163: Invitation from the beautiful young lady

“Ah!”

As if struck by lightning, Wei Haoran’s body suddenly trembled, his face filled with shock and confusion, and he asked in astonishment, “Mr. Zhou is the mastermind behind the kidnapping case? He kidnapped his own son?”

“And who is Xu Ning霜?”

Gao Ze did not answer, his calm gaze, an invisible, overwhelming pressure, seemed to pour out.

“Officer Gao, I admit it!”

Zhou Xiaodong evaded Gao Ze’s piercing gaze and lowered his head.

At this point, arguing was pointless.

Gao Ze already knew he was planning the case, and his wife Han Jingmei had disappeared, while his subordinate Xu Ning霜 was also out of control; everything had exceeded his grasp and expectations.

“The kidnapping of my son, Zhou Xinchen, was planned by me. I was the one who told him we would play a kidnapping game, letting Xu Ning霜 take him away to make his mother, Han Jingmei, anxious.”

“You’ve also guessed my intention: I wanted to use you, the Police, to force the truth about my daughter Lina’s disappearance years ago out of my wife, Han Jingmei.”

“Because I suspect my daughter, Zhou Lina, was not abducted and disappeared, but was very likely murdered.”

“What do you mean your daughter, Zhou Lina, was murdered?” Gao Ze’s gaze sharpened, and he asked, “You suspect your wife, Han Jingmei, killed her?”

Zhou Xiaodong shook his head and said softly, “Not killing her personally, but instructing human traffickers to kill her!”

“Why do you have such a suspicion?”

“Because after my daughter, Zhou Lina, disappeared that year, I had been searching for her whereabouts, even at great financial and physical cost.”

“Finally, perseverance paid off.”

“Five years after my daughter disappeared, I found one of the subordinates of the human trafficker from back then.”

“He told me he had seen my daughter, Zhou Lina, but after Lina was abducted by his elder brother, she wasn’t sent to another family; instead, she was killed, and her body was thrown into a pigsty in the countryside for the pigs to gnaw on.”

Gao Ze’s heart grew cold. Pigs are omnivores, and when starving, they eat anything.

In his previous life, he had handled a murder case where the killer threw a living victim into a pigsty, where they were gnawed by countless starving domestic pigs. The scene was extremely cruel and terrifying, and after the local villagers learned what happened, they stopped raising pigs.

“When I heard that news, Officer Gao, do you know how I felt?”

Zhou Xiaodong looked up at Gao Ze, gritting his teeth and saying, “How I wished my daughter, Zhou Lina, had been abducted and taken to a family, even if it was to be a child bride in the countryside!”

Becoming a child bride in the countryside wouldn’t make her fate much better, but Gao Ze could understand Zhou Xiaodong’s feelings as a father and asked, “Are you sure this information is true?”

“I don’t know!”

Zhou Xiaodong shook his head and said, “I pressed that person at the time about where that human trafficker’s elder brother went, and he told me that person had died in a bar fight.”

“I asked him if the information about my daughter was really true, and he could only say it felt like my daughter.”

“You must have asked Han Jingmei too, didn’t she say anything?”

“I asked, she denied Lina’s disappearance had anything to do with her, and even more so, she denied instructing human traffickers to kill Lina!”

Veins popped out on Zhou Xiaodong’s forehead, and he loudly said, “But if the human trafficker hadn’t received instructions, why would he violate professional ethics and kill someone? Couldn’t he have sold Lina to another family and still made a sum of money?”

“The human trafficker killed Lina; clearly, someone was giving orders behind the scenes.”

“Besides my wife, Han Jingmei, I can’t think of anyone else who would dislike my daughter, Zhou Lina.”

“She was jealous, jealous of my love for my daughter. She was worried, worried that Lina would threaten her unborn son. To think I loved her so much in the past!”

A roar of anger burst forth, Zhou Xiaodong’s eyes reddened, clearly holding a deeply suppressed rage within him, directed at his wife, Han Jingmei, and at Han Fenglin, who was behind Han Jingmei.

Gao Ze sighed. Han Jingmei clearly had deep affection for Zhou Xiaodong; otherwise, with her family background, she would have had many elite and even wealthy businessmen to choose from.

But her temperament wasn’t particularly good; her strong possessiveness and sensitive nature could easily trigger jealousy.

Especially during pregnancy, a pregnant woman’s emotions are extremely unstable, and a small issue can potentially trigger all sensitive points.

Zhou Xiaodong’s words, considering Han Fenglin behind Han Jingmei, prevented him from forcibly interrogating her, so he had to resort to kidnapping.

“What about Xu Ning霜’s information?”

Gao Ze looked at Zhou Xiaodong, whose emotions had been vented, his elegant demeanor gone, his face haggard, as if he had lost his spirit.

“Xu Ning霜 is the business department manager of my company. She was brought here by my ex-wife Xu Meijuan from our hometown village years ago. She’s very capable, honest, and magnanimous. I trust her deeply, and she handles company affairs properly.”

Gao Ze was generally aware of this information and continued to ask, “Why did you choose Xu Ning霜 to help you complete the kidnapping plan? Was it merely because of trust?”

“Trust was only one of the reasons!”

Zhou Xiaodong shook his head and said, “After Xu Ning霜 learned I was going to carry out the kidnapping, she asked me for the specific reasons. When she understood my suspicions about my wife and the situation with my daughter, Zhou Lina, she voluntarily offered to help me complete the plan.”

Voluntarily offered?

Gao Ze felt something was off and asked, “How was your original kidnapping plan supposed to proceed, and what was the personnel allocation?”

“There were four people in the kidnapping plan. I found Xu Ning霜, and also the captain of my company’s security department. For the other two, I didn’t have time, so I instructed Xu Ning霜 to find two more trustworthy people, regardless of the financial cost.”

Zhou Xiaodong said, “The original plan was, the first step was to make my wife see the kidnapping text message and video, to induce worry and panic about Lina’s disappearance. Under immense pressure, she would definitely choose to call the Police.”

“The second step was to play tricks on the Police when the ransom was demanded tomorrow, to prevent the Police from rescuing my son, completely shattering the hope in my wife Han Jingmei’s heart, and making her despair.”

“The third step, the kidnappers would appear and meet my wife Han Jingmei, proposing to exchange the child for the truth about Han Jingmei from back then.”

“I hoped that after her hope was shattered, for the sake of the child, Han Jingmei would definitely reveal whether Lina had disappeared or been killed.”

The increasingly low voice made a bitter expression appear on Zhou Xiaodong’s elegant face.

“But in this scheme, I had a major oversight. I overestimated my own abilities and didn’t expect Officer Gao, your ability to solve cases to be so strong. You analyzed Xu Ning霜 and their location just from a kidnapping video, exposing me.”

“You’re wrong; your exposure wasn’t just because you informed Xu Ning霜 and them!”

“In fact, when I asked you about your wife Han Jingmei’s enemies, and you pointed out your ex-wife Xu Meijuan, and even produced photos to mislead the investigation, I found it strange, because all those photos of your ex-wife showed her love for you.”

Gao Ze shook his head and slowly said, “Also, in the kidnapping case, many of your actions were abnormal.”

“For example, deliberately guiding me to interrogate your wife Han Jingmei, or how you rarely showed concern for Zhou Xinchen as your son.”

“Although you are a powerful man of considerable wealth, in front of your closest relatives, everyone finds it difficult to control their emotions. Your wife Han Jingmei, on the other hand, was normal.”

“So, in the eyes of a professional like you, I had so many flaws. I wrongly thought my intelligence was superior, and I even deliberately pulled Officer Gao, you, into investigating the case!”

Zhou Xiaodong smiled bitterly and sighed softly.

Wei Haoran swallowed his saliva beside them. Did Zhou Xiaodong really have so many flaws? He didn’t seem to have noticed any. Fortunately, Gao Ze was on the case.

“Arrest me. I understand that my actions constitute a crime!”

Zhou Xiaodong extended his hands to Gao Ze, his expression calm and composed.

Gao Ze did not take out handcuffs and said, “An arrest will definitely happen, but the problem now is that Xu Ning霜 has gone rogue and is out of your control. Your son might truly be in life-threatening danger from the kidnapping, and your wife Han Jingmei. Saving them is more important than making an arrest.”

“But I don’t know why Xu Ning霜 betrayed me and broke free from my control, nor do I know where she is hiding now!”

From Zhou Xiaodong’s worried expression, Gao Ze thought it didn’t seem like a lie and said, “Xu Ning霜’s residence, and places she usually goes?”

“Her residence is in Building Six of Haihe Community. She usually goes to various bars in Donghai City!” Zhou Xiaodong shook his head and said, “But I think at a time like this, she definitely wouldn’t go to those places.”

“But is there a better way now?”

Gao Ze said to Wei Haoran, “Wei Team Leader, I’m sorry to trouble you. Go check those places. Just restrict Zhou Xiaodong’s movements for now.”

“Alright, I’ll take people to investigate tonight!”

Wei Haoran pursed his lips, wanting to ask what Gao Ze was going to do, as all the tough work fell to him.

But he still didn’t ask. The direction of the case investigation was controlled by Gao Ze. What could he do, even as a Team Leader? He still had to rely on Gao Ze.

Being able to do the tough work was already good; at least some credit was left for him.

After giving instructions, Gao Ze left Zhou Xiaodong’s villa and returned to his Gubei No. 1 residence.

The case was now clear, but Gao Ze had not obtained enough clues to deduce Xu Ning霜’s exact location and could only wait for the intelligence system to refresh.

“Mr. Gao, are you at Gubei No. 1 tonight?”

While waiting for the intelligence system, Gao Ze received a message from Li Qingshu on his WeChat.

“My mom wants to see you!”

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