Chapter 127: Chapter 127: Another One Down
The next morning, the air around Huo Corporation was heavy with unease.
Reporters crowded outside the glass-fronted building, their cameras ready, their pens poised like weapons.
Rumors of internal corruption had turned the media into a swarm, each one desperate to capture the next explosive headline.
"Over there! That’s his car!" someone shouted.
A sleek black car pulled up before the entrance, gleaming under the morning light.
Instantly, the crowd surged forward, the flash of cameras erupting like a storm. Reporters shouted questions over one another, their voices blending into a desperate frenzy.
When Huo Feng stepped out, the noise rose to a fever pitch. His calm, composed face gave nothing away, his gaze sharp as steel. He moved with quiet authority as if even chaos itself bowed in his presence.
He walked around the car and opened the passenger door.
The moment Yue Ning emerged, the atmosphere shifted. She was dressed simply—a cream blouse tucked into a navy skirt yet there was an elegance to her that silenced the noise for half a heartbeat. Even the flashing cameras seemed to hesitate.
Then the storm broke again.
"Young Madam Huo, do you have any comments on the allegations against your husband?"
"Are the accusations true?"
"Do you doubt his innocence?"
Yue Ning stopped in her tracks. Her eyes which were cold and resolute, swept through the sea of microphones.
"I trust my husband," she said, her tone even but firm. "These accusations are baseless. The truth will reveal itself... soon."
The quiet confidence in her voice struck deeper than any denial could have. For a moment, the crowd fell silent.
Huo Feng’s gaze softened slightly. He didn’t need to say anything, his expression said it all. With a subtle tilt of his head, he guided her into the building, ignoring the flashbulbs behind them.
-------------------
Inside the conference room, tension simmered long before the couple arrived.
Several directors sat stiffly, whispering in low tones. The air was thick with suspicion.
"Why call another meeting so soon?" one muttered.
"Maybe he’s trying to scare us."
"He already exposed Director Lin yesterday. Who knows who’s next?"
Their voices trembled, although they tried to hide it.
Huo Mingjie who was seated tried to appear composed. But his fingers tapped restlessly against the table, his jaw tightening each time someone spoke.
His gaze swept the room, taking note of the nervous faces.
’Fools,’ he thought bitterly. ’One slip, and they’ll drag us all down.’
When the doors opened, all whispers died.
Huo Feng entered first, exuding quiet control. Yue Ning followed, serene yet commanding. The directors turned pale at the sight of Yue Ning.
Behind them, Ah Si carried a tablet, his usual polite smile concealing sharp alertness.
"Good morning," Huo Feng said evenly, taking his seat. His tone was calm and that alone made several directors stiffen.
"You may all sit."
As the chairs scraped against the floor, Yue Ning quietly settled beside him. Her fingers brushed lightly against her tablet, a small, unseen cue. A faint green light blinked once, then vanished.
Ah Si connected his tablet to the projector, and the screen flickered to life.
Murmurs spread again.
"Mr. Huo," one of the senior directors began carefully, "may I ask what this meeting concerns?"
Huo Feng’s gaze lifted, sharp and cool. "You’ll know soon enough."
The lights dimmed slightly, and the screen shifted from the company logo to a grainy video feed.
At first, the directors exchanged confused glances. But that was until the footage became clear.
There, on the screen, Director Wang appeared sitting in a private lounge, speaking in hushed tones with another figure which was blurry.
"The transfer’s been made," Wang’s voice came through clearly. "He said the funds will reach the overseas account by Friday. Once it’s done, no one can trace it back to us."
A cold silence followed.
"But what about Huo Feng?" the other man asked.
"Leave him to rot in the mess. By the time he realizes, it’ll be too late."
Gasps rippled through the room.
Director Wang, sitting at the far end of the table, turned pale.
"This—this is fake!" he stammered, shooting to his feet. "This is slander! How dare you—!"
Ah Si pressed another button, and the video paused, now showing Wang’s own signature on a financial authorization form dated a week prior.
Huo Feng leaned back in his chair, his eyes cold as he spoke.
"Director Wang," he said softly, "you’ve always been efficient. I just didn’t realize your efficiency extended to laundering funds through shell companies."
"I—I didn’t—"
"Enough." Huo Feng’s tone sharpened, cutting through his excuses like a blade. "If loyalty is a mask you wear for convenience, you may take it off now."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Wang’s lips quivered as he looked around the table for support. None came. Every pair of eyes avoided his.
When security entered, no one dared to speak.
"Escort Director Wang to the disciplinary unit," Huo Feng instructed coolly. "And inform the authorities that the internal audit files will be forwarded immediately."
As Wang was dragged out, his protests echoed down the hall... fading into nothing.
-------------
When the doors closed again, the boardroom remained silent.
Some directors exchanged frightened glances; others stared at the table, unwilling to meet Huo Feng’s eyes.
"Anyone else with a confession to make?" Huo Feng asked lightly. The faint smile on his lips carried a weight that pressed on everyone’s chest.
No one spoke.
Huo Mingjie’s hand curled into a fist under the table. Outwards, he forced a composed expression, but his heart pounded violently in his chest.
’How did he get that footage?’ he thought, his pulse quickening. That recording was supposed to be impossible to trace. Song Kai said...
He stopped himself, glancing at Huo Feng.
The man sat there, calm and collected, his gaze sharp, almost knowing.
When their eyes met, Huo Feng’s lips twitched faintly.
It wasn’t a smile. It was a warning.
Mingjie quickly looked away, his jaw tight. Beneath the table, his fingers trembled.
The unease spread through him like poison. If Wang fell this easily, then we’re all next.
Yue Ning, meanwhile, remained silent beside her husband, serene as ever. But when she glanced at her tablet, the system’s faint holographic line glowed briefly before vanishing again. The data had already been sent to the finance department’s encrypted drive. Another checkmate placed quietly on the board.
-------------
When the meeting finally ended, the air was thick with unspoken dread.
As Huo Feng and Yue Ning left the room, several directors let out shaky breaths as if they’d been holding them the entire time.
Outside, chaos resumed. Reporters surged again. Cameras flashed wildly as Director Wang was escorted out by security.
Questions filled the air, but none of them mattered now.
Inside the elevator, peace settled between Huo Feng and Yue Ning.
"That’s one down," she murmured softly, her reflection glinting in the metal doors.
Huo Feng’s lips curved slightly, that rare, quiet smile reserved only for her.
"And several more waiting for their turn."
The elevator chimed as it descended, a soft sound that marked the end of one battle... and the silent beginning of the next.