i Xiang’s face turned pale as she murmured, "No wonder... no wonder..."
"No wonder what?" Chen Cheng asked.
"No wonder Dad always said the mine was at a loss, but he couldn’t find a specific reason." i Xiang’s voice trembled, "It turns out it was them, father and son, working together!"
She took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm.
"Dad trusted Uncle Watanabe too much, he handed over all affairs of the Brazilian Mine to him, even the financial statents were solely managed by Uncle Watanabe. We all thought Uncle Watanabe was Dad’s most loyal partner, but..."
i Xiang’s eyes reddened, tears swirling in her eyes. "How could they do this to Dad? Dad trusted them so much..."
At this point, the whole situation beca entirely clear.
Chen Cheng analyzed calmly, "If Watanabe Kazuo was fully in charge of the Brazilian Mine, then he absolutely had the capability to manipulate the extraction, transportation, and sale of the ore, through the contracts forged by his son Watanabe Kenji’s company, Araguaia Mineração Ltda, to monetize the stolen niobium ore, and then by partnering with an offshore company in Seychelles to transfer the funds, thus, creating a complete funding channel."
i Xiang bit her lower lip, unable to believe what she was seeing and hearing.
But the reality was right in front of her, forcing her to believe.
Her slender body suddenly stood up; i Xiang wanted to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"I’m going to confront Watanabe Kazuo face-to-face!" i Xiang was furious, her whole body shaking.
Chen Cheng quickly grabbed i Xiang, stopping her impulsive actions.
"i Xiang, calm down! We only have this data now, without solid evidence. Your abrupt confrontation would only alert them."
i Xiang struggled, tears streaming down her face.
"But... but how could they do this! At my dad’s lowest, they still..."
Chen Cheng held i Xiang’s hand tightly, his tone firm:
"I know you’re angry and upset, but we can’t act rashly. We need more solid evidence to bring them to justice, to seek justice for your father, to recover your interests."
He guided i Xiang back to her seat, pointing at the computer screen’s data:
"Look, while this indicates financial transactions between Watanabe father and son and Araguaia Mineração Ltda., this is not enough to constitute criminal evidence. We need direct evidence of their theft and smuggling of niobium ore, as well as how they manipulated the mine’s financial statents."
Chen Cheng’s calm analysis slowly cald i Xiang down.
She wiped her tears, "Brother Cheng, what should we do next?"
Chen Cheng leaned back in his chair and thought, "Tracing the funds, we will rely on Wen Shulin."
After saying this, he went online again.
Wen Shulin had been waiting, and the wait was over an hour.
When she saw the two people on the screen, her smile stiffened.
This ti, it wasn’t because of jealousy, but because she saw hatred in i Xiang’s innocent eyes.
She was just about to speak when Chen Cheng spoke first, "There’s a company that you need to check out."
Wen Shulin, not waiting for an answer, already knew i Xiang’s response.
The thing she needed, Chen Cheng must have looked over already.
"Okay, what’s it called?"
Chen Cheng sent the na and details of Watanabe Kenji’s company to Wen Shulin, "I suspect that this company’s funds are flowing to Seychelles."
Wen Shulin looked at the English words and numbers, "Okay, I’ve got it."
She looked at Chen Cheng, "I’ll let you know if there’s any progress."
Then, Wen Shulin also disconnected.
Chen Cheng then focused his attention back on the data he was organizing.
"i Xiang, is there anything wrong with your father’s health?" he suddenly asked.
"Father has always been in good health, just likes smoking and drinking, but he has a dical check-up every quarter."
i Xiang replied, "The doctor also just advised Dad to quit smoking and limit drinking. And Dad really listened, he quit smoking, and drinks very little."
She added, "The whiskey that was photographed half a month ago was a part of father’s collection."
Chen Cheng recalled the charity auction dinner that night, which seed to corroborate this statent.
"What’s the matter?" i Xiang asked. "Did you discover sothing?"
"No, I was just thinking about a question."
Chen Cheng turned to her, "You said your father passed away suddenly. How exactly did he pass away?"
"The reason for hospitalization was alcohol poisoning," i Xiang recalled the situation, "That night, like usual, I was having dinner with him at ho."
"But father was in a bad mood, and he drank a lot by himself."
"Dad usually doesn’t drink much at ho, unless there’s sothing happy or upsetting, then he would drink a little more."
i Xiang’s voice lowered, "That day, he sat alone in the study, drinking one glass after another, and wouldn’t listen to any persuasion."
"That night, was it just the two of you?"
i Xiang nodded, "At ten o’clock, I saw the study door was still closed, so I went to check on him. But when I opened the door..."
i Xiang could not continue speaking and burst into tears in Chen Cheng’s arms.
Chen Cheng comforted her by patting her back, "What I want to ask isn’t about this."
"What do you want to know?" i Xiang looked up.
"Your mom?" Chen Cheng asked, "I an your stepmother, Yahata Reina, wasn’t she ho?"
i Xiang blinked, "No, mother wasn’t there that day. She ca directly to the hospital later."
"How much later was that?"
"The next morning, around four or five o’clock."
Chen Cheng continued to ask, "Where did she go? Sowhere far?"
"She said she went back to the countryside," i Xiang recalled.
"Your family’s ancestral ho? Gunma?"
i Xiang shook her head, "No, her hotown, Shizuoka."
"Shizuoka?"
Chen Cheng took out his phone, checking the map, "From Tokyo to Shizuoka, it takes about two to three hours by car."
i Xiang nodded, "Yes, so mother rarely goes there."
"So what was she doing there? Was there sothing going on at ho?" Chen Cheng pressed.
i Xiang shook her head, "I’m not sure, mother didn’t elaborate. She said she just went to check and then returned the next day."
Chen Cheng tapped the table, "Doesn’t this seem too coincidental?"
"What’s too coincidental?"
"The day your father had alcohol poisoning, just happens to be the day your stepmother went back to her hotown."
Chen Cheng voiced his suspicion, recalling this money-hungry widow well.
"Because of an argunt, your father wasn’t happy, and suddenly drank too much?" Chen Cheng deliberately asked, "But that’s unlikely, isn’t it? Your father, such a big boss, would he drown his sorrows in alcohol over such a trivial matter?"
i Xiang furrowed her brows, she also did not understand why her father drank so much that night.
"And moreover, even if it was due to drunkenness and resulting in acute alcohol poisoning, it wouldn’t have..."
"How has your stepmother been recently?" Chen Cheng continued to ask. "After getting the house and money."
i Xiang responded, "The sa as before."
"The sa?"
i Xiang nodded, "She goes on trips with friends, bought lots of brand clothes and bags, and even signed up for flower arranging and painting classes."
Her voice grew quieter, "And, it seems she also got a boyfriend, but I haven’t t him, just heard."
Chen Cheng raised his eyebrows, "That fast?"
"Yep."
i Xiang lowered her head, continuing, "After you gave her the money last ti, I haven’t gone back. Currently, I’m living in an apartnt near the company."
Chen Cheng recalled various movies he had seen, "Then with her spending like this, the money from selling the shares last ti won’t last long."
"What do you an?" i Xiang didn’t understand.
"Check your stepmother’s account," Chen Cheng said. "Look at her spending habits."
i Xiang didn’t understand why Chen Cheng was doing this, but she nodded anyway.
She stood up, looked at her watch, "Then let’s go to the bank now, we should still make it in ti."
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