roccoschili Chapter 587 The Crisis of Trust Begins
Chapter 587 The Crisis of Trust Begins
On a night of torrential rain, Lin Chuyue sat alone in her office. The conference room still carried the scents of the morning's hearing: tension, hostility, and betrayal.
That blurry recording was like a nail driven into her mind, echoing over and over again:
"President Lin said that as long as these minority shareholders are given a little incentive, none of them will dare to vote against it."
She never said that.
In such situations, the veracity of evidence often depends on who controls public opinion.
The phone suddenly rang; it was Luo Zhen.
"Is it convenient to chat?"
Lin Chuyue hesitated for a second, then answered the call.
"Come to my office." Her tone was calm, but her knuckles were already white as she gripped the phone.
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I. Undercurrents: Cracks in Trust
Ten minutes later, Luo Zhen stepped into the office, still damp from the sweat, but his expression was more composed than usual.
"I've had someone investigate the recording, and the preliminary assessment is that it was spliced together," he said.
Lin Chuyue stared at him for a few seconds, her voice low and husky but calm: "But you know, that's not the point."
“The key point is,” she slowly stood up, “why that particular passage? Why was it brought up at this particular juncture? And it was because our internal system was hacked.”
Luo Zhen's face darkened: "You doubt me?"
“I suspect everyone,” Lin Chuyue said calmly, “including you. You are the head of the fund department, with the authority to access the entire process of the Vision merger, and also the authority to access shareholder contact information… Moreover, you and Cheng Yi used to be colleagues.”
The phrase "we used to be colleagues" was like a pebble thrown into the water, shattering the fragile balance between the two.
Luo Zhen remained silent for a long time, then said in a slightly cold tone, "I admit that I had some dealings with Cheng Yi in the past few years. But I have never betrayed you."
Lin Chuyue did not respond immediately, but stared at him, her eyes gradually showing signs of fatigue: "We all said we would fight this battle to the end, but on this road, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish friend from foe."
"If you have no questions, please cooperate with me to check the records of the data you retrieved over the past month."
The air froze. A few seconds later, Luo Zhen abruptly turned his head, smiled, but the smile was cold:
"Fine. Investigate if you want, but remember, you're not a god. You can't even see who's sitting next to you, so why do you believe you can win this battle?"
After saying that, he slammed the door and left.
Lin Chuyue stood there, staring blankly in the direction he had disappeared. Thunder rumbled outside the window, as if an approaching storm was brewing.
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II. Gu Yanchuan's Investigation: Suspicious Acquaintances
On the other side, Gu Yanchuan sat in his car with a pile of printed surveillance screenshots and bank statements spread out in front of him.
He meticulously matched the timeline of the "recorded revelation" with the "anonymous funds flowing into Linyun Capital," and finally, a familiar name came to mind—
Li Tong.
Li Tong is a mid-level manager in Lin's IT department and also Gu Yanchuan's junior from university. She briefly participated in his entrepreneurial project while he was studying in the UK, and they have a good relationship.
Three days ago, Li Tong took leave unexpectedly, supposedly because her mother had suddenly fallen ill. However, the surveillance footage that Gu Yanchuan just received showed that she appeared in the underground parking garage of the building where Cheng Yi Capital's headquarters is located.
"Contact her," he whispered to his secretary. "Tell her that there's a technical vulnerability in the Lin Group's system and she needs to return to her post immediately to fix it."
As he made the call, his gaze was fixed on the documents in his hand like a falcon's.
He had always assumed that the enemy would only attack from the front, but he never expected that someone he had once trusted would stab him in the back.
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III. Lin Yun's Layout: Offense as Defense
Meanwhile, Lin Yun was having a private conversation with Cheng Yi and Zhou Jiming in another conference room.
“While that recording is barely substantial enough, it’s not enough to completely destroy her credibility.” Cheng Yi frowned. “The China Securities Regulatory Commission isn’t stupid; they will eventually pull up the underlying audio track for verification.”
Lin Yun sneered: "So we need to continue our advance before they lose their composure."
