When the Possessive Omega Fell for Me - Chapter 71.1

Having identified Heng’en Group as the primary target of this investigation, Yi Jing spared no resources, prioritizing the assignment of the deputy prosecutor general and Hubert to look into cases related to Heng’en.

Any company, especially a major conglomerate like Heng’en, could hardly avoid legal disputes. Whether defending rights or facing lawsuits, involvement with courts and prisons was inevitable once legal proceedings began. With just a bit of digging, Hubert and the deputy prosecutor general uncovered numerous case files. Piecing them together revealed glaring issues perhaps even key figures.

As Yi Jing had anticipated, Heng’en’s dispute records were problematic. There were instances where board members had sent executives to prison. Yet, when Hubert sent people to question those involved, they hit a wall.

The individuals involved were defiant, refusing to cooperate. Some executives, clearly scapegoats sent to prison by Heng’en, openly declared their allegiance to the company.

It seemed these people wouldn’t talk unless Heng’en or the Yi family fell from power.

Yi Jing had a headache over this, spending days lost in thought, even zoning out during meals.

Yu Miao couldn’t stand seeing her like this and frowned, poking the back of Yi Jing’s hand.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Yi Jing snapped out of her wandering thoughts and looked up.

“You’ve been spacing out a lot lately. Is something bothering you?” Yu Miao asked softly, brows knitted.

“There’s a bit of trouble,” Yi Jing sighed, spearing a piece of beef with her silver fork. She toyed with the steak as she spoke, “I’ve been investigating Heng’en Group. Their ties to the Yi family are deep, arguably as strong as the Zhaos’.

From what I’ve gathered, Xu Zaixi, someone who exclusively works for the Yi family, handles most of her business through collaborations with Heng’en. That alone shows how crucial Heng’en is to the Yi family. At the very least, it’s a proxy or puppet.

I wanted to use Heng’en as a breakthrough point, so I had someone compile all their past cases and reach out to people who’ve worked with them.

But the results have been disappointing. Everyone connected to Heng’en is tight-lipped, no one’s talking. Either they’re emboldened by Heng’en’s backing or terrified of its influence, too afraid of retaliation to speak. Getting anything out of them is nearly impossible.”

“I see.” Yu Miao lowered her gaze in thought. “It sounds like those imprisoned by Heng’en have either been ‘taken care of’ or were working for them to begin with or maybe they’ve been threatened. Have your people looked into those who’ve openly clashed with Heng’en? They might not be as willing to cover for them.”

“We have. Some do resent Heng’en’s tactics and aren’t keen on keeping their secrets,” Yi Jing nodded, though her expression remained troubled. “But they don’t trust government institutions either.

Back when Chen Feng was overseeing the court, his excessive protection of Heng’en had caused them to lose all trust in various institutions. They were neither willing to work for Heng’en nor believed in us. Unless we first let Heng’en collapse and show them our determination to crack down on the Yi family, it’s unlikely they’ll loosen up and identify anyone.”

This was indeed a tough situation, and Yu Miao also fell silent.

Yi Jing was slow to react but suddenly realized she had brought work troubles home, making Yu Miao worry as well. She immediately softened her tone and said with a lighthearted laugh, “But it’s really no big deal. We’ve made some progress too. During this time, by investigating those involved in major disputes with Heng’en Group, we’ve uncovered many of their subsidiary trade routes. We just haven’t acted yet, but there will definitely be a bigger breakthrough soon.”

“Mmm,” Yu Miao nodded, not calling out the little alpha’s attempt to reassure her. As she listened, she thought carefully before responding, “But if what you need is deeper internal information about Heng’en Group, I might have someone to recommend.”

Yi Jing was taken aback and asked with surprise, “Who?”

Yu Miao set down her utensils and picked up the terminal from the gilded stand on the other side of the dining table. After searching earnestly on the screen for a while, she finally fixed on a file, turned the screen toward Yi Jing, and pushed the terminal over. “Her.”

Yi Jing took the terminal and glanced at the screen, it showed a young woman.

The photo appeared to be candid. The sharp-looking young woman turned her head toward the camera in the breeze, her deep teal shoulder-length hair swaying slightly. She wore a sleek smoking suit with a plaid shirt collar peeking out from the jacket, a sparkling brooch pinned to her chest but the most striking feature was her eyes.

One was a light, stream-like green, the other amber. Unless she was wearing colored contacts for effect, this woman was undoubtedly heterochromatic.

Beside the photo was the woman’s name: Beryl Li.

Yi Jing studied the street scene in the background and thought it resembled the area around District 13’s Art Plaza.

“Who is she? Is she mixed-race?” Yi Jing puzzledly scrolled through the file and saw the first line of Beryl Li’s profile graduated from the prestigious Western European university, Pringen, worked at a renowned pharmaceutical company afterward, then transferred to the Eastern Pacific territories with her superior. A year later, she moved to Heng’en Pharmaceuticals’ headquarters, where she had been working ever since, rising to the position of vice president.

Heng’en Group! And a high-ranking executive at that.

Yi Jing’s eyes lit up as she looked up happily at Yu Miao. “Sis, can you get this person to help us?”

Yu Miao gazed at the resume thoughtfully. “I can try, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to persuade her.”

Yi Jing tilted her head slightly in confusion. “Hmm?”

Yu Miao’s eyes lingered on the photo as she spoke hesitantly, “This photo was taken when I had just started working. I had only recently become a full-time employee and hadn’t begun covering social news yet.”

“What? This was taken by my sister!” Yi Jing swiftly turned the screen around, carefully examining the snapshot that looked more like an artistic photograph. With a hint of subtle jealousy, she muttered under her breath, “It’s so full of emotion? She’s never taken one like this for me. Unfair.”

Yu Miao was stunned for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter. “I can take one for you too, but we just haven’t had the chance since we’ve been at the Yi family’s place all this time.”

Yi Jing glanced at the photo again, gave a light humph, and turned the screen back. “Then it’s settled after this matter is over, you’ll take one of me. No, wait, only of me.”

“Are you still interested in hearing the actual business at hand?” Yu Miao asked with a somewhat helpless smile.

“Oh, right, of course.” Yi Jing obediently withdrew her hand.

“This was practically my first formal interview subject. It’s been about five years since then, and we still have some connection, though not much,” Yu Miao said, gazing at the photo with a slight frown as if recalling something. “As you can see in the photo, Beryl is indeed of mixed heritage, half Eastern descent.

“But her family had already settled in Western Europe for many years and rarely returned to the East. Beryl was supposed to go back to Western Europe after her official assignment ended, but she suddenly changed jobs and chose to stay in Jing’an City to develop her career. That was completely unplanned. As for the reason she switched jobs. I think it was for someone.”

“What?” Yi Jing’s eyes widened abruptly, sensing she might have stumbled upon some major revelation. “An enemy?”

“No.” Yu Miao, who had been lost in thought, was pulled back to attention by Yi Jing’s question and chuckled, dismissing the guess. “Back then, Beryl had a very pleasant personality, she was great at reading people’s emotions, always considerate of others, extremely attentive, and very gentle. It was almost impossible for her to make enemies.

“Besides, Beryl came from a happy family. At times, she seemed almost naively optimistic and kind-hearted, so it’s unlikely she’d alter her life plans just to settle a grudge. The reason she was willing to switch to Heng’en and settle in Jing’an City was probably because she fell in love with someone during her assignment. She wanted to stay here.”

“Ah?” Yi Jing was taken aback.

Yu Miao slowly reminisced, carefully choosing her words. “I can’t say for certain, but Beryl and her lover must have been in a secret relationship. They seemed determined not to be discovered probably because her lover was also a key researcher at Heng’en, though they worked in different departments.

“Heng’en likely wouldn’t have permitted such a relationship, so the two of them kept it very well hidden. I only stumbled upon a few clues when I happened to visit Beryl’s home during the interview.”

“Ohh.” Yi Jing nodded.

She had a ton of questions but, seeing Yu Miao deep in thought, held them back and waited for her to continue.

“I remember they were very much in love. Back then, Beryl couldn’t help but smile whenever she mentioned her lover,” Yu Miao said, frowning slightly. “I thought one of them would eventually leave Heng’en Group, or maybe they’d both leave to live their own lives. But now, it seems they didn’t make it to the end.”

“Breakup?” Yi Jing tilted her head, not quite understanding why Yu Miao was bringing up the target’s romantic history at this moment.

“No, Beryl’s lover died.” Yu Miao raised her eyes to meet Yi Jing’s gaze. “The incident happened relatively recently, about a year ago. I hadn’t resigned yet at that time. You can check the documents attached after the resume for details, they’re local media reports about Beryl’s lover meeting with misfortune shortly after it occurred.”

“Beryl’s lover died in a Western European territory during a business trip, accidentally caught up in a local ethnic minority riot and shot dead by terrorists in a warehouse on the city outskirts.”

Yi Jing froze, her expression darkening as she continued flipping through the documents while muttering, “That brutal? But something about this feels very much like the Yi family’s style eliminating troublesome people first then disguising it as an accident.”

“Indeed,” Yu Miao said solemnly, watching the terminal in Yi Jing’s hands. “I had the same feeling.”

“?”

Yi Jing gave Yu Miao a puzzled look before turning to the page with the original news report.

The reporting style in Western European territories differed from Jing’an City, the accompanying images were brutally direct. The horrific scene immediately assaulted her vision: a dilapidated warehouse filled with chaotic debris, and most strikingly, large splatters of bloodstains (rendered in grayscale) covering nearly half the warehouse wall.

While the photo didn’t directly show the victim, the sheer brutality of the scene transmitted vividly through the image.

Yi Jing’s breath caught, her heart seemingly skipping a beat as she nearly stood up in shock.

She was genuinely stunned by the gruesomeness. Staring at the photo for two full seconds, she unconsciously imagined herself in Beryl’s position. Had she witnessed such horrific violence against her lover, she’d probably have gone insane, hunting down every possible perpetrator to tear them apart.

“Didn’t that Beryl do anything? Is she even mentally stable now?” Yi Jing frowned deeply, continuing to search through the materials for follow-up information.

But there was none. Yu Miao’s documents ended right there.

“How was this handled afterward?” Yi Jing asked, perplexed.

“It wasn’t,” Yu Miao replied.

“What?” Yi Jing looked up sharply.

“Absolutely no resolution,” Yu Miao shook her head slightly. “No measures were taken. After the incident, local police failed to uncover any substantial leads they couldn’t even identify who the perpetrators were that kidnapped and murdered innocent hostages in that warehouse. The case went cold, with no clues to this day. Later, even the warehouse itself was demolished.”

Yi Jing’s eyebrows knitted in disbelief: “This is willful negligence plus evidence destruction! What era is this? how could there be zero suspect information? This modus operandi is textbook Yi family. Didn’t Beryl try to investigate at all?”

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