contract shackles：the hidden weakness of the cold -faced president

"Once the forgery is confirmed... I want you to nail this forged 'evidence', along with Blackstone's dirty claws, on tomorrow's headlines!"

Gu Heng's murderous order was still echoing in her ears, and Lin Wei's heart was beating violently as if it had been injected with a cardiac stimulant. The command center instantly turned into the most sophisticated battlefield!

"Li Zhe! Tracking results!"

"Report to Director Lin! The IP path is locked! After three layers of springboards, the final exit points to a server cluster in Eastern Europe, and the registration information is an empty shell! But the traffic feature comparison... 73% of the similarity points to the channel commonly used by the 'Shadow Workshop'!" Li Zhe's voice was excited.

"Legal appraisal!"

"Preliminary appraisal completed!" The voice of the chief legal expert came through the hands-free, decisively, "Director Lin, your judgment is completely correct! The so-called 'excerpt of the interrogation record' has a significant difference in the age of the paper texture and ink oxidation degree from the original police file! The most important thing is that the tiny arc watermark, after high-power scanning and database comparison, was confirmed to be the third-generation antique forged mark used by 'Shadow Workshop' three years ago! This is a complete fake!"

"Okay!" Lin Wei's eyes flashed with cold light, "Li Zhe, immediately pack the forged appraisal report, 'Shadow Workshop' background information, and IP tracking path report! Public Relations Department, start the highest level 'Truth Storm' plan! Contact the three media that received the anonymous letter and tell them that Gu's heavy truth about 'GH-0721' will be released in half an hour! Let them prepare for the headlines!"

Her instructions were like a storm, precise and deadly. The whole team was like a machine with a wound spring, running at high speed.

Lin Wei picked up her phone and connected to Gu Heng's encrypted line again. Her voice was as calm as ice: "Confirmed to be forged. Counterattack materials are ready and will be released globally in half an hour."

There was a dead silence on the other end of the phone, with only Gu Heng's extremely suppressed and heavy breathing. A few seconds later, his hoarse voice came with a destructive force:

"Send."

***

Half an hour later.

Just before the media that received the anonymous letter was about to press the "Send" button, the official account of Gu's Group, all mainstream financial media, and even several authoritative social news platforms were simultaneously flooded with an explosive announcement!

The title was shocking:

**[Gu's Group's solemn statement and legal accountability announcement on malicious forgery of evidence of the "GH-0721" incident and illegal behavior of Blackstone Capital]**

The content of the announcement was even more shocking!

1. **Ironclad evidence against counterfeiting:** Clearly display the forged "excerpts from the interrogation transcript" image, with a forged appraisal report from an authoritative organization next to it, clearly pointing out the forged watermark and technical flaws of "Shadow Workshop", and attaching an evidence chain pointing to the IP tracking path pointing to the Blackstone-related server!

2. **Directly pointing to the black hand:** Unabashedly accuses Blackstone Capital of being the mastermind behind the forgery, with the purpose of maliciously shorting Gu's stock price, undermining market confidence, and defaming and mentally persecuting the group's senior executives!

3. **Law sword:** Announced that criminal charges and sky-high civil claims have been filed in multiple jurisdictions around the world to hold Blackstone Capital and related responsible persons accountable!

4. **Truth commitment:** At the end of the announcement, Gu Heng signed a statement in his personal name: "Regarding the complete truth of the GH-0721 incident, Gu's Group and I will restore it to the public in a responsible manner at an appropriate time. Any attempt to distort history and consume the deceased will pay the most painful price!"

As soon as the announcement came out, public opinion exploded instantly! It was like pouring a bucket of cold water into a boiling oil pan!

"A shocking reversal! Blackstone forged evidence!"

"Gu's thunderous counterattack! The forger has nowhere to hide!"

"The truth of GH-0721 remains a mystery, Gu Heng promises to make it public!"

The media that was originally preparing to publish the content of the anonymous letter was frightened and immediately withdrew the article, and turned to frantically reporting Gu's counterattack announcement! The funds that shorted Gu's stocks instantly appeared in a stampede-like liquidation! The stock price soared like a rocket. In just ten minutes, it not only recovered all the lost ground, but also soared by more than 8%!

A carefully planned nuclear explosion of public opinion was reversed and counter-killed by Lin Wei with a more violent and precise "truth storm"! Blackstone not only failed to tear Lin Wei and Gu Heng apart, but was nailed to the pillar of shame for forgery and crime, and its reputation suffered a heavy blow!

A deafening cheer broke out in the command room! Fang Wei hugged Lin Wei excitedly, and Li Zhe also breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes full of absolute admiration for this "Mrs. Gu"!

Lin Wei stood in front of the huge screen, looking at the rising stock price curve that represented victory, but her face did not show much joy of victory, only a kind of exhaustion after the dust settled and... a deeper heaviness. She won this battle, but the real storm about GH-0721 has just begun. The "complete truth" promised by Gu Heng... what exactly is that?

Her phone vibrated again. It was an emergency call from the hospital!

"Ms. Lin! Your father, Mr. Lin Zhiyuan, has suddenly worsened! Cardiac arrest! Rescue is in progress! Please come immediately!"

Like a bolt from the blue! The blood on Lin Wei's face faded instantly! Father!

She didn't even have time to explain a word, grabbed her coat and mobile phone, rushed out of the command center like an arrow from a string, and rushed to the underground garage. Fear and worry instantly overwhelmed all her reason.

***

"Yunqi Waterfront", restricted area on the third floor.

Gu Heng stood alone in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, outside the window was the bright but cold lights of the city. On the screen in front of him, the grand event of Gu's stock price soaring and the media's overwhelming reversal reports were playing. Lin Wei's counterattack was flawless.

But there was no smile on Gu Heng's face. In his hand, he tightly grasped a copy of the **original complete file** of the GH-0721 accident that had just been sent by his confidant and obtained urgently. The forged transcript, like a key, completely opened the dusty door of hell. He could no longer escape.

With trembling hands, he opened the heavy file. On the yellowed pages, the cold words recorded the tragedy that changed everyone's fate.

**[Accident time: July 21, 200X, 14:37]**

**[Location: West City Panshan Road, Qingshui Bay Turn]**

**[Vehicle A involved (silver Mercedes-Benz S600, driver: Shen Jing, Gu Heng's mother)]**

**[Vehicle B involved (black Audi A6, driver: Lin Zhiyuan, Lin Wei's father)]**

**[On-site investigation: poor visibility on the curve, slippery road on rainy days. Vehicle A (Mercedes-Benz) was driving down the mountain normally. Vehicle B (Audi) was going up the mountain, and forced to cross the solid line at the curve to overtake the slow truck in front...]**

Gu Heng's eyes were fixed on the words "forced to cross the solid line to overtake"! His fingers almost crushed the paper! Sure enough! Sure enough, Lin Zhiyuan violated the rules!

However, his eyes continued to move down and saw the transcript of the key witness:

**[Witness (truck driver Wang Dali):** Audi (car B) did cross the line when overtaking me, and the speed was very fast. But just as he passed and hadn't completely returned to his lane, the silver Mercedes-Benz (Car A) on the opposite side suddenly accelerated and rushed over as if it had lost control! Yes, it accelerated! Not braked! It crashed directly into the front of the Audi! Too miserable...]

Acceleration? Lost control? !

Gu Heng's heart suddenly shrank! He quickly flipped to the subsequent technical appraisal report:

**[Vehicle A (Mercedes) Braking system: No fault. Accelerator pedal: 3 seconds before the accident, the throttle opening instantly soared from 30% to 100% and remained until the collision. ]**

**[Autopsy report of the driver of vehicle A (Mercedes-Benz) (Shen Jing): High concentrations of...benzodiazepine sedatives (diazepam) residues were detected in the body. Far exceeded the safe dose. ]**

Benzodiazepines? Sedatives? High concentrations? !

Gu Heng's mind was blank! Mother...did mother take an overdose of sedatives? That caused her to be confused at the bend, and she may even have hallucinations and mistakenly stepped on the accelerator? !

He trembled and turned to the final determination of the cause of the accident:

**[Comprehensive determination:** This accident was caused by the negligence of both parties. Lin Zhiyuan (driver of car B) violated traffic rules and forced overtaking, occupying the opposite lane, and was primarily responsible (70%). Shen Jing (driver of car A) was unconscious and made an operational error (wrongly stepped on the accelerator) due to taking drugs, and was secondarily responsible (30%). ]

"Bang!" The file in Gu Heng's hand fell heavily to the ground!

He staggered back, leaning against the cold glass, and his body slid down uncontrollably.

It was not Lin Zhiyuan's unilateral "murder"!

It was the negligence of both parties! Mother... Mother also took an overdose of drugs! This is the real reason why she "accelerated" and hit it! Why? Why did the mother take so many sedatives? Where was she going that day? What happened?

A more terrifying guess that he had deliberately ignored and buried deep in his heart for more than ten years emerged like a demon - it was his father! It was Gu Zhenshan (Gu's father)! His mother had been suffering from Gu Zhenshan's mental abuse and cold violence for a long time! She suffered from severe depression and anxiety! Those drugs... were probably "suggested" or even forced by Gu Zhenshan to take them! In order to make her "quiet" and "decent" in important business negotiations or family gatherings!

And Lin Zhiyuan... He was wrong to force overtaking, but he was just a poor man who appeared in the wrong place at the wrong time and was also involved in this tragedy of the rich family! He might even... be rushing to deal with the first major crisis that Lin's Textile encountered at that time? (Lin Wei mentioned before that Lin's was on the verge of bankruptcy in its early years)

"Ah-!!!" A roar that had been suppressed for more than ten years, like a dying beast, suddenly broke out from the depths of Gu Heng's throat! That was not anger, but the heart-wrenching pain and despair after his cognition was completely overturned and cruelly played by fate!

He was wrong! He was very wrong!

He projected all his hatred and pain onto Lin Zhiyuan and Lin Wei! He thought he was a righteous avenger! But it turned out that he himself was also living in the lies and manipulation carefully woven by his father! He hated the wrong person! He tortured the wrong person! He tied Lin Wei to his side with a cold contract and dragged her into the center of the vortex created by his father and Black Stone (probably related to Gu Zhenshan)! He was the perpetrator!

The huge guilt, regret and self-loathing completely drowned him like a tsunami! He curled up under the cold glass curtain wall, holding his head tightly with both hands, his broad shoulders trembling violently, and the hot tears rushed out like a flood that broke through the dam, falling on the expensive carpet, leaving dark marks. This man who never showed weakness and was always cold was completely defeated by the truth at this moment, crying like a lost child.

"I'm sorry... Mom... I'm sorry... Lin Wei... I'm sorry..." The broken, sobbing confession echoed desperately in the dead space.

***

The First Hospital of the City, outside the ICU emergency room.

The glaring red light was on. Lin Wei stood outside the door like a statue, her face pale, her fingers deeply pinched into her palms, praying for her father's safety.

Suddenly, her cell phone vibrated wildly. It was Gu Heng's number! But the caller... turned out to be Butler Zhou! His voice was filled with unprecedented panic:

"Mrs. Gu! It's not good! Mr. Gu... Mr. Gu locked himself on the third floor! There was a terrible sound inside... He was crying! Crying... like he was going to die! No matter how I knocked on the door, there was no response! Please come back soon! Come back and see him!"

Lin Wei's heart was instantly clenched by a cold giant hand! Her father was being rescued, and his life or death was uncertain! And Gu Heng... the man who had just experienced the tsunami of truth, was on the verge of collapse on the third floor!

Two huge, tearing forces tore her soul apart!

On one side was her father who was connected by blood and was in critical condition!

On one side was the man who had just been pulled back from the edge of the abyss by her, but was thrown into hell by a more cruel truth, and sent her a desperate call for help!

Under the cold light, the last trace of blood on Lin Wei's face faded. She slowly raised her head and looked at the red light in the emergency room that was like a judgment of fate. It seemed that she penetrated the space and saw the lonely figure curled up in the darkness and drowned in tears on the third floor of "Yunqi Waterfront".

Tears finally couldn't be suppressed and flowed down from her eyes, which were also full of bloodshot.