Double evil in the business district

Xiao Yue hesitated for a moment, but still got in the car.

Inside the car, Accountant Chen sat upright, a subtle nervousness on his face. "Ms. Xiao, why are you out here alone so late?" he asked, feigning concern.

Xiao Yue didn't answer, but tightly grasped the document bag in her hand, which contained the evidence she had collected with great difficulty. Her intuition told her that Accountant Chen's appearance here was no accident.

The car sped along and finally stopped in front of the Xiao Enterprise building. Xiao Yue's heart sank, and an ominous premonition came over him. "Accountant Chen, why did you bring me here?"

Accountant Chen smiled, with a hint of threat in his tone: "Ms. Xiao, there are some things you shouldn't know. It's better not to meddle in other people's business."

Xiao Yue suddenly realized that Accountant Chen had brought her here on purpose. She quickly opened the car door and ran away, knowing that Accountant Chen was warning her.

The next morning, Xiao Yue mustered up her courage again and went to Shen Ting's office.

"Mr. Shen, I have some new discoveries. Please believe me!" Xiao Yue said anxiously, handing the file bag in his hand to Shen Ting.

Shen Ting took the document bag and flipped through it casually. The document detailed various irregular operations at the construction site and abnormal fluctuations in material procurement prices.

"These are the results of my personal investigation. I believe there must be something wrong!" Xiao Yue added.

After reading the documents, Shen Ting didn't show much surprise on his face. He just said calmly, "Ms. Xiao, these evidences don't prove anything. It's normal to have some minor problems during the construction process. Fluctuations in material prices may also be caused by market factors."

Xiao Yue's heart sank. She hadn't expected Shen Ting to react like this. "Mr. Shen, these aren't minor issues. There could be a massive conspiracy hidden behind this! Please take this seriously!"

Shen Ting raised his head, a hint of impatience flashing in his eyes. "Ms. Xiao, I hope you won't be so unreasonable anymore. I have a lot of things to deal with and don't have time to play this kind of game with you."

Xiao Yue wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Shen Ting. "Okay, you can go now."

Xiao Yue left Shen Ting's office disheartened. She didn't know what else she could do, but she knew she couldn't give up. She had to find out the truth and bring justice to Xiao Enterprises.

After leaving the Shen's building, Xiao Yue walked on the street in a daze. At this moment, a black car slowly stopped beside her.

The car window rolled down, revealing Director Ma's hypocritical smile. "Ms. Xiao," he said, "There are some things you know too much about..."

Xiao Yue wandered the streets in a daze, the hustle and bustle of traffic seeming to cut her off. She felt like a lone boat drifting in the vast ocean, unable to find its way. Director Ma's words echoed in her ears, like a thorn piercing her heart, sending a chill through her.

On the other side, in Shen Ting’s office, Director Ma sat upright with a respectful expression.

"Mr. Shen, regarding the documents that Miss Xiao brought today..." He paused, a hint of embarrassment in his tone, "I'm afraid there is some misunderstanding."

Shen Ting leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping the tabletop rhythmically. "Oh? Misunderstanding? Tell me more."

Director Ma took a deep breath and spoke slowly, "Ms. Xiao is young and inexperienced, so her understanding of some things may be distorted. The situation at the construction site is actually due to the recent frequent weather changes, which has caused delays in the construction schedule, not improper operation. As for the fluctuations in material prices, they are also due to changes in market conditions. We have done our best to control costs."

Shen Ting narrowed his eyes slightly and examined Director Ma's expression, as if judging the truthfulness of his words.

"Really? I hope so." His tone didn't convey any emotion.

"Of course, Mr. Shen, I guarantee it with my personality." Director Ma promised solemnly.

Shen Ting nodded, without saying anything else, and simply waved his hand, signaling Director Ma to leave. Director Ma stood up with a sense of relief and respectfully left the office.

After the office door closed, Shen Ting's face showed a complicated expression. He picked up the documents Xiao Yue had brought and carefully looked through them again. Although Director Ma's explanation seemed reasonable, a trace of doubt still lingered in his heart.

However, his years of business experience taught him that trust is a luxury in this world of intrigue and deception. He chose to trust Director Ma not only because of his explanation, but also because he was his long-time partner and one of the people he trusted most.

Xiao Yue didn't know about the conversation between Shen Ting and Director Ma. At the moment, she was busy dealing with the crisis facing Xiao's enterprise.

She discovered that some partners who had previously worked closely with Xiao had begun to doubt the company and even considered ending their cooperation. She knew that someone was spreading rumors that were detrimental to Xiao's company, deliberately creating panic and hoping to take advantage of the situation.

She contacted several close partners, trying to explain the situation and salvage the situation. However, their attitude left her heartbroken. The enthusiasm and trust she once had were now gone, replaced by indifference and suspicion.

"Ms. Xiao, we understand your difficulties, but there are too many rumors about the Xiao family in the market now, so we have to consider it carefully." A partner said in a cold tone.

"These are all rumors. Our Xiao company has always operated with integrity and will never do anything illegal!" Xiao Yue explained anxiously.

"Words are not enough, Ms. Xiao, we need to see actual evidence," said another partner.

Xiao Yue knew that nothing she said now would be of any use. Only by producing solid evidence could she prove Xiao's innocence and regain the trust of her partners. She decided to get to the bottom of the matter and uncover the mastermind behind the incident, no matter what.

As night fell, Xiao Yue sat alone in her office, staring at the flashing neon lights outside the window. She felt powerless. She felt like she was trapped in a giant spider web, unable to move. She wanted to investigate who was spreading rumors that were detrimental to the Xiao family, but she discovered her every move was being monitored.

Suddenly, the office door was gently pushed open, and a dark figure walked in silently...

"Ms. Xiao, it's so late, are you still working overtime?" A cold voice sounded in the room.

Xiao Yue turned around suddenly and saw Accountant Chen standing at the door with a hypocritical smile on his face.

"Accountant Chen, why are you still here so late?" Xiao Yue asked calmly, but alarm bells were ringing in his heart.

Accountant Chen approached slowly, his eyes flickering.

"I... I just came to see you. Miss Xiao works so hard, it's really admirable." As he spoke, his eyes swept over the documents on Xiao Yue's desk intentionally or unintentionally.

Xiao Yue calmly closed the file and said, "Thank you for your concern, Accountant Chen. I still have some work to do. You should go back and rest first."

Accountant Chen smiled and said, "Okay, Miss Xiao, you should also go to bed early." After that, he turned and left the office.

Xiao Yue looked at his back, feeling uneasy. Accountant Chen's unusual behavior made her even more convinced that something must be wrong within the Xiao Group.

She took a deep breath and decided to start looking for clues in the company's internal documents. She went to the company's archives, but found the door locked. She found the security guard, Uncle Wu, and asked him to open the archives.

"Uncle Wu, I need to look up some information. Could you please open the door?"

Wu Baoan looked embarrassed. "Ms. Xiao, it's very late now. The archives room is usually closed at night."

Xiao Yue explained: "I know, but I'm really in a hurry. This information is very important to the company."

Wu Baoan hesitated for a moment, but finally shook his head. "No, Miss Xiao, this is the company's policy. I can't do anything about it."

Xiao Yue was anxious, yet helpless. She knew Wu Baoan was a man of integrity and duty, and wouldn't deliberately try to embarrass her. The only explanation was that someone was behind this.

She returned to the office and decided to sort out the existing information. As she looked through the documents in her hand, she suddenly found that the content of one of the contracts was different from her previous memory.

She carefully compared and found that several key data in the contract had been tampered with. If these data were discovered, Xiao Enterprise would bear huge compensation liability.

