Chapter 15 — A Day as a Janitor

The handwriting is identical.

The fingerprints are also identical.

Zhen Yao seized the opportunity, speaking up immediately, Since both the signature and the fingerprints are here, it at least proves this matter is far from simple. I raised my eyes to look at him.

Director Zhen, what are you rushing for?

He snapped his mouth shut. Zheng Yi pushed the document before me.

Do you confirm that you did not sign this?

I answered, I did not. She asked, What is your basis? I rotated the paper half a turn.

First, when I sign the name Qin, the final horizontal stroke among the three rightmost strokes must invariably be short.

On this document, that final stroke is excessively long.

Second, twenty years ago, my right index finger was sliced by a blade, leaving a distinct gap in the upper right corner of the fingerprint.

This fingerprint shows no such break.

Third, I never use this shade of blue-black ink.

Zheng Yi looked straight at me.

Why is that?

I explained, The archives department long ago established a rule that permanently retained documents must exclusively use black carbon ink.

That regulation was instituted by myself.

Sister Wang could not help chiming in, Even on her leave requests, she never touches blue-black ink. The auditor immediately took photographs to preserve the evidence. Gu Nan retrieved the printing data. The timestamp on the document was one hour and three minutes past midnight. The location was the printer situated in the inner room of the general manager office. At that exact moment, I was down in the basement utility room. Gu Nan proceeded to extract the access control logs. At twelve-fifty-seven in the morning, an authorized card swipe registered entry into the twenty-eighth-floor general manager office. The card number belonged to Ma Cheng. Initially, Ma Cheng had been sitting quietly in the corner, pretending to be mute. Upon hearing his name, he bolted upright.

I never printed any such thing!

Zheng Yi demanded, Then what were you doing in the general manager office in the middle of the night? Ma Cheng countenance drained of color, alternating between pale and ashen.

I... I went to fetch cigarettes.

Not a single soul in the conference room believed him. I stared right at him.

You smoked openly in the general manager office during the daytime; did you really remember that pack of cigarettes vividly enough to return at one in the morning?

Ma Cheng was driven into a corner, utterly speechless. Gu Nan projected surveillance footage onto the wall. On the screen, Ma Cheng could be seen swiping his card and entering. Four minutes later, he emerged clasping a file folder. His expression was thoroughly panicked, and as he reached the exit, he glanced back over his shoulder. Zheng Yi inquired, Where is the file folder? Ma Cheng lips turned bloodless.

I handed it over to Deputy General Manager Zheng.

The moment those words left his mouth, he stiffened completely. Zheng Huai Ren had already been detained by the police, but this admission cast a heavy, suffocating tension over the remaining occupants of the conference room. Shen Zhao An voice was profoundly low and heavy.

Every single one of you only carried out one trivial task for him.

Yet all those trivial tasks combined served to drive a person into an inescapable dead end.

Ma Cheng bowed his head. At that precise juncture, the front desk forwarded a courier package. The intended recipient was myself. The sender section was left entirely blank. Gu Nan intercepted the receptionist, immediately having the police inspect the parcel. Once it was verified as entirely safe, the package was unsealed. Inside lay a thick stack of photographs. The images captured me dressed in sanitation uniform, pushing a cleaning cart as I entered the twenty-ninth floor. The shooting angle was remarkably tricky, capturing only my back while omitting anyone who might have accompanied me. A piece of paper was pinned underneath the photos. Qin Yu Zhen willfully breached the restricted zone of the Board of Directors Office, pilfered company secrets, and blackmailed the corporation for retirement compensation. Sister Wang flew into such a rage that she cursed aloud.

Do these people have any shame left at all!

I picked up the photographs to examine them closer. The perspective originated from the corner of the twenty-ninth-floor fire escape stairs, a spot devoid of permanent surveillance cameras, which clearly indicated someone had been lying in wait for me there. Zheng Yi handed the pictures over to the auditor.

Trace the source of the print.

Zheng Zhen expression suddenly morphed. I caught it instantly.

Director Zhen, do you happen to know something else?

He hurriedly shook his head.

I know nothing.

Gu Nan tracked down the origin swiftly. The photographs had been printed using the color printer located in the branding department. The print timestamp was five-forty-four in the morning. Zhen Zhen legs turned to jelly.

I was coerced.

Zheng Yi pressed, Who coerced you? Zhen Yao ground his teeth before finally blurting out the truth.

The Secretariat of the Board instructed me to prepare public relations handling materials in advance.

They said if Qin Yu Zhen refused to settle, they would frame her as a thief of secrets and an extortionist.

Shen Zhao An stood up abruptly.

Which person within the Secretariat?

Zheng Zhen voice trembled visibly.

Deputy Secretary-General Xu Chuan Li.

As the name dropped into the silence, Gu Nan expression shifted dramatically. I asked, Whose man is he? Gu Nan glanced toward Shen Zhao An.

He is extremely close to Chief Executive Officer Shen Zhi Yuan.

The atmosphere in the conference room instantly froze solid. Shen Zhi Yuan, the nephew of Shen Zhao An. Over recent years, Shen Zhao An health had been failing, leaving a vast majority of the group board affairs to be managed on his behalf by Shen Zhi Yuan. I had only encountered him a few times during annual banquets. He always wore a gentle smile and spoke with utmost courtesy. Yet individuals of that exact nature are the very last to wield a blade where others can witness it. Zheng Yi suddenly received a phone call. Before she had listened for even ten seconds, her expression darkened profoundly.

Chairman Shen, the Secretariat of the Board has just transmitted an official document of authorization confirmation.