Chapter 637: Sinful Debt

The next day, the investigation made new progress. The community surveillance footage showed that a few days before the incident, Factory Director Wei had visited Chang Le Geng twice, both times when Qing Geng was not at home.

In Director Wei’s bank account, there was a recent expenditure of 400,000 yuan. The police suspected that the deceased was blackmailing Director Wei, which would give him a motive for murder. They decided to summon him for questioning.

In the interrogation room, Director Wei remained calm. Chen Shi picked up a printed document and said, “We found this complaint letter in Chang Le Geng’s email. It mentions you, indicating that your relationship was not as close as people thought.”

“Who was the letter sent to?”

“To the higher-ups in the company.”

Director Wei breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. You wouldn’t use this to start an investigation, would you? These are baseless accusations. Everyone can see how I treated Old Geng. He was the one who was ungrateful.”

“What exactly was your relationship?”

“Just as I said the other day, we were good friends when we were young.”

“It wasn’t that simple, was it?”

Director Wei bit his lip and after a long time said, “I owe him.”

“What do you owe him?”

“Old Geng spent ten years in prison. You should know that it wasn’t supposed to be him; it was me. We were both drunk and went for a drive. We accidentally killed someone. I was terrified. Yes, I was the one driving. Before the police arrived, Old Geng said he would take the blame. He said I was about to be promoted and had just gotten married, with a bright future ahead. He had nothing to lose and asked me to take care of him after he got out. He confessed and went to prison. When I visited him, he joked that he regretted it a bit. I promised to take care of him for life once he was released…and I did. I gave him a cushy job that everyone envied, turned a blind eye to his antics at the factory, and even lent him money for his daughter’s education, which he never repaid. I can say I’ve paid my debt.”

As expected, their past was not just a simple friendship. Chen Shi asked, “So how did things go sour?”

“Maybe he felt it was unfair. He developed some health issues in prison. One time, while eating, he mentioned meeting someone from prison who, after being released, lived a glamorous life, driving a luxury car, living in a villa, and marrying a wife twenty years younger. Although he said it under the influence of alcohol, I understood what he meant. He felt I hadn’t given him enough and wanted more money. I realized that with a person like Geng Chang Le, no matter how much you give, you’ll never pay off your debt. Eventually, he blatantly started asking for money. I gave him some, but he kept asking for more. I’m not a saint. I got angry and told him to name his price and stop bothering me. The amount he asked for was too much, so he threatened to expose me. What kind of person is this? Without my help, he wouldn’t have had a job or a place to live after getting out. Even if I had gone to prison back then, what future would he have had? He would have ended up dead in some fight.”

“So, did you hire a hitman to silence him?” Chen Shi asked tentatively.

“No, no!” Director Wei said nervously. “I’m a law-abiding citizen. How could I do such a thing?”

“Then how do you explain the recent expenditure of 400,000 yuan? We checked, and the recipient is your brother-in-law. He has no stable job and has been in and out of jail for fighting. Why did you give him the money?”

“That’s a personal matter and has nothing to do with this case!”

Director Wei refused to explain further. Chen Shi changed the subject. “I’m curious, with such a strained relationship, why did you still arrange for Geng Chang Le’s daughter to meet your son?”

“Because my son used to like his daughter.”

“That’s not a reason. His daughter now has a boyfriend, and they’re very close. Why would he want to break them up? Is your son that outstanding that he doesn’t care about being in-laws with you?”

Director Wei took out his phone and showed Chen Shi a picture of his son, who also worked at the factory. Objectively speaking, he was not as good as Wang Mengqi in any aspect.

“I don’t know what he was thinking. Maybe he wanted to mend our relationship,” Director Wei said.

“Did he love his daughter a lot?”

“Old Geng was a scoundrel, but he was always good to his daughter. He never hit or scolded her and bought her whatever she wanted. One night, he even came to borrow money for her twentieth birthday because he had spent his salary on drinking… I heard he was planning to send her abroad for further studies.”

“When was this?”

“Recently.”

“But Qing Geng is already working, isn’t she?”

“She always wanted to study abroad. When she got an exchange student spot, Old Geng fell ill, so she gave up the opportunity to take care of him.”

“That requires a lot of money, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t know…”

Director Wei was temporarily detained, which he protested, saying he would get a lawyer. The police told him it was legal and would only last for 24 hours.

During this time, the police brought in his brother-in-law for questioning. At first, he claimed the 400,000 yuan was a loan from Director Wei to buy a house. But he wasn’t tough and quickly confessed when faced with the police.

The truth was shocking!

In the afternoon, Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue conducted a second interrogation of Director Wei. Chen Shi got straight to the point: “You might as well explain the 400,000 yuan. The person who sat in that chair before you has already confessed.”

“Who? Hua Chao? (the brother-in-law’s name)”

“Will you speak, or should we verify it ourselves? It won’t look good for you if we do.”

Director Wei started sweating and trembling. He asked, “How did Old Geng die?”

“We’re the ones asking questions.”

Director Wei clutched his pants, his expression complex. Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue waited silently. After five minutes, he looked up and asked, “How many years for hiring a hitman?”

“The same as for murder.”

“No, no, this wasn’t hiring a hitman. Hua Chao said he would handle it for me. I just gave him some money. These are two separate things and can’t be counted as one!”

“When someone agrees to kill for you and you give them money, it’s considered hiring a hitman.”

Director Wei was on the verge of a breakdown, crying, “I was drunk that day. Hua Chao heard me say someone was blackmailing me and said he would take care of it. I told him to be careful and not get caught. He said the police would never find out. Who knew you’d figure it out so quickly? It’s true, heaven is watching!”