He looked at the eight gilded characters, a hint of cold sarcasm playing on his lips. Loyalty? Integrity? In Chao Zhenshan's vocabulary, there was only power and calculation.
"Grandpa, I'm here." Chao Youye's voice echoed in the empty hall, stirring up the dust on the beams.
The sound of shattering porcelain could be heard from the second floor, followed by Chao Zhenshan's old, trembling roar: "Chao Youye! You rebellious son! You actually colluded with outsiders to deal with me!"
Chao Youye walked up the stairs, each step making a dull sound.
The door of the study on the third floor was open. Chao Zhenshan stood in front of the window with his back to the door, tightly clutching the broken jade ring in his hand.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the window, stretching his figure very long but making him look particularly thin.
"Colluding with outsiders?" Chao Youye stood at the door of the study, her voice calm and unperturbed. "Compared to Grandpa colluding with Ye Chenghai and using explosives against his own grandson, what's my fault?"
She turned around abruptly towards Zhenshan, her face filled with shock and resentment: "You...you know everything?"
"I know much more than you think." Chao Youye walked into the study and swept his eyes over the shelves full of ancient books.
"You think you can bribe the 'Rock' demolition team and get away with it? You think sinking the 'Star' will make Mu Xinrong and I disappear forever?"
His voice suddenly rose, filled with long-suppressed anger, "You're wrong, Grandpa! You were wrong from the beginning!"
Chao Zhenshan took a step back and slammed his head against the desk, his face pale. "I'm doing this for the Chao family! For the future of the Chao family! You've been bewitched by that man, and sooner or later you'll destroy the Chao family!"
"It's you who destroyed the Chao family!" Chao Youye took a step forward, cold flames burning in his eyes.
"It was you who betrayed your family and colluded with foreign enemies for the sake of power! It was you who, in your desire to eliminate dissidents, even spared no one but your own grandson!"
At this moment, Gu Yuxiao's voice came from the communication headset: "Boss Chao, the Black Sea has been cleared and the perimeter is secure."
Ye Qingliu's voice followed immediately: "Ye Linyuan has confessed, and all the evidence chains are complete."
Chao Youye looked at the old man in front of her. There was no hatred in her heart, only complete disappointment and cold determination.
He took off his headphones and placed them on the desk: "Grandpa, your time is over."
Chao Zhenshan looked at him and suddenly let out a shrill laugh: "The end? No, this is just the beginning! The Chao family will not fall into your hands!"
He suddenly pulled out a dagger from his sleeve and stabbed Chao Youye!
Ling Yue immediately stepped forward to protect Chao Youye, but Chao Youye raised his hand to stop him.
He looked at Chao Zhenshan's trembling hand and did not dodge. The dagger stopped only a few centimeters away from his chest. Chao Zhenshan's hand trembled violently and finally fell down weakly.
"Take him away." Chao Youye turned around and stopped looking at him. "According to the previous agreement, send him to the Antarctic research station and let him reflect on his actions there."
Ling Yue signaled the secret guards behind him to carry Chao Zhenshan out of the study.
Chao Youye walked to the window and watched the sunset sink completely into the horizon. Night began to fall over the West Mountain Villa. In the distance, the roar of a departing helicopter could be heard. It was Gu Yuxiao and Ye Qingliu's team closing in their net.
He took out his cell phone and called Mu Xinrong. The call was quickly picked up, and his lover's worried voice came: "Youye, what's wrong?"
"It's okay, Mu Xinrong." Chao Youye's voice instantly became gentle, "It's all over."
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment, and then a sigh of relief came: "That's great... I'll wait for you to come back to the hospital."
"Okay, I'll be there soon." Chao Youye hung up the phone and looked at the darkening night outside the window, feeling calm in his heart.
Gu Yuxiao's wheelchair was parked on the rooftop of the Gu family's old house. He watched the ships of the "Black Sea" fleet sailing on the sea level in the distance, and the signal lights drew green tracks in the night sky.
He took out his phone and sent a message to Chao Youye and Ye Qingliu: "The dust has settled."
I quickly received replies from two people, one was a simple "Yeah" and the other was "Thank you for your hard work."
Ye Qingliu stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor of Ye's headquarters, watching the lights of thousands of homes in the city light up one after another. The pain in his chest was still clear, but no longer so unbearable.
Hua Jinyue brought him warm bird's nest, and he shook his head: "I want to be alone for a while."
His sister quietly retreated, leaving him alone in the empty office.
Chao Youye sat in the helicopter, looking at the Xishan Villa which was gradually shrinking below. There was no joy of victory in his heart, only a heavy sense of relief.
Ling Yue handed over a document: "Mr. Chao, the power transfer document of Chao Group has been signed, and the new management list has been sorted out."
Chao Youye took the document but didn't look at it. He just looked at the deep night sky outside the window.
He knew that this was not the end, but a new beginning.
In the communication room on the third underground floor, Gu Yuxiao looked at the online status of the tripartite alliance displayed on the screen and smiled genuinely for the first time.
There was no cold calculation in that smile, only relief after going through blood and fire.
In the hospital ward, Sun Guixiang looked at Ye Qingliu's bed, then looked at Chao Youye's ward next door, her cloudy eyes full of worry.
She didn't know what was happening outside, she just hoped that the child and the always cold young master of the Chao family were safe.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