Cold sweat trickled down Xiao Yue's forehead as she realized she had fallen into a massive conspiracy. Someone had deliberately tampered with the contract to frame Xiao, and this person was likely inside the company.

She thought of Shen Ting's indifferent attitude towards her before, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of despair. She had originally thought that Shen Ting could help her, but she didn't expect that he would choose to believe Director Ma and ignore her.

Just then, the phone on her desk suddenly rang.

Xiao Yue picked up the phone and a strange voice came: "Ms. Xiao, I know you are investigating the Xiao family. I advise you to give up. You can't beat them."

Xiao Yue held the phone tightly, suppressing the fear in her heart. "Who are you? What do you want to do?"

The other party sneered and said, "It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that I know all your secrets. If you continue to investigate, you will regret it." After that, the other party hung up the phone.

Xiao Yue sat in a chair, trembling all over. She knew that her every move was being monitored and she was in a desperate situation. But she did not give up. She knew she could not fall. She had to continue fighting for the Xiao family and her family.

She looked through the tampered contract again, and suddenly, a subtle trace caught her attention...a blurry fingerprint next to the tampered number.

Xiao Yue stood up suddenly. She knew that this might be her last hope...

She picked up the phone and dialed a number...

"Hello, is this Officer Li? I have a new discovery..."

At two o'clock in the morning, the Xiao Building was still brightly lit. Xiao Yue rubbed his sore eyes and leaned back in his chair tiredly.

With only two days left until the deadline, she felt like a trapped animal, struggling desperately in a cage of despair. Police intervention hadn't brought any substantial progress, and the fingerprint comparison results were still pending.

She picked up the tampered contract again, her fingertips gently rubbing the blurred fingerprint. This was her last hope, her only clue. She had to find the real culprit who tampered with the contract to clear Xiao's suspicion.

Xiao Yue took a deep breath and decided to start with the tampered file, trying to find a way to restore the original contents. Perhaps there was a digital backup of the previous version.

She turned on her computer and began searching through all the files on the company's server. She searched through every folder and document. Time ticked by, and the light from the computer screen shone on her tired face, making it appear particularly pale.

She searched Accountant Chen's computer but found nothing. She even sneaked into Director Ma's office to try to find some clues, but only found some insignificant documents.

She even searched the company's internal network backups, but still found no clues. Despair washed over Xiao Yue like a tide, and she felt like she was suffocating. Was there really no backup? Had all her efforts been in vain?

She was unwilling to give up. She couldn't give up. Xiao was her father's life's work, and she couldn't bear to see it destroyed.

She remembered that an old employee of the company once mentioned that some important documents in the company's early days would be backed up to an external hard drive and stored in the company's safe.

At this thought, Xiao Yue felt a glimmer of hope. She immediately stood up and walked towards the finance office. The safe in the finance office required two keys to open, one in the hands of Accountant Chen and the other in the hands of the company's chairman, her father.

Now that her father was in the hospital, she had the key. Xiao Yue trembled as she inserted the key into the lock, twisted it gently, and the door of the safe opened.

The safe contained some cash and important documents. Xiao Yue searched carefully, hoping to find the external hard drive.

Time passed minute by minute, and she had searched almost everything in the safe, but still couldn't find the hard drive.

Just as she was about to give up, her fingers touched a cold metal object. She carefully pulled it out, and in the dim light, she saw what was in her hand - an old, almost forgotten external hard drive.

Xiao Yue was filled with joy. This might be her last hope! She clutched the hard drive tightly, ran back to the office, and connected it to her computer.

The files in the hard drive were displayed on the computer screen. Xiao Yue browsed through them quickly, looking for the crucial contract.

Suddenly, a familiar file name caught her eye. Trembling, she clicked on it and the contents of the file slowly appeared on the screen...

"Wait!" A voice suddenly rang out. Xiao Yue turned around and saw Accountant Chen standing at the door with a cold smile on his face. "What are you doing?"