Chapter 246 Trickery II: Framing and Entrapment
Cecilia saw the message and was visibly unsettled for a second.
She thought, 'Officials from the Attorney General's Office coming to see Theodore… this can't be good.'
Cecilia straightforwardly said, "Something urgent came up, the meeting is temporarily canceled, wait for further notice. Everyone, continue with your current tasks."
She left with that statement, striding out.
Rose quickly followed Cecilia's steps.
The remaining people in the conference room looked at each other, completely clueless about what had happened.
Only Juliana had a sinister smile.
She recalled hearing Vincent and Andrew talk about how Theodore was bound to face big trouble today. It seemed like Theodore was indeed in hot water.
She thought, 'How ironic that Cecilia still wants to win me over.
'Does Cecilia even realize if she can hold on to her own wealth and status?
'It's laughable, really!'
Cecilia quickly walked towards the chairman's office.
At this moment, the prosecutors were preparing to take Theodore away.
Cecilia directly blocked their path and said coldly, "Where are you taking my dad?"
"We're taking him back for an investigation."
Cecilia asked, "What crime has my dad committed?"
"Whether a crime has been committed is for the court to decide. We're just taking him back to investigate the truth."
"What has my dad done that requires you to investigate the truth?" She would never let them take her dad away without knowing the details.
The prosecutors' faces showed slight changes.
They probably didn't expect to be obstructed, given their status.
One of the leading officials said, "We've received a formal complaint accusing Theodore of illegal bribery, with the amount totaling five million dollars. We need to take him in for questioning. Here's the warrant."
Cecilia scanned the document in front of her, then looked over at her father.
Theodore, trying to be reassuring, said, "Don't worry, I'm fine."
Cecilia pressed her lips together.
In that instant, she could almost pinpoint who was behind this scheme.
It had to be Dominic.
Dominic had ties with the noble family in her previous life. When the noble family targeted someone, their preferred method was to fabricate legal crimes and then had them face legal repercussions.
After all, the noble family had the means to make such machinations almost flawless.
"Contact my private lawyer, and then come to the prosecutor's office to find me," Theodore instructed.
"Got it." Cecilia nodded.
She watched as Theodore was escorted away by the officials.
Clenching her teeth, she forced herself to stay calm.
She returned to her office, briefed Rose quickly, and then left the Lockhart Group with Augustus.
Sitting in the car, she called Theodore's private lawyer, Henry Hall. "Mr. Hall, my father's in trouble and has been taken by the prosecutors. Where are you? I need to pick you up and head to the prosecutor's office immediately."
"I'm at the law firm."
"I'll be downstairs in ten minutes."
"Understood."
Cecilia hung up, urging Augustus to speed up.The car arrived quickly. Henry got in, not wasting a moment. "I just made some inquiries through connections. Mr. Lockhart is now suspected of commercial bribery, with a massive sum involved, and also of tax evasion."
"What?" Cecilia's face went pale.
Henry explained, his face serious, "Here's the situation: Mr. Lockhart was reported by William Green, the international contractor for the Flower Beach project. William, who recently fled with a large sum of money, is the whistleblower. The bribe recipient is the head of the Planning Bureau. The records indicate that the Planning Bureau head was bribed with eight million dollars, of which three and a half million came from Mr. Lockhart. Part of that three and a half million dollars was through an under-the-table deal with William, who was instructed to set aside three hundred thousand dollars for bribing the Planning Bureau head. The other part stems from the Flower Beach land deal—originally a forty-five million dollar contract was settled for twenty-five million. The remaining twenty million was funneled through a private contract, leaving this sum untaxed. Consequently, nearly seventy-five thousand dollars in taxes were also paid off as a bribe to the Planning Bureau head. In the Yakurosean Empire, while bribery carries severe penalties, tax evasion is even more harshly punished. If commercial tax evasion is discovered, it's treated with the utmost severity under the law."
"My father definitely didn't do it." Cecilia didn't need to doubt.
Henry nodded. "I also believe Mr. Lockhart didn't do it. The most important thing now is to get all the case materials and then conduct a thorough investigation."
Cecilia knew that being anxious wouldn't help now.
The most important thing was to get Theodore out on bail and obtain the so-called evidence.
She believed no matter how perfect the crime, there would always be flaws.
The car arrived at the procuratorate.
After a series of procedures, Henry copied all the case files, arranged for bail, and left the procuratorate with Theodore.
Sitting in the car, Cecilia quickly asked, "Dad, are you okay?"
"What are you thinking?" Theodore smiled, looking relaxed, "It's a law-abiding society now. Do you think I'd suffer any violence inside?"
Cecilia said, "I'm worried about your mental state."
"I didn't do it, so there's nothing to worry about," Theodore said nonchalantly.
"Don't take it lightly," Cecilia reminded.
Theodore looked at Cecilia; he was supposed to be trying to comfort her and not worry her so much.
But clearly, Cecilia understood the seriousness of the situation.
"Anyway, let's talk at home," Cecilia didn't say much more.
Saying too much might scare her father, too little and she feared he might underestimate the situation.
They should take things slow and deliberate their strategy over time.
They headed straight to the Lockhart Mansion.
At the villa gate, a black car was parked.
Cecilia recognized it immediately as Ophelia's car.
She thought, 'So Ophelia's family has come.'
'They really can't wait.'
"Mr. Hall, please give me the copies. I'll discuss them with my dad first, and we'll contact you later," Cecilia clearly didn't want Henry involved in their family matters.
Henry nodded, "Alright, you can discuss it first, but as your lawyer, I must remind you not to hide anything from me. This case is very tricky, and if you don't cooperate, I can't guarantee success."
Probably thought that they were going to collude privately or something.
Cecilia smiled, "Don't worry, we know what's important. Thank you for your help today, Mr. Hall."
Henry replied, "My pleasure."
Henry got out of the car at the villa gate.
Augustus drove them inside.
Theodore also saw Ophelia's car and knew they had come.
He said, "Cecilia, don't argue too much with Ophelia."
"That depends on her behavior," Cecilia replied coldly.
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