127: Chapter 127 Lin Haoyu Faces Imprisonment
Early Friday morning, before the office buildings in the Jiangcheng CBD had fully awakened, Zhang Fan was already sitting in his office.
His mouse cursor hovered over encrypted files on his computer screen, which contained Haoyu Group's financial transaction records for the past three years, scans of dual contracts, and details of tax evasion provided by the former CFO, Li Man.
Each item was marked with specific dates and amounts, and the cumulative figure of 21 million was particularly glaring.
"Have you verified everything?" Zhang Fan asked, looking up at Gu Jingshen, who was standing opposite him holding a hard copy of the evidence and checking it page by page.
"I've checked it three times," Gu Jingshen said, placing the document on the table and tapping a finger on one of the pages.
"The internal financial statements provided by Li Man match the transaction records we obtained from the bank. The dual contracts also bear Lin Haoyu's signature, so the chain of evidence is solid. I've also secured an anonymous submission channel; the tax department's intake email is dedicated and won't leak any information."
Zhang Fan nodded, opened the email interface, and uploaded the encrypted files as attachments.
He looked at the "Send" button, his finger pausing for a moment—with this strike, Haoyu Group would likely collapse, but he felt no hesitation.
After all, Lin Haoyu had repeatedly harassed Xia Qinyi and her daughter, and even used despicable means to ruin her yoga studio; this was the price he deserved to pay.
"Send it," Zhang Fan said in a calm voice. The moment Gu Jingshen pressed the send button, the email progress bar slowly completed, as if triggering the countdown to Lin Haoyu's downfall.
Three days later at 10:00 AM, in the top-floor conference room of Haoyu Group, Lin Haoyu was excitedly giving a presentation to his executives, with the planning map for a new real estate project displayed on the projector screen.
He had just finished saying, "This project will earn us 300 million," when the conference room door was suddenly pushed open.
A group of tax inspectors in uniform walked in, carrying law enforcement recorders and seizure notices.
"Mr. Lin Haoyu, we are from the Jiangcheng Municipal Tax Bureau Inspection Division," the lead inspector said, flashing his credentials with a serious tone.
"We have received a report that Haoyu Group is suspected of tax evasion. We now need to seize the account books and computers in the finance department. Please cooperate with our work."
The smile on Lin Haoyu's face instantly froze, and the laser pointer in his hand fell to the floor with a "clatter."
"Tax evasion? Impossible! Did you make a mistake? Our company has always paid taxes legally; how could we possibly evade taxes?"
"Whether we made a mistake or not, we'll know once we investigate." The inspector ignored his defense and waved to his colleagues behind him.
"Go to the finance department and seal all financial records, including electronic documents and paper ledgers. Do not let anyone touch them."
The executives were instantly panicked. Someone quietly took out their phone to tip someone off but was stopped by the inspector: "Please cooperate, everyone. Do not use communication devices for the time being."
Watching the inspectors walk into the finance department, Lin Haoyu felt as if his heart was being clawed by a cat.
He hurriedly took out his phone and dialed the number of the deputy director of the municipal tax bureau.
In the past, he had given the man generous gifts during holidays, and the man had promised him, "If you have any trouble, come to me."
But the phone rang for a long time without anyone answering. He dialed three more times, but it remained a busy signal.
He wouldn't give up. He dialed the property manager, the captain of the urban management team, and even his real estate developer friends who used to call him brother.
Either they didn't answer, or they would mumble a few vague words and hang up after connecting. No one was willing to come out and help him.
Only then did Lin Haoyu realize that someone must have pulled some strings behind his back.
And who else but Richest Man Song could make so many people avoid him?
"Song Zhiwei... Zhang Fan..." Lin Haoyu gritted his teeth, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.
He sucked in a cold breath from the pain, but he had no mind to care about it.
The finance department had been sealed. If tax evasion was truly discovered, not only would he have to pay back taxes and fines, but he might also face imprisonment.
Half an hour later, the inspectors left with the sealed ledgers and computers. The conference room fell into a dead silence.
Lin Haoyu slammed the table and roared, "Where is the CFO? Get out here!"
The CFO walked out from behind the crowd, trembling, his face deathly pale. "L-Lin... Mr. Lin..."
"How much money is left in the company account?" Lin Haoyu stared at him, his eyes bloodshot. "Can you scrape together 20 million for back taxes?"
The CFO swallowed and said in a low voice, "Mr. Lin, there is only 8 million left in the company account. Most of the funds have been invested in the new real estate project, and that project hasn't obtained a pre-sale permit yet, so the funds cannot be recovered..."
"8 million?" Everything went black before Lin Haoyu's eyes, and he nearly collapsed. He grabbed the edge of the table to steady himself.
"Then what do we do? Just wait to be fined by the tax bureau? Wait for the company to go bankrupt?"
"How about... we apply for a bank loan?" someone suggested in a low voice.
"A loan?" Lin Haoyu sneered. "Now that this has happened to the company, which bank would dare to lend to us?"
"Besides, we still have two outstanding irregular loans that haven't been repaid. We're lucky the bank hasn't come knocking at our door yet!"
Just then, Lin Haoyu's secretary rushed in, holding a phone, her voice trembling.
"Mr. Lin, it's bad! The 'Jiangcheng Financial News' has reported on our company being audited by the tax authorities. The internet is full of discussions about it, our stock price has plummeted by 15%, and three partners just sent letters of termination, saying they want to end our cooperation!"
"What?!" Lin Haoyu snatched the phone.
On the screen was the headline from the "Jiangcheng Financial News" — "Haoyu Group Suspected of Tax Evasion, Tax Department Has Intervened to Investigate."
The comments below were all, "No wonder Haoyu Group developed so fast; it turns out it was by evading taxes," and "I'll never cooperate with Haoyu Group again; the risk is too high."
He scrolled down and saw the stock price chart—a steep green curve that had fallen from an opening price of 12 yuan to 10.2 yuan, and it was still falling.
The termination letters from the three partners were also sitting in his inbox.
One of them was the real estate cooperation project he had pinned his hopes on.
The other party wrote, "In view of your company's current operational risks, we have decided to terminate our cooperation, and the invested funds will be recovered through legal channels."
Lin Haoyu slumped into his chair, all the strength drained from his body.
He looked at the panicked executives before him, looked at the plummeting stock price on the screen, and suddenly the faces of Xia Qinyi and Zhang Fan flashed through his mind.
It was them, it was them who destroyed everything he had!
"Zhang Fan... Xia Qinyi..." Lin Haoyu muttered to himself, his eyes gradually turning sinister.
"If you won't let me live in peace, I won't let you live in peace either! Especially that Lele—isn't she the apple of Xia Qinyi's eye? I'll use her as my target and see how you keep acting so smug!"
He stood up abruptly, grabbed his jacket, and walked out.
The secretary hurriedly asked, "Mr. Lin, where are you going?"
"That's none of your business!" Lin Haoyu's voice was filled with madness. "I will make those who destroyed me pay the price!"
The sunlight outside the office was blinding, yet Lin Haoyu felt a chill throughout his body.
He drove toward the kindergarten, with only one thought in his mind—kidnap Lele, force Zhang Fan and Xia Qinyi to obey, force them to withdraw their report, and force them to help him solve the company's troubles.
He did not realize that he had already been driven into a dead end and was about to do something even more crazy and irreversible.