Wen Shulin paused for a moment, "Piert is very smart; he quickly learned the rules of the financial game, and with the ruthless tactics he honed in Africa, he rapidly rose in the financial markets."
"He swallowed up company after company, amassed a huge fortune, and ultimately established Griffin Capital."
Chen Cheng keenly caught on to this and inquired, "What happened to this GC later on? It seems I’ve never heard of it?"
"Due to a case of business fraud, it was jointly investigated by financial regulators from various countries and was ultimately forced to shut down," Wen Shulin replied.
"However, he didn’t fade into obscurity. Instead, he lay low and turned his gaze to Hong Kong Island, which had not yet been returned at that time."
Chen Cheng: "Did he go there to establish CGG?"
Wen Shulin nodded, then shook her head.
"In the early ’90s, he established several offshore companies there, engaging in various financial maneuvers, speculating in stocks, futures."
"The establishment of CGG, however, was related to another person, a woman who once again changed Piert’s fate."
Chen Cheng’s heartbeat quickened slightly; he knew that the story had truly reached its climax at this point.
He tentatively asked: "This time, it must be Alina, right?"
Wen Shulin nodded in acknowledgment, "The precursor to CGG was actually Lanyuan Capital Management Co. Ltd."
"And Lanyuan was Alina’s family business."
Chen Cheng immediately understood, "You mean, CGG was actually established jointly by Piert and Alina?"
"Yes. In the early phase, Lanyuan Capital was essentially the executive office of CGG, while Piert was a founding partner."
"Until Alina married Piert, the lines between the two became less clear."
Wen Shulin shrugged, "What happened next, I think you can guess. After the handover, CGG expanded into Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, in addition to the Hong Kong Island headquarters, creating a financial network across these five locations."
She looked at Chen Cheng, "Get it now?"
Chen Cheng sorted through the information provided by Wen Shulin, compared it with what he had gathered, and thought that such a legendary figure would not end his life so abruptly.
"Did Piert have any psychological issues?" Chen Cheng continued to ask.
Wen Shulin furrowed her brows slightly, "He was quite sunny, and loved sports. He would vacation in the South of France in the summer, ski in Switzerland during the winter, and consistently go hiking in New Zealand every year..."
She added, "He was outgoing, talkative, and enjoyed socializing when meeting with people."
Chen Cheng recalled the information where Piert described himself as "wearing a mask" and asked, "So he wasn’t depressed, right?"
The more Wen Shulin listened, the more confused she became, "He didn’t have depression."
Chen Cheng: "Then even less likely he’d overdose on sleeping pills and commit suicide, right?"
"Suicide?" Wen Shulin’s pupils dilated sharply, "What do you mean? Who... who committed suicide?"
Chen Cheng then took out his phone, opened the report, and handed it to Wen Shulin,
"This is an autopsy report for Piert, it lists ’drug overdose’."
Wen Shulin examined it closely, her face filled with shock.
"Keep reading. There’s a certificate from Piert’s psychiatrist, stating he suffered from depression and bipolar disorder," Chen Cheng scrolled through the screen.
Wen Shulin’s nostrils flared as she read and commented, "When Piert passed away, CGG’s public obituary stated that he died in a skiing accident due to an avalanche."
"I always thought it strange. Piert went skiing in Switzerland every winter, he was so familiar with the snow conditions and the weather, how could he possibly die in an avalanche at that time?"
She pursed her lips and continued, "I didn’t attend his memorial service, nor his funeral."
Chen Cheng steadied his shaking hands from the shock and asked again, "So, how was the relationship between Piert and Alina?"
"Alina, she loved him to the bone," Wen Shulin answered. "Otherwise, she wouldn’t have married him when he was penniless and also entrusted Lanyuan Capital to be managed jointly with him."
A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes, "Why are you asking this?"
Chen Cheng took back his phone, opened the saved video, and handed it back to her.
Wen Shulin held it with both hands, and upon seeing the unclear image in the video, she blurted out the name of the woman in the video, "Alina!"
She watched it over and over, especially after hearing the words "I never intended for him to die," Wen Shulin, like Chen Cheng, was engulfed in endless shock.
"Honey, are you saying..."
Chen Cheng: "I’m not certain, but all the evidence points to Alina being connected to Piert’s death."
"Where did you get these things?"
Chen Cheng replied, "Remember the video from Li Ya last time? I contacted that friend again yesterday, spent some money, and he got this for me."
Wen Shulin understood and looked at the contents on the phone again, "All of this, it’s really..."
Chen Cheng continued, "I also killed two birds with one stone and managed to get this along the way."
He showed the details of the trust fund to Wen Shulin.
Wen Shulin’s gaze swept quickly over it, and upon seeing the dividend ratio at the end, she finally understood why Alina was so anxious to sever all ties.
"30 billion... US dollars." She wasn’t unfamiliar with such amounts of money, but she didn’t expect her daughter could get so much.
"And annual dividends," Chen Cheng said calmly. "This money is a continuous stream."
Wen Shulin turned her head to look at Chen Cheng, "So what do we do now? Confront Alina?"
Chen Cheng pondered for a moment, "Will she be at the negotiation tomorrow morning?"
Wen Shulin shook her head, "No. She won’t bother with a deal worth 20-plus billion."