The lawyer nearly dropped his tablet. “The English version says we receive a full
refund plus a five percent penalty fee from the developer!”
“How much is the penalty fee in the Chinese text?” Mr. Shu asked, his voice akin to
cracking ice.
Whitney calculated the conversion in her head based on the stated percentages.
“Roughly twenty million dollars.”
A collective gasp rippled through the nearby tables. This wasn't just arrogance
anymore; this was bordering on outright fraud.
Gerald leaped to his feet, knocking his chair backward. It hit the floor with a loud
crash. “That cannot be right! That is a typo! It's a clerical error by the translation
firm!”
Mr. Shu slowly stood up, matching Gerald’s height but towering over him in sheer
presence. “A clerical error? Two massive discrepancies, both of which miraculously
benefit your side, and you claim it is an error? Do you take me for a fool, Mr.
Covington?”
“I swear, I had no knowledge of this!” Gerald pleaded, desperation stripping away his
polished veneer.
Whitney looked back at the phone, scanning the final page of signatures and
authorizations. A name caught her eye. She frowned.
“Mr. Covington,” Whitney said, her voice cutting through his panic. “Who is Victor
Hale?”
Gerald froze as if he had been struck by lightning. The blood completely drained from
his face, leaving him looking ghastly. “He... he is an outside consultant. An
independent auditor. Why?”
Whitney shook her head, tracing the characters on the screen. “Not according to the
Chinese text. The text explicitly identifies Victor Hale not as a consultant, but as an
authorized principal, a primary beneficiary of the development shell company. And...”
She scrolled down to a cross-referenced appendix. “It lists the routing information for
the penalty fees directly to a holding company controlled by this Victor Hale.”
The silence was deafening. Mr. Shu looked at his lawyer, who furiously typed the name
into a corporate registry database on his tablet. Seconds later, the lawyer looked up,
his face grim.
“Victor Hale is an alias,” the lawyer announced loudly. “It is a registered DBA—Doing
Business As—for a holding company based in Delaware. The sole registered owner of
that holding company is Gerald Covington.”
Chapter 7: The Aftermath
The revelation dropped like a bomb in the middle of the luxurious dining room.
Gerald Covington had not just tried to swindle the Chinese investors; he had woven a
complex, fraudulent web designed to siphon twenty million dollars directly into his
own secret accounts in the event of the project's failure—a failure he likely intended
to orchestrate.
Mr. Shu did not yell. He did not throw his drink. He simply buttoned his suit jacket
with terrifying calmness. He looked at Gerald with utter disgust.
“The deal is dead,” Mr. Shu said quietly. “My legal team will be contacting the SEC, the
FBI, and the local district attorney’s office first thing in the morning regarding
attempted wire fraud and corporate malfeasance. Do not attempt to contact me
again.”
He turned to his entourage. “We are leaving.”
As the Chinese delegation moved away from the table, Mr. Shu stopped in front of
Whitney. He reached into his breast pocket, pulled out a thick, embossed business
card, and handed it to her.
“Miss Sawyer,” Mr. Shu said, his voice softening. “You have saved my company a
catastrophic loss tonight, and you did it with more grace and intelligence than anyone
I have dealt with in this city. I own several international logistics and finance firms. I
am in need of an executive liaison who understands the truth behind words. If you
are tired of pouring wine for fools, call this number tomorrow. The starting salary will
reflect the magnitude of what you just accomplished.”
Whitney took the card, her hands shaking slightly. “Thank you, Mr. Shu. I will call