Buckley Bolton's life is not glamorous, but it is definitely not ordinary. As a top tax avoidance expert, he is skilled in using complex tax rules and loopholes, dealing with the government and clients with ease. Most people think that tax avoidance is a boring technical job, but in Buckley's eyes, it is an endless game: playing against the law, fighting against finance, and even racing against time. He has long been accustomed to this tense life.
Today, as usual, Buckley sat in his small office, in front of him were piles of financial statements and tax law provisions. There were several computers with faint blue lights on the desk, and the corners were full of legal documents that were almost torn apart. The sun was shining outside the window, but Buckley didn't have time to appreciate it all.
"Buckley, you are a miracle." On the other end of the phone, William Seger's voice was full of amazement and almost trembling. William is the CEO of a multinational company, and at this moment he is celebrating Buckley's successful saving of millions of taxes for the company. For Buckley, this was just another successful project, and for William, it meant that millions of dollars would not have to flow into the government's pockets, but could be invested in the next expansion plan.
"It's just my job, William." Buckley's mouth corners slightly raised, and his fingers tapped lightly on the table. He had long been accustomed to such praise. "You know, the law is flexible, we just make full use of it."
"You are really a genius." William said with a smile. "I heard that the tax bureau was a little suspicious of our company and even checked some accounts, but the result was nothing. You really helped a lot."
"It's nothing, they are just routine inspections, there is no need to worry." Buckley said lightly. He knew that although the tax bureau had noticed William's company, Buckley's work was flawless, and even the most senior auditors of the tax bureau could not find any loopholes. His success did not lie in evading the law, but in using the law to accurately step on that vague legal boundary line, which was both legal and unnoticeable.
After hanging up the phone, Buckley breathed a sigh of relief and sat back in his chair. The office was strangely quiet, with only the slight hum of the computer. Just then, the sound of an email interrupted his thoughts.
Barkley opened his mailbox and saw an unsigned email with a simple and clear title: "Do you really know everything?" He frowned slightly and clicked on the email. There were only a few simple lines of text on the screen: "You feel that you are in control of the law, but you have never controlled your own destiny. Want to know the true whereabouts of your parents? You are not alone, they have been waiting for you."
He felt a chill climbing from his spine to the back of his head. The appearance of this email made him feel inexplicably nervous for a while. His parents? This is a pain point that Buckley tried not to touch. His parents mysteriously disappeared when he was a child. It was a nightmare he had never wanted to mention, and now it seems that someone knows the secret he has never let go.
Barkley forced himself to calm down. Whoever sent this email, they obviously knew something he was unwilling to make public. More importantly, the sender seemed to be closer to the truth than he thought. Buckley stared at the screen, trying to find more clues from the short text.
"Who is it?" he muttered to himself, and quickly glanced at the source address of the email, but as he expected, the email was sent from an anonymous server that could not be traced. The sender's technical level was obviously not low, which made Buckley more alert.
He stood up and paced in the narrow office, and his mind began to work quickly. For many years, he has lived a relatively stable life, and his tax avoidance business has been booming. Although there are thrilling times, it is generally under his control. But the appearance of this email made him feel a strange threat, a fear that was out of his control.
Buckley's parents are a pair of genius scientists who focus on cutting-edge genetic research. When they disappeared, Buckley was only ten years old, and at that age he did not understand what their work meant. The police concluded at the time that they disappeared because of some accident, but no remains were found and no clues were left. Buckley once desperately wanted to know the truth, but as time went on, he learned to seal up this past and bury it in the deepest part of his heart.
However, it now seems that this past has not been completely buried. Someone knows something he doesn't know, and is leading him to find the answers that have been hidden for a long time. Buckley is thinking about whether to ignore this email and continue his life, or follow this clue to uncover the dusty truth.
He walked to the window, opened the blinds, and the sun shone on his face. He looked at the bustling city outside, but his heart was shrouded in a deep sense of loneliness. This city has given him a sense of security countless times, but now it seems that it is no longer so reliable.
Just as he was about to turn off the computer and go outside to get some fresh air, the door of the office was suddenly pushed open gently, and his secretary Leah walked in. She is a smart and capable young woman who has been with Buckley for many years.
"Buckley, someone just left a letter at the front desk and said it was for you." Leah put the envelope on his desk, and a puzzled look flashed in her eyes. "It's strange, he didn't say who he was, and didn't leave any contact information."
Buckley took the envelope and frowned. There was no mark or postmark on the envelope, and it was obviously handed over by hand. Buckley's fingers trembled slightly, and his intuition told him that this letter was not an ordinary letter.
"Thank you, Leah." Buckley tried to make his voice sound calmer. Leah nodded and left the office tactfully.
Buckley slowly opened the envelope, and inside was a seemingly ordinary note with only one line of words on it: "If you want to know the truth, meet at the old pier at 8 o'clock tonight. Don't tell anyone."
Buckley's heartbeat began to accelerate. He knew that this was no accident. Both the email and the letter seemed to point to the same mysterious truth. What kind of secret were his parents involved in? And has he been monitored by some invisible force all these years?
Buckley stood in front of the window, staring at the sea in the distance. The old pier is a long-abandoned place that almost no one cares about. There is a high possibility that this letter is a trap, but at the same time, it may also be the beginning of the answer he has been pursuing for many years.
He glanced at his watch, and time was running out. Buckley sighed and made up his mind: no matter where this road leads, he must go to find out.
The wind outside gently blew the leaves, as if hinting that a storm was coming. Barkley knew that after tonight, his life would never be as peaceful as usual.