The atmosphere in the family meeting room was so solemn that it seemed frozen. Dai Shiya walked into the room, and everyone's eyes fell on her at once, with scrutiny, suspicion, and even undisguised hostility.
"Shiya, you're here." The family elder, Mr. Dai, who was sitting in the main seat, spoke slowly, with a trace of fatigue in his cloudy eyes, "Do you have anything to say about the leakage of company secrets?"
Dai Shiya's heart tightened, but she tried to stay calm and asked calmly, "Grandpa, I don't understand what you mean. How could I be involved in the leakage of company secrets?"
"Humph, you still want to quibble after all this!" Dai Hua stood up abruptly, threw a stack of photos on the table, pointed at Dai Shiya's back in one of the photos, and said sternly, "This is the picture taken by the company's surveillance camera. Someone witnessed you entering the company's confidential archive room on the night of the incident. Do you still dare to say that you have nothing to do with this matter?"
In the photo, Dai Shiya is wearing simple home clothes and a mask on her face, and she walks into the archive room in a hurry. The photo was taken at a tricky angle, and the time information is deliberately blurred, making it difficult to distinguish true from false.
"This..." Dai Shiya was suddenly speechless. She had indeed been to the archives room, but that was a few months ago, and she was just looking for some old documents at that time and had not come into contact with any confidential information at all.
"Shiya, how could you do such a thing?" Dai Yong accused bitterly, "We grew up together, and I always thought you were an upright person. I never thought you would do such a thing as betraying the family!"
"I didn't!" Dai Shiya defended weakly, but everyone present had been deceived by Dai Hua's "evidence" and no one believed her at all.
"That's enough!" Mr. Dai slammed the table, a trace of disappointment flashed in his cloudy eyes, "Shi Ya, you disappoint me so much! Why did you do this? Have you forgotten your last name is Dai?"
Dai Shiya's heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
"Since you can't prove your innocence," Mr. Dai took a deep breath and his tone became unusually cold, "The family has decided..."
Dai Shiya's heart seemed to be tightly grasped by someone, and she had difficulty breathing. She knew that the family's suspicion was like a thorn in the flesh, and once infected, it would be difficult to get rid of it.
"The family has decided to revoke your management rights over all company projects from today on, and you are no longer allowed to participate in any matters related to core secrets." Grandpa Dai's voice was cold as he pronounced the "punishment" on Dai Shiya.
"No, I didn't! I didn't leak the secrets!" Dai Shiya raised her head suddenly and retorted desperately. This is not just a matter of power, but also about her dignity and her personality!
"Shi Ya, are you still stubborn?" Dai Hua shook his head in grief, "Do you know that you leaked the core secrets of the family? You are pushing the Dai family into the fire pit!"
"I didn't! I really didn't!" Dai Shiya repeated weakly, tears welling up in her eyes but stubbornly refusing to fall.
However, her defense was a feeble excuse in the eyes of everyone. They had already determined that she was the leaker, and any explanation was futile.
"That's enough!" Mr. Dai waved his hand impatiently, signaling the bodyguard beside him, "Take the young lady away and accept the family's internal investigation!"
Dai Shiya was forcibly taken away from the conference room and brought to a dark and damp basement. This was the interrogation room within the family, which was specifically used to deal with violations and betrayals within the family.
The cold light shone on Dai Shiya's pale face, which was particularly dazzling. The interrogator sat opposite her expressionlessly, flipping through the documents in his hand, and asked in a cold tone: "Ms. Dai Shiya, please explain in detail where you went and what you did on the night of the incident?"
Dai Shiya took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She knew that this was her last chance and she had to seize every opportunity to prove her innocence.
She described in detail all her actions that night, from leaving the company to returning home, every detail, even remembering which stores she passed by.
However, the interrogator just recorded it expressionlessly, without a trace of emotion on his face, as if he was listening to an insignificant story.
"You said you didn't leak any secrets, so tell me what's going on with this photo?" The interrogator threw the blurry photo in front of Dai Shiya, and her back was clearly visible in the photo.
"This photo..." Dai Shiya was suddenly speechless. She couldn't explain the origin of this photo, and she didn't know who was framing her behind the scenes.
"What? You can't tell me?" The interrogator sneered, "Ms. Dai Shiya, you'd better admit it and stop wasting everyone's time."
"I didn't! I really didn't!" Dai Shiya cried in despair, but she couldn't change anyone's opinion.
The basement door was slammed shut, isolating Dai Shiya's desperate cries in the cold darkness.
Wei Qing paced back and forth anxiously outside the Dai family mansion. She received news that Dai Shiya was under house arrest by the family! She had to find a way to meet Dai Shiya and find out what happened!
Wei Qing was extremely anxious. She knew Dai Shiya's character, she was stubborn and proud. Under such circumstances, she must be under tremendous pressure. Wei Qing tried to contact other members of the Dai family, hoping that someone would listen to her explanation, but everyone avoided her as if she was a carrier of the plague. Old Master Dai refused to see her, and other members of the family also shirked their responsibilities for various reasons. Even several cousins who had a good relationship with Dai Shiya on weekdays treated her coldly.
"Shiya would never do such a thing!" Wei Qing shouted at Dai Yong's back, but Dai Yong just paused and finally left without looking back. Wei Qing leaned against the wall dejectedly, feeling powerless. She realized that the trouble Dai Shiya encountered this time was more serious than she had imagined.
At the same time, Dai Hua was hiding in the study, whispering to a technician wearing black-framed glasses. "Remember, you must do it cleanly and neatly, and don't leave any traces." Dai Hua pointed to a surveillance video on the computer screen and ordered coldly, "Also, modify the time of this video to match the time of the incident that night."
The technician pushed his glasses nervously: "Mr. Dai, this is tampering with evidence, which is very risky..."
Dai Hua glanced at him coldly: "Risk? As long as you do it cleanly, there will be no risk. On the contrary, if you do it poorly, that is the biggest risk!"
The technician did not dare to say anything else, and silently operated the computer to modify the time on the surveillance video. This video was exactly the scene where Dai Shiya appeared near the company, and the modified time coincided with the time period when the confidential information was leaked.
Dai Hua nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, well done. After the matter is completed, you will definitely benefit from it."
The technician wiped the sweat from his forehead and left the study room with a sense of relief. Dai Hua looked at the modified surveillance video on the computer screen with a sinister smile on his face. With this "ironclad evidence", he believed that even if Dai Shiya had a hundred mouths, she would not be able to explain herself.
Dai Shiya, who was trapped in the basement, was unaware of all this. She curled up in a cold corner, exhausted physically and mentally. The interrogation by the interrogators almost made her mentally collapse. She explained over and over again, emphasizing her innocence over and over again, but no one believed her.
She thought of Wei Qing, the friend who always faced the ups and downs with her. At this moment, she wished that Wei Qing could appear in front of her, give her strength, and help her clear her grievances. However, she knew that this was just wishful thinking.
The door to the basement was opened again, and the dazzling light made Dai Shiya close her eyes subconsciously. A cold voice sounded in her ears: "Dai Shiya, the family has obtained new evidence to prove that you are the leaker. Now, what else do you have to say?"
Dai Shiya suddenly opened her eyes and saw Dai Hua standing at the door with a triumphant smile on her face. Her heart sank, and she had a premonition that a bigger storm was coming.
"New evidence?" Dai Shiya asked with difficulty, "What evidence?"
Dai Hua didn't answer, but just threw a USB drive in front of her.
"You can see for yourself." Dai Hua said, and then turned and left the basement, leaving Dai Shiya alone to face the USB drive and the upcoming judgment of fate...
The door closed again with a dull "click". Dai Shiya trembled as she picked up the USB flash drive, a chill spreading from her fingertips to her entire body. The light in the basement was dim, and she couldn't see any marks on the USB flash drive, as if it was a token from hell, foreshadowing her imminent fall into the abyss. She took a deep breath and tried to keep herself calm. Now was not the time to despair, she had to find a breakthrough to prove her innocence.
Dai Shiya inserted the USB drive into the only usable computer in the basement - an old laptop. The screen flickered with snowflakes, as if mocking her helplessness. The computer started slowly, just like her hope was extinguished bit by bit. Finally, the screen lit up and automatically played the video in the USB drive.
The video was the surveillance video of her appearing near the company that night. In the video, she was in a hurry and looked anxious, as if she was secretly meeting with someone. Dai Shiya's heart sank to the bottom. The video was edited to cleverly hide the person she actually met at the time - a delivery boy, leaving only the clip of her suspicious behavior.
"This is a frame-up!" Dai Shiya slammed the table, and the coldness of the metal made her a little more sober. She replayed the video over and over again, trying to find a flaw. The time was tampered with, the place was real, the characters were real, but the truth of the matter was maliciously distorted. She closed her eyes and tried to recall every detail of that night. The delivery boy, yes, the delivery boy! She remembered that she gave him some extra tips to thank him for delivering the food in the rain. If she could find him, maybe she could prove her innocence.
However, she was now trapped in the basement, isolated from the outside world. How could she contact the delivery boy? Despair surged in her heart again. She felt like a trapped animal, firmly locked in this dark cage, unable to escape.
At the same time, a family meeting was going on in the Dai family mansion. Dai Hua played the modified surveillance video to the family elders, vividly describing how Dai Shiya leaked secrets and damaged the family's interests. The elders were indignant and demanded that Dai Shiya be severely punished to serve as a warning to others.
"Shi Ya is such a disappointment!" A respected elder sighed bitterly, "I didn't expect her to do such a thing. It's such a misfortune for our family!"
Dai Yong sat aside with a complicated expression. He still didn't want to believe that Dai Shiya would do such a thing, but the "iron evidence" made him have to admit that things were very unfavorable to Dai Shiya. He tried to defend Dai Shiya, but was interrupted by Dai Hua with a sneer: "Dai Yong, I know you have a good relationship with Shiya, but the facts are in front of you, do you still want to protect her?"
Dai Yong opened his mouth but said nothing in the end. He knew that saying anything now would be useless and would only put himself in trouble.
The family meeting finally decided to isolate Dai Shiya for investigation and freeze all her assets until the truth was revealed.
The door of the basement was opened again, and Dai Hua walked in with two black-clad bodyguards. He looked down at Dai Shiya, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.
"Dai Shiya, the family has decided to isolate you for investigation." Dai Hua's voice was emotionless. "From now on, you can't contact anyone, and you can't leave here at all."
Dai Shiya raised her head and looked at him firmly: "I believe the truth will eventually come out."
Dai Hua sneered: "The truth? Now the evidence is conclusive, what else do you have to quibble about?" He waved his hand, and two bodyguards stepped forward, carried Dai Shiya, and dragged her out of the basement... At the end of the corridor, there was a tightly closed iron door.