shaved, his eye bags were sagging, and he looked ten years older.

He placed the thick confession materials on the reception desk, his voice as calm as if he were greeting a friend.

"My name is President Zhou Hai, Chairman of the Dongshan Group. I am here to turn myself in."

The police officer at the reception desk froze for a moment, picked up the materials, and flipped through them. His face changed instantly, and he hurriedly picked up the phone to report to his superiors.

Qian Ying stood next to President Zhou Hai with his head down, trembling all over.

Less than twenty minutes later, the Deputy Director of the Provincial Public Security Department came down personally. He looked at President Zhou Hai and then at Qian Ying.

Saying only "Take them away," the two were taken into the interrogation room.

The interrogation lasted all day. President Zhou Hai confessed to the contents of the surrender materials one by one—when, where, who, how much money, what method—every detail was explained clearly.

The interrogating police officers became more and more alarmed as they listened. Some of these cases they had already mastered, but others they didn't even have clues for.

If President Zhou Hai hadn't surrendered, these people might never have been discovered.

After the interrogation, the Deputy Director personally sent President Zhou Hai to the detention center and stopped at the door.

Watching President Zhou Hai's back, he shook his head and muttered to himself, "Why bother?"

President Zhou Hai didn't hear it. He walked into the cell, the iron gate closed behind him, making a dull sound.

Qian Ying was locked in another cell. He curled up in the corner, holding his knees, trembling all over, like a mouse locked in a cage.

What President Zhou Hai and Qian Ying didn't know was that before they surrendered, the Economic Investigation Corps of the Provincial Public Security Department had already sealed all the assets of the Dongshan Group and Lanjiang Venture Capital.

The doors of the finance office were sealed, servers were removed, documents were packed into boxes, and employees were dismissed.

The office building, once bustling with people, was empty overnight, with only the sound of wind echoing in the corridors.

Assets frozen, accounts sealed, projects stopped.

Those business partners who used to call them brothers all disappeared overnight. Calls couldn't get through, WeChats were blocked, and even the office doorplates were removed.

The provincial capital's business world was shaken!

The Dongshan Group was a star enterprise in the provincial capital, and President Zhou Hai was the Vice President of the provincial Chamber of Commerce. He had status in both the city and the province, so how could he fall just like that?

Those who knew the inside story dared not speak, and those who didn't speculated blindly.

For a time, all kinds of rumors were flying. Some said President Zhou Hai had offended a big shot in Yancheng, some said he was involved in a corruption case in the province, some said he was investigated for money laundering, and some said he had run away.

Only President Zhou Hai knew that he hadn't run away; he had walked in himself.

It wasn't because he had figured things out, but because he had no choice. President Liu wanted his life, so he had to give it up.

The only thing he could do was use his own life to trade for his family's lives.

President Zhou Hai didn't know if President Liu would let his family go; he only knew he had no other choice.

A pawn, that's how pathetic it is...

Once things are done, one naturally has to bear the consequences.

And what he didn't know was that in Yancheng, those high-ranking big shots were also tasting the bitter fruit of this matter!