Former Mastermind To Chaebol Son-in-Law
Chapter 156 ·It's a Kind of Tactic
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It's a Kind of Tactic
【T Group executive A—murder suspect Reina Blackwood (age 33) and six others wanted.】
【Mysterious death of T Group executive, signs point to disguised poisoning and suicide... Meanwhile, manipulation by prosecution, police, and National Forensic Service personnel is also suspected...】
【Reina Blackwood and six others internationally wanted, banned from leaving the country considering possible escape abroad...】
【Death of T Group executive A disguised as suicide, trust in investigative authorities shaken.】
.
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The video of the death of Taeshin Group executive vice president Tae Seok-ho spread rapidly through media and the internet. Simultaneously, serious suspicion spread through the investigative agencies, causing complete upheaval.
Despite it being past midnight, Im Deok-chang, who was at the National Intelligence Service, let out a deep sigh as he read the articles and shared materials from law enforcement.
"This is a total mess..."
Based on the results of the Taeshin Trading temporary shareholders' meeting, he judged it impossible to stop AMK Partners' dominance. Due to that, Reina Blackwood requested approval to deal with Tae Seok-ho, and Im Deok-chang allowed it.
He had concluded the Taeshin Group project was as good as a failure.
Moreover, he had even revealed his identity to him. In a situation gone wrong, he couldn't leave any traces behind.
As a result, he tried to sway public opinion to destroy AMK Partners' domestic image as well.
But the situation was completely flipped when a video was submitted showing Reina Blackwood killing Tae Seok-ho.
"Where did the information first leak from? Or rather, how much do those guys know about us?!"
His frustrated muttering continued.
Then, an alarm sounded on his phone. Im Deok-chang opened his drawer and took out another phone he had hidden inside.
A call came in with a blocked caller ID.
He pressed the call button, and a familiar voice reached him.
[Sorry for the late contact. I just arrived at the destination. About three hours until departure.]
It was Reina Blackwood.
Im Deok-chang sighed at the sound of her voice.
"Hoo—! Is the situation safe?"
[No tails, and we finished checking the stowaway route.]
"Then tell me the situation. Didn't you finish and wrap up the job?"
After Tae Seok-ho was killed, there shouldn't have been any CCTV or witnesses.
[I definitely checked. The Wiper installed on the server worked without any issues after we pulled out.]
According to the news, Taeshin Trading's network had suffered a shutdown and paralysis, and follow-up articles mentioned the damage would take significant time to recover from, so it was only natural to be suspicious.
"Don't you realize what kind of situation your mistake has caused?"
[Whoever looks at this, it's obvious the timing was targeted. Did you find out who submitted the video?]
"Of course I checked. But they claim they never submitted anything. Someone used their server just to upload the video."
[What about tracing it?]
With nothing she could do right now, Reina kept asking questions.
"If there were any leads, I wouldn't be sitting still like this."
Not only did the signal bounce through dozens of IPs, but ghost IPs were even mixed in between. In the end, it was impossible to track the perpetrator.
[Then what are you going to do now?]
"There are a lot of things to handle immediately. For now, you take the agents and go to the camp."
[What should I do about Kureha, who's on standby in New York?]
Originally, Reina planned to join Kureha after dealing with Tae Seok-ho and then proceed with another project.
Kureha, who had gone ahead, was suddenly left hanging.
"Hannya will handle those people. So just make sure you get out of Korea safely."
[... Understood.]
With that, the call ended.
Im Deok-chang, still holding the phone, let out another sigh.
.
.
.
With plenty of time until morning.
About 65 km southwest of Incheon, in the southern forests of Ul Island, seven people kept themselves low and hidden.
They were WID agents, former bodyguards of Reina Blackwood and Tae Seok-ho.
"Is it about time to move?"
At Reina's quiet murmur, one agent checked his wristwatch. The faint green backlight illuminated his face and those of the others nearby.
"I think it's good to move now."
Everyone quietly emerged from the woods and headed for the rocky coast.
Reina swept her gaze around the area. It wasn't because she sensed anything in particular. If anything, it was too quiet, and her expression was full of suspicion.
KURURURUNG—
Suddenly, thunder sounded in the sky as the wind picked up.
Before long, the waves grew with the rising wind, and rain began to fall, brushing across her vision.
"I figured we'd be tailed and laid out a trap... Are they not showing up this time?"
She picked up her radio as she muttered.
"Anything found in the woods?"
CHIJIJIK—
A man's voice crackled through the static.
[This is Beta. Nothing so far.]
[This is Charlie. Nothing.]
[This is Delta. No one found.]
A full four teams. A total of twenty WID agents had been stationed on the island for the ambush.
Hearing the responses in the rain, Reina let out a low hum. She recalled what happened after dealing with Tae Seok-ho at Taeshin Trading.
Normally, if they had simply escaped by car from the underground parking lot, everything would have ended quietly.
But by blocking the way with the fire system, they raised the threat level and forced even the WID agents masquerading as security guards to pull out.
Their escape together through the first floor was caught by CCTV, leaving obvious evidence behind.
"Was it really just a waste?"
After Skull had outmaneuvered her so many times, she tried reversing the trap this time.
But maybe even that was within the palm of their hand, as nobody got caught.
