Chapter 676: The True Mastermind

Su Zhiyuan desperately wanted to let out a shout……

She wanted to stop that man from speaking, she wanted to tell her mother not to be fooled.

But Su Zhiyuan's shout had just reached her throat…… when another henchman beside her…… clapped a hand over her mouth.

Immediately, a piece of transparent tape was quickly wound around Su Zhiyuan's mouth……

This completely sealed Su Zhiyuan's voice.

Su Zhiyuan only let out a muffled "uh-uh"……

She struggled more and more violently, her eyes filled with despair and helplessness.

At the same time, Su Monong had just finished a day's work and drove back to her villa.

Su Monong pushed open the door; the inside was completely silent.

Usually at this time, Su Zhiyuan had already gotten off work and returned home.

The daughter either reads in the living room or takes a bath in the bedroom.

But today the house was empty, with not a single person, and the lights weren't even turned on.

Su Monong furrowed her brows, raised her hand and glanced at her watch.

The hands…… already pointed to seven o'clock in the evening.

In her heart…… a hint of doubt and unease suddenly welled up:

"Why hasn't Zhiyuan come home yet? Normally she'd be back by this time; could she be out with friends and forgot to tell me?"

Su Monong muttered to herself while taking out her phone.

She was about to call Su Zhiyuan.

But when Su Monong dialed, all she heard was the prompt: "The number you are calling is currently in use."

Just as Su Monong, full of doubt, was about to dial again……

Her phone suddenly rang.

The caller ID showed Su Zhiyuan's number.

Su Monong felt a surge of joy, hurriedly answered the phone, her tone tinged with urgency: "Zhiyuan, where have you been? Why aren't you home so late, and I can't get through on the phone……"

But what came from the other end of the line was not her daughter's voice……

but a man's hoarse, rough voice.

On the phone, a stranger's male voice came through, carrying an icy threat, saying word by word:

"Your daughter Su Zhiyuan is in my hands; if you want her to live, obey my orders. Now, immediately do not call the police, cut off all your means of contact, do not inform anyone, including Lin Yuan, or you'll be waiting to collect a corpse!"

Su Monong's smile on her face froze instantly, her pretty face suddenly changed.

Su Monong's complexion instantly turned ashen, the fingers holding her phone trembled slightly.

Su Monong's tone instantly turned icy and hurried, she sharply questioned:

"Who are you?! What have you done to my daughter? I warn you, do not harm her, otherwise I will certainly not let you go!"

From the other end of the phone…… came a chilling snicker.

The hoarse man's voice…… still carried an unquestionable threat.

On the phone, the hoarse man…… said word by word:

"Who I am is not important; what matters is that your daughter's life is now in our hands. Be sensible, just obey, don't ask so much nonsense, otherwise you'll bear the consequences."

Su Monong took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

She knew…… panic was useless now; only by stabilizing the other party could she save her daughter's life.

Su Monong quietly opened the recording function on her phone, recorded the entire call, then spoke again.

Su Monong's tone was icy and firm, suppressing the trembling in her heart: "What exactly is your purpose? I say again, do not harm my daughter; if you have any demands, feel free to state them."

The hoarse man seemed to anticipate this, his tone grew even colder, and he directly laid out the conditions:

"It's simple; I give you two choices: either choose your daughter's life and obey me; or choose the Su Group's equity and watch your daughter come to harm. If you want your daughter to live, immediately hand over all the Su Group's equity, otherwise you'll be waiting to collect her corpse."

Su Monong's hand gripping the phone clenched tightly.

Su Monong's complexion twitched instantly.

The Su Group is her life's painstaking effort, the foundation of several generations of the Su family.

But her daughter…… is even more her life.

Having to choose between the two is undoubtedly the most cruel torment.

Su Monong suppressed the intense pain and panic in her heart.

Su Monong…… shouted angrily into the phone, her tone full of disbelief and fury:

"Your purpose is actually to want my Su Group's equity?! For equity, you dare to kidnap an innocent child—you have a lot of nerve!"

The hoarse man on the other end of the phone showed no ripple, merely speaking in a flat yet threatening tone:

"Yes. Either hand over the equity, or watch your daughter die; you have only one hour to consider, think it through, then call me back."

Upon hearing this, Su Monong's face changed abruptly.

She had originally been certain that this must have been done by Sun Weiwei and Sun Licheng father and daughter——

After all, they…… have long coveted the Su Group's equity, repeatedly scheming to frame her.

Now, Sun Licheng and his daughter, with nowhere to turn, kidnapping her daughter to extort her also fits their modus operandi.

But now it seems the situation is not what she