Fake Pregnancy? Oops, It’s Real — and So Is the Husband - Chapter 74

Seeing Pei Jingyan’s mysterious demeanor, Shen Lai was half-convinced and half-doubtful, but she still sent the private investigator’s phone number to him.

Although she didn’t know what Pei Jingyan was up to, her intuition told her he wouldn’t harm her.

By the time the two arrived in Lansha City, it was already past midnight.

Through the windshield, Shen Lai spotted the sign for Lansha Airport. However, as they approached a fork in the road, the car veered in the opposite direction.

Shen Lai abruptly sat up straight and corrected, “We took the wrong turn. The airport is that way.”

Pei Jingyan, reclining in his seat with his eyes closed, replied nonchalantly, “No mistake. We’re not going to the airport.”

Shen Lai was baffled. “Why?”

Pei Jingyan opened his eyes and gave her a deep look. “The person’s already been caught. What’s the point of going to the airport?”

Shen Lai froze.

Han Xinjie had already been captured?

It took her a moment to process, had Pei Jingyan asked for the private investigator’s number earlier to track Han Xinjie’s location?

Her fingers unconsciously dug into the seat beneath her. “So, when you asked for the number just now, it was to catch him?”

Pei Jingyan shrugged casually. “Didn’t you say he was important and couldn’t be allowed to escape?”

Shen Lai had indeed been worried Han Xinjie might flee, but she hadn’t expected Pei Jingyan to step in and help. At that moment, warmth surged through her heart, tingling as if countless ants were crawling inside.

After what felt like an eternity, the car pulled up in front of a remote warehouse.

Shen Lai got out and surveyed the desolate surroundings. To an outsider, it might have looked like the perfect setting for a murder and dismemberment.

As they approached the warehouse, the iron door creaked open, stirring up dust, clearly, the place had been abandoned for a long time.

The dimly lit interior revealed a man tied to a chair in the center, struggling relentlessly.

“Who the hell are you? Let me go right now!”

“I’m warning you, this is illegal! I’ll sue you!”

“Who sent you? Do you even know who I am?”

Han Xinjie had just stepped out of the airport earlier that day when he was surrounded by burly men. Without a chance to speak, he was shoved into a car and brought here.

Yet no matter what he said, no one responded. The bodyguards stood like NPCs, staring blankly ahead.

Shen Lai spotted Han Xinjie tied to the chair in the center of the warehouse almost immediately.

Seeing the mastermind behind her family’s ruin after so long, her calm heart suddenly churned like a storm, waves of emotion crashing violently.

Nearly a year later, Han Xinjie was far from the disheveled state she’d imagined, instead, he looked well-groomed and even a little plumper.

Hearing footsteps, Han Xinjie turned his head. The moment he saw Shen Lai, his expression twisted. “It’s you?”

He never would have guessed Shen Lai was behind his abduction.

Shen Lai walked up to him and said calmly, “Uncle Han, it’s been a while.”

A flicker of unease crossed Han Xinjie’s face. He strained against the ropes and snapped, “Shen Lai, what’s the meaning of this?”

Shen Lai replied coolly, “Uncle Han, back then, you testified that my father was responsible for someone’s death. I just wanted to ask you about it.”

Guilt flashed in Han Xinjie’s eyes before he raised his voice defensively. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I only told the truth about your father’s case.”

“Speak the truth?” Shen Lai let out a hollow laugh. “Then why did you immediately leave the country after my family’s incident?”

Han Xinjie swallowed hard. “I can go abroad if I want to. What’s it to you?”

He threatened Shen Lai, “Listen, you’d better let me go right now, or I’ll make sure you end up behind bars too!”

Shen Lai had long anticipated Han Xinjie wouldn’t admit it so easily. What murderer would willingly confess?

She spoke slowly, “On the day the Shen Group incident happened, a factory worker named Qin Qifeng mysteriously disappeared. He must have been your inside man, right?”

After the Shen family’s downfall, Shen Lai had inspected the materials that had entered the market. She discovered that specific batches of artificial joint materials had been tampered with contaminated with substandard impurities that could easily cause rejection reactions.

Only someone inside the company could have pulled this off.

A flicker of panic flashed across Han Xinjie’s face. Clearly, he hadn’t expected Shen Lai to uncover this.

Though fleeting, Shen Lai caught it.

She stared at him coldly. “Uncle Han, my family treated you well. Why would you frame my father like this?”

Pei Jingyan watched as Shen Lai recounted the events with calm composure, his deep eyes swirling with unreadable emotions.

Han Xinjie’s chest rose and fell slightly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. If you’ve got any guts, show me the evidence. Otherwise, don’t expect me to admit to anything!”

At that moment, Pei Jingyan, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke. “Is that so? Then let’s reopen the investigation.”

Only then did Han Xinjie notice the man standing behind Shen Lai. His tall figure emerged from the shadows, hands in his pockets, as he stepped forward.

Han Xinjie quickly recognized him the young master of the Pei family. His face instantly paled. “P-Pei… Mr. Pei?”

Pei Jingyan looked down at him. “Mr. Han is right. There are too many inconsistencies in this matter. It does warrant a thorough reinvestigation.”

Han Xinjie grew nervous. “What… what do you mean?”

Pei Jingyan’s lips curled slightly. “Until we find the evidence, Mr. Han, you’ll stay right here.”

The moment Han Xinjie realized Pei Jingyan intended to investigate, his panic became palpable.

Shen Lai might have been alone and powerless, but Pei Jingyan was different. The Pei family’s influence permeated nearly every industry in the country, machinery, real estate, insurance, textiles, chemicals, aviation, finance, construction, healthcare, advertising, their reach was virtually limitless.

If the Pei family got involved, they might actually uncover something.

Han Xinjie couldn’t fathom how Shen Lai had gotten Pei Jingyan involved. Weren’t the two of them famously at odds?

He blurted out, “This is illegal confinement! You can’t do this!”

Pei Jingyan scoffed as if hearing a joke. “Oh? Then by all means, Mr. Han, go ahead and sue me.”

He raised an eyebrow and added nonchalantly, “Though I wonder if you’ll even make it past that door.”

A cold sweat instantly drenched Han Xinjie’s back.

Pei Jingyan didn’t waste any more words on him. Turning to Shen Lai, he said, “Let’s go.”

Noticing her hesitation, Pei Jingyan seemed to guess her thoughts. “What? Not satisfied?”

Shen Lai was indeed unsatisfied. She had gone to great lengths to track down Han Xinjie, only to let him off like this.

Pei Jingyan said calmly, “If you want to vent your anger, you can kill him right here. I’ll clean up the mess for you.”

Shen Lai abruptly looked up at Pei Jingyan.

Pei Jingyan met her gaze and said solemnly, “But if you want to clear your father’s name and get him out honorably, we’ll find the evidence.”

Shen Lai hesitated. “What if we can’t find any?”

Pei Jingyan shoved his hands into his pockets and enunciated each word deliberately, “With your husband here, how could we not find it?”