The rain kept pouring harder.
At that moment, one of the agents finished a radio call and approached.
"The boat is ready. Should I call it in?"
Reina, glancing around with an expression full of regret, spoke.
"Call them. There will be more chances later."
The agent responded and turned on a flash, blinking it at regular intervals.
Soon after, a boat appeared in the distance, cutting through the waves toward them.
* * *
【Murder of T Group executive A disguised as suicide, all involved from prosecution, police, and the National Forensic Service to be punished!】
【Murder disguised as suicide: T Corporation executive A, confirmed collusion within investigative agencies... Legal consequences unavoidable!】
【National Forensic Service implicated in major corporate executive's case. Prosecutor General declares "thorough punishment"! Whereabouts of suspects currently unknown...】
【T Group executive A's funeral, delayed by the reinvestigation, is again held as a private family ceremony. Burial completed without incident...】
.
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A few days later.
In-hyuk came to work as if nothing had happened.
Baek Si-hwan, who followed him into the office, handed over a set of result sheets.
"This is the welfare project investment list you asked about last time. I only included records deemed important—details are uploaded to the cloud."
"I'll check it out. By the way, the security guards will finish their leave and return before noon. Manager Baek, focus on your admin work as usual."
At those words, Baek Si-hwan let out a faint sigh through his nose and replied.
"If you ever need anything, just ask."
"I will."
After he left and the door was closed, In-hyuk checked Ghost Link on his phone.
【Norman: Confirmed the shares Tae Seok-ho held have been spread out, and I finished buying up the extra 6.2% that came up with the downward trend.】
In-hyuk hadn't missed a beat, even during the funeral.
With this, even excluding the 12% held by Tae Gun-seung, he now secured 38.5% of the shares.
As such, unless Tae Gun-seung handed his shares elsewhere, no other party could secure more than 38.3%.
He had, in effect, become owner of Taeshin Trading, the actual holding company of Taeshin Group.
【Gordon: Good work.】
【Norman: All we did was relax in a hotel and vote.】
【Gordon: For the next step, proceed as previously advised.】
【Norman: If you have any other instructions, just let me know anytime.】
The reply was full of loyalty.
In-hyuk nodded as he checked other messages.
"Hm...?"
He noticed a previously unchecked message that caught his eye.
【YM23: Recently, the deputy representative has been driving himself around on some schedules, without a driver.】
This came from someone he had poached at Yulmyung Law Firm.
The firm not only handled the will of Chairman Tae Gun-seung, but also managed domestic affairs for AMK Partners' Korea branch.
In addition, in a previous life, Vice President Byun Sang-hoon ousted the current CEO Choi Myung-jin through illegal means, causing a huge scandal there.
"Is he meeting a discreet client? It's not quite time for him to make his move, though."
In-hyuk wired a payment for the information fee to the owner of the account and sent a reply.
【HERMIT: Five times the usual rate if you find out the destination or the person they're meeting.】
Normally, he didn't make unreasonable demands of his informants—just asked for what they naturally saw or heard.
But this time, he was pushing because the source in Yulmyung was someone due to be kicked out after causing trouble.
Since he'd be discarded anyway, it was useful to employ him for crucial intelligence.
【YM23: Ok.】
Greed for money must've convinced him, as the acceptance was instant.
"No wonder he gave Tae Seok-ho those damaging legal leaks so easily in the past."
Satisfied, In-hyuk nodded as he checked the rest of the information.
KNOCK KNOCK—
At that moment, a knock sounded and two familiar faces entered.
"Division Director! Have you been well?"
It was Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester.
They had gone on a "business trip" disguised as vacation and came back tanned.
"Did you rest well?"
"Well enough."
Conscious of Baek Si-hwan, surely eavesdropping outside, they lightly lied and closed the door.
"Ah, you uploaded everything we retrieved from the DRC (Dominican Republic of the Congo), right?"
At the question, Hong Yu-geon took a USB drive from his pocket and handed it over. He slumped onto the sofa as he spoke.
"I forgot to give you this one."
"Why didn't you upload it?"
"The satellite transceiver we were using in the Congo broke."
In-hyuk plugged the USB into his computer and began checking the contents one by one.
"So, these are the records tracking their movements through the food supply route."
"You have to eat to live, wherever you are. By the way, why didn't you deal with Reina Blackwood?"
In truth, the two had returned to the country days before to watch over Reina Blackwood. At In-hyuk's order, they filmed the video of Tae Seok-ho's death and reported it anonymously.
Of course, they also knew she would try to flee through Ul Island after going on the run.
Given all that, when In-hyuk did not pursue her afterward, unlike usual, they found it strange.
"There was probably a trap this time."
"A trap? How do you know?"
"Despite the video evidence and her being wanted, her movements slowed down. That means something special was prepared."
"You could predict that?"
Even Kooou had been tricked by In-hyuk several times, so they were likely on edge.
"It's a kind of tactic."
"Anyone would think you're a war veteran, hearing that. So, what do we do next?"
"There's plenty to do, so don't rush me."
At In-hyuk's reply, Hong Yu-geon clicked his tongue.
"Tch—! I thought things were mostly wrapped up and there'd be nothing to do! Shouldn't have asked."
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