She spread a document on the table: "These are the contact details for the second batch of private equity shareholders of the Lin family. We will hold a 'Trust Crisis Response Briefing' tomorrow, allowing them to ask questions on the spot and question Lin Chuyue's leadership."
“What we’re going to create isn’t scandal, but—” she paused, her red lips curving slightly upward, “—chaos.”
"Gu Yanchuan?" Zhou Jiming asked.
"Him?" Lin Yun's eyes turned cold. "Let him investigate. The deeper he investigates, the more he'll discover that the 'recording' is just the first layer. Cheng Yi, didn't you say they got the wrong valuation data for Vision?"
Cheng Yi's eyes flashed: "You mean, release the wrong data?"
Lin Yun nodded: "Let them slap themselves in the face and completely collapse."
She spoke softly, like a cat playing with a mouse, yet every word carried a hidden knife.
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IV. The Cracks Deepen: The Conflict Between Gu Yanchuan and Lin Chuyue
The next morning, Gu Yanchuan, travel-worn, retrieved a report from the technical department and headed straight for Lin Chuyue's office.
“I found out. There’s a mole in the IT department, Li Tong. She’s admitted that Cheng Yi contacted her privately and gave her money to grant her system access,” he said. “She’s currently out of town, and I can immediately send her to the police station for investigation.”
Lin Chuyue took the document and silently flipped through it, only to find Luo Zhen's signature on the last page.
"This change of authority was signed by Luo Zhen."
The air froze instantly.
"Are you sure?" she asked, her voice tense.
“I’ve already had my secretary retrieve another copy of the system log, but the time and content both point to him,” Gu Yanchuan said in a low voice. “He might really be the mole.”
Lin Chuyue's eyes glazed over for a moment, but she quickly recovered: "Impossible. He wouldn't be that stupid, unless he deliberately set a trap for us."
Gu Yanchuan grabbed the documents on the table: "You can't trust him anymore! Lin Chuyue, trust isn't a luxury just for you!"
Lin Chuyue stood up: "Then I can't turn against my closest ally just because of a superficial clue. You said we would fight side by side, so shouldn't you give me some trust?"
The atmosphere between the two suddenly froze.
At this moment, they were not comrades-in-arms, but rivals who suspected each other.
After a long pause, Gu Yanchuan put down the documents in his hand and said in a low voice, "It's not that you don't trust me, it's that you don't trust anyone. You're too afraid of losing."
Lin Chuyue closed her eyes: "No, I'm afraid we won't be able to win."
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V. The Eve of the Storm: Clash of Old and New Forces
That afternoon, Lin Yun held an emergency shareholders' meeting, where a large number of private equity investors were invited to attend, and the media were also invited to participate.
"Lin Chuyue neglected her duties and manipulated votes internally," "High-level authority was frequently altered," "Financial data was patched and falsified"... Unverified accusations were prepared in advance and presented in a PowerPoint presentation, which was played on a loop at the event.
Lin Chuyue stood at the entrance of the venue, coldly gazing at everything that had been meticulously arranged, as if it were a public trial that was about to tear her apart.
She took a deep breath, stepped inside, with Gu Yanchuan behind her.
Just as she was about to step onto the stage, her phone vibrated.
It was a message from Shen Yan:
"Are you ready? I found that 'ten-year-old document' you wanted. It will leave Lin Yun with no chance of recovery. But do you really want to use it? It was signed by Lin Zhengguo back then."
Lin Chuyue stopped and looked towards the center of the venue.
A secret from ten years ago is about to be revealed.
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Preview:
A "fake merger agreement" from ten years ago has come to light, implicating Lin Zhengguo and Shen Fang.
Luo Zhen was taken away for investigation, and Lin Chuyue faced a crisis of trust.
Gu Yanchuan unexpectedly encounters a "car accident warning," and the enemy escalates their actions.
Lin Yun joins forces with a new financial tycoon to break the deadlock, making the situation even more dangerous;
Lin Chuyue faces the biggest decision of her life: protect her father's reputation or save the company?