Su Yayan’s expression changed slightly. After a long silence, she asked, “Because of what?”
“A piece of land.”
“A piece of land?” Su Yayan frowned. “What land?”
“Yu’an Square, located in the south of the city. Ever heard of it?”
Su Yayan pondered for a moment and nodded. “I know. I went there with Xiaoqi before.”
“The square was contracted by the Huo Corporation to be converted. Ten years ago, it used to be a big open space.”
Su Yayan pursed her lips and probed, “What’s wrong with this land?”
“Since you’ve been there with your friend, you should know that the area is located in the central area south of the city. It’s a good location and has a lot of traffic. It’s a square now, but in fact, the original plot of land was intended to be used for office buildings.”
“Office buildings?” Su Yayan was slightly surprised. “Then why did it become a square?”
“Because of a carefully planned accident.”
“A carefully planned accident? Did Huo Qihan do it?”
“Yes.” Huo Chenhuan received his wife’s shocked and curious gaze. His eyes darkened as he explained, “Back then, Huo Qihan had just taken over the Huo Corporation and his foundation was unstable. He urgently needed to do something to solidify his leadership.”
“So, he targeted the acquisition of that piece of land?”
“Mmm. Unfortunately, he was too late. The land had already been taken by an investment company with the surname Xue.”
“Surnamed Xue…” Su Yayan looked at Huo Chenhuan inquiringly. “Could it be…”
“That’s right. This investor surnamed Xue is Xue Beilei’s father.”
Su Yayan’s eyes flickered and she instantly grasped the main point. “What did Huo Qihan do to obtain this land?”
“He bribed a couple of procurement workers at the construction site. He mixed in some defective materials from the raw materials used for the construction and cut corners.”
Su Yayan’s heart skipped a beat. It could be said that he was utterly heartless to do such a thing. If he was not careful, he might end up causing deaths!
“What happened next?”
“Not long after that, the site collapsed. Seven people were crushed under the rubble. Three were killed and four wounded.”
Su Yayan’s face darkened slightly. She gritted her teeth and said, “He really deserves to die!”
“Indeed, but he did much more than that.” Huo Chenhuan paused and a cold glint flashed across his eyes. “After the accident, Huo Qihan bribed some of the higher-ups in Xue Beilei’s father’s company who had long been dissatisfied with her father. He joined forces with the media to slander him and even got someone to instigate the families of those workers who were injured in the accident to cause trouble.”
“At that time, all the evidence pointed to Xue Beilei’s father. The public opinion was also very unfavorable to Xue Beilei’s father. The share price of Xue Beilei’s father’s company fell drastically, his partners withdrew their investments, and his capital chain broke. In the end, he had no choice but to file for bankruptcy and sell his family assets to repay his huge debt.”
At this point, Huo Chenhuan looked up at Su Yayan and told her the final outcome of Xue Beilei’s family in this vile and ferocious chess game that involved corporates.
“After the company closed down, Xue Beilei’s father died in a car accident due to fatigue from driving without rest for a few days. Xue Beilei’s mother fell ill after hearing this bad news and did not have the money to treat her illness. Not long after, she also died of illness, leaving Xue Beilei and her sister to rely on each other. Xue Beilei’s sister’s situation was a little special. She was autistic.”
“Autistic? Then she—”
“She jumped off a building.”
Su Yayan was shocked. “Jumped off a building?”
Huo Chenhuan looked at her deeply and replied in a deep voice, “Yes.”
