Darkstone Code
Chapter 175 - 0173 The Role of Family

Chapter 175: 0173 The Role of Family

"Goodbye, Mr. Gap!"

Amidst voices bidding farewell, Gap saw off all the office staff, then began to count some ledgers, and after putting them back neatly, he left a record of inspection. Only after locking the safe and the office door did he leave.

This was one of his daily tasks. Though he didn’t need to do it, he did anyway. He felt it was necessary, as it ensured that if any problems occurred, they could quickly be traced back to a specific time and handler.

At the moment the lights in the empty room turned off, the reserved smile of "Group Partner" on his face disappeared along with the light, replaced by a sense of agitated worry.

After a meeting with President Neo, he learned some more detailed internal situations which stabilized his emotions a bit, yet another emotion was brewing.

Actually, before finishing work, the president’s secretary had notified Gap to go to the office, as Mr. Neo wanted to see him.

After tidying up his attire, Gap met with Mr. Neo in the president’s office, where he was very cordial and even offered him a cigarette, and assigned him a task.

Only this task was not so easy to accomplish.

"You know, I had a bit of an unpleasant incident recently with the mayor and the governor!" President Neo said in the office at that time.

As a subordinate, all Gap could do was nod, hardly fit to say anything else, while Neo continued with a smile, "Therefore, my application to move out of the state will definitely face difficulties. They will surely do everything possible to prevent us from moving smoothly, no matter the means!"

After saying this, President Neo paused for a while before continuing, "Gap, you are a very ambitious young man. I’ve heard you often work overtime voluntarily and are very united with colleagues, which is a good thing. I believe you have been rewarded with becoming a group partner."

"Next, I need you to prove your value to all of us. They will definitely come to audit the accounts, and you need to ensure there are no errors with the ledgers. At least, if issues arise, they aren’t under your purview. Can you do that?"

Faced with such a problem, what else could Gap do but nod?

Even though he felt a bit guilty, he could only tough it out.

Neo then told him that if he could solve this problem, he would propose in the board meeting to let Gap serve as a senior partner of the group company once they reached the new location, and he could attend board meetings.

This statement didn’t motivate Gap as much as it used to. Of course, on the surface, he feigned being very excited and eager, actively assuring the fulfillment of President Neo’s request.

The dim light in the underground parking garage inexplicably frightened him, and his hands became somewhat disobedient. When he opened the car door, the car key fell to the ground, and when he attempted to insert the key into the lock next to the steering wheel, it dropped onto the floor mat.

He didn’t understand why he felt an inexplicable panic, as if something was madly hitting against something inside, causing him suddenly to lose all his strength.

Suddenly, in an outburst of emotion, he heavily slapped the steering wheel, as if to vent his frustration.

But immediately the sudden blaring horn sound startled him!

In the silent, almost dead quiet basement, the abrupt horn was too sudden, shocking him into a tremor.

He awkwardly lay on the steering wheel for a while before the bursting emotions gradually subsided. Only then did he pick up the key, insert it into the lock, start the car, and slowly drive toward the exit.

At a place like the headquarters building of the Ristone Group Company, the security guards naturally were very familiar with every vehicle parked here. Usually, when Gap’s car went in and out, the guard in the booth would, without requiring him to stop, directly raise the barrier.

But today was different. His car arrived in front of the barrier, yet it didn’t rise, and to his surprise, the security guard, who never left the booth, walked out.

He knocked on the car window, and Gap hesitated for a second or two before rolling down the tinted glass.

"Mr. Gap?" The guard glanced at the notebook in his hand, then at Gap, as if trying to recognize him.

This was an unfamiliar guard. Gap nodded, "Is there something wrong?"

The guard marked something on the notebook, at least from Gap’s angle. He then raised his head, revealing a set of white teeth, "No, sir. I’m familiarizing myself with my new job. Sorry for taking up your time!"

His gaze swiftly scanned the back seat of Gap’s car before retracting, "I’ll raise the barrier now. Have a good night, Mr. Gap!"

Gap nodded, didn’t roll up the glass, and drove out of the underground parking lot directly.

Even at night, the sweltering summer heat remained, causing Gap, driving with the windows down, to tear off his tie. He felt agitated, an indescribable feeling unsettling him every moment.

Fear, panic, hatred, disgust, anger...

A torrent of negative emotions made him sensitive and irritable, a condition that began after his private conversation with Neo.

Actually, he was very clear that this was the biggest crisis in his life. When a local government uses national power to do something, it is basically impossible for it to fail.

President Neo wanted him to ensure these accounts were fine. He was very likely able to do this. He could make the accounts of the Group Company look perfect, with not too many flaws, but he couldn’t handle other people’s accounts.

It’s a very simple principle. Suppose they sold a hundred items to another company. There’s nothing wrong with the accounts, but he couldn’t change the ledger of the receiving company.

Whether it was a hundred items, how much each item cost, when they were entered, who was in charge, all of this could be found out from that other company.

If these were already colluded on, then they would check the bank transactions.

There are no problems with individual account changes, then they would check the overall ones. If the overall ones are fine, then check the time periods. If those are fine, then investigate further upwards. As long as there’s a problem in the account books, there’s a possibility of being discovered!

Previously he could confidently say that the accounts he handled had no issues. All of this was based on the principle that Ristone was a pillar industry in Sabin City, and the prevalence of local protectionism meant that even if there were some issues, under local protectionism, the Ristone Group would have none.

But once that most important outer shell is lost, many things become unpredictable.

The simplest principle is that no one thought the Henghui Group would suddenly collapse before it toppled. All their department managers were among the best both domestically and internationally.

Including professionals in their financial department, one of whom even appeared in the early versions of professional textbooks.

But even so, they couldn’t withstand the Federation’s system investigation. Can Ristone withstand it?

He didn’t know, he only knew he was very scared now, he couldn’t even focus to drive!

Past nine in the evening, Gap drove home, opened the door, and wearily headed upstairs, uninterested in anything.

Vera, sitting on the sofa watching TV, glanced back at Gap, surprised, and asked, "Did someone beat you up?"

Gap’s eyes had a noticeable ring of bruising, his second collar button, along with a small piece of fabric, had been torn. This sorry state was a first.

Even if Vera didn’t want to deal with him, she couldn’t help but ask this question.

Gap snorted, shook his head, and headed upstairs. As he was about to close the bedroom door, he retorted, "I didn’t get beat up, I got into a fight."

There was a tone of pride in his voice, an inexplicable sense of dignity. Vera quickly returned her attention to the television show; he could still rebuff her, which meant Gap’s situation wasn’t too bad.

Actually, he only had a bit of conflict with the car behind him while waiting at a traffic light. When the light turned green, he was still thinking about work, and the horn behind him blared incessantly, interrupting his train of thought.

A bit ashamed and angry, he leaned out and cursed a few times, making a gesture that everyone in the Federation knew, then the honking stopped.

At any other time, Gap wouldn’t have done what he considered an uncultured act, but today he suddenly couldn’t hold back.

A shirtless man with a full beard opened the driver’s side door and got out. Normally, Gap would have floored the gas pedal and left.

But today his emotions were not right, he didn’t do that, instead, he turned off the engine, and then...

Perhaps being hit by a real iron fist made him realize many things he couldn’t resist, and he also understood that if something really happened, the first to suffer would be President Neo and the board members.

He was just a miserable accountant; he had no power to choose.

Getting a beating seemed to make him feel better. He stopped thinking about the things he couldn’t figure out, and while taking a shower, he even started humming a tune.

After showering, Gap put on his pajamas and went straight to the study. He opened the safe, looked at the copies that should have been disposed of, and hesitated a bit.

Once the "work" was underway, keeping the items here might be a bit dangerous. He hesitated whether to dispose of them or store them in another place.

Besides these, there were some other items in the safe that also needed transferring, some related to the company, and some not.

After making a list, he came to the living room, sat on the sofa, and looked at his wife.

The reason management could let him alter the accounts was because he had a stable family, a beautiful wife, and a lovely child. Such people would do their utmost to protect their family, even at the expense of themselves if necessary, to keep their secrets.

"I need your help, Vera!"