The Villain's Wife (WN)
chapter-263

Mu Lihua was livid.

She was angry and shaking as she and Mu Huang watch the video again. "How did she survive?" Mu Lihua asked. While she did not participate in any of the criminal activities that her father condoned, she was aware of the Mu Family's connections to the black market. She was also aware that the military in China had been constantly monitoring their activities for some time now.

"Zhuo Jingren is protecting her," Mu Huang answered. "It is very important to note that Zhuo Jingren's influence is far greater than mine. His banking clients are both government officials and people from the black market."

"The investors have been calling me. At any time today or tomorrow, the cops will knock on our door and will probably start an investigation as a lot of people have already seen the video," he added, his face solemn.

This instantly made Mu Lihua fall into a deep silence as she thought about her next move. She needed to tread carefully and be mindful from now on. She was sure that Lily had something more in store for her, however, He Xinlan was already making her way to Mu Lihua's house. This mother and daughter pair would meet soon, and when they did, Mu Lihua would bring her mother to see Lily.

In Mu Lihua's thinking, only Zhuo Jingren and Lily were capable of stopping this downward spiral that she was in.

After talking to her father, Mu Lihua chose to go back to her house and wait for her mother's arrival. According to He Xinlan it would take her a day to arrive because she was using the safest way to enter the city so her presence would not be detected.

Of course, Mu Lihua was unaware that He Xinlan had been taken captive by Bei Tian the moment she stepped inside the city.

…

Meanwhile, Lily was not exactly ecstatic when she heard the news about He Xinlan. She should have at least felt relieved knowing that last night, Bei Tian had captured He Xinlan.

Yesterday, when Mu Qingling's video started trending, Lily expected He Xinlan to arrive at any moment, and as usual she was right. However, she didn't have the time to celebrate this feat right now.

Lily's brows were furrowed as she continued to listen to Yang Mi's report. She massaged her temples and looked at the various files in front of her. "So, we have twenty wounded people, and two are fighting for their lives," she repeated.

In response, Mr. Rossi and Mr. Han, who was standing next to Yang Mi, nodded at the same time.

"The accident this time… was truly unexpected. This will delay the opening of the new Harmony Isle for another month," Mr. Rossi reported. Though he was away for a few months, he was still aware of the new vestures that Lily made over the past few weeks.

"Talk to the families. We will shoulder the hospital expenses. Pay all the employees to keep their mouths shut. This accident has already reached the ears of the media. I don't want them to say that the mall has attracted bad luck," Lily said. This part of the world was extremely superstitious. If an accident happened in a building, some people would immediately conclude that space had attracted some sort of bad spirit and would advise purification of the space by a Daoist Priest. Lily's words only earned some nods before silence followed.

Because Lily wanted to get things done faster, the construction of Harmony Isle was on a twenty-four hours work cycle. Everything had been going well for the past few weeks. In fact, their progress was extremely fast. However, last night an equipment failure caused problems and this eventually led to a workplace accident. Many men were wounded and this would surely delay the progress of the opening.

"I want you to investigate this accident. An instrument malfunction is quite normal, but all of our instruments here are new. A malfunction like this is… too impossible to believe," she added.

"I've already asked someone to investigate the malfunction," Mr. Han answered as he pursed his lips. His face was stern while he waited for Lily's answer.

"Reporters will be itching to interview you two," Lily answered. "You should already have your statements prepared." This was not the first time that their construction company had encountered something like this, so Lily was confident that both men would be capable enough to handle this on their own.

"Absolutely," Mr. Rossi nodded. "However, I have reason to believe that we are deliberately being targeted this time." He then handed the folder that he was holding to Lily. "CCTV footage of people observing us from afar," he said as Lily started to examine the photos inside the folder.

"You think that someone wants to delay the opening of Harmony Isle?" She raised an eyebrow in contemplation.

"It's possible," Mr. Rossi answered. "Of course, I don't have any proof right now. I only have these CCTV images. Aside from that… we still need to wait for the result of the investigation."

"Let me take care of it," Lily answered. "Take care of our worker's welfare. I don't want people creating rumors about us as a company," she said. As a company that did not have a solid footing in the Far East, it was normal for Lily to care about a country's customs and beliefs. Though Hong Kong was influenced by western culture as they were colonized by a country in the West, there are still some citizens who hail from Mainland China where the culture is very different from that of the west.

"If this was indeed planned then I would not be surprised if they planted a spy in our company," she said while leaning back in her chair. "A lawsuit and losing a chunk of cash are the only two possible outcomes of this accident."

"What do you have in mind?" Mr. Rossi was used to asking Lily about her plans. After all, he had witnessed her display her shrewd business acumen many times now. He was confident that Lily would be able to handle a simple lawsuit and underhanded schemes like this.

"I don't have a plan," Lily answered. She lacked facts, and without proper information she was unwilling to risk anything. "I am not going to fight a war without bullets," she said. "Investigate. I want it done today."

The two men nodded as they watched Lily rise from her seat. "Now… let's go talk to the investors," she smiled as she straightened her blue pantsuit. "Someone dared to scheme behind my back, gentlemen. Maybe I should show my claws every now and then to remind people who they should be afraid of."

Yang Mi and the two men just nodded their heads as they heaved a sigh of relief. Seeing Lily smile meant that she already had an idea of who was behind this. However, she was still cautious and wouldn't easily jump to conclusions. Lily wanted to make sure that she was right before making plans, before making people pay.

The three looked at each other before a small smile escaped their lips, then they followed Lily out of the office and towards the board room. Their heads were held high and their backs were straight as they walked behind Lily. This should not be the right time to feel proud but these three could not help themselves.

Situations like this always made them think that working with Lily was a very great opportunity that anyone in the business industry would be lucky to have. This was a reminder of how fortunate they were to work alongside a woman like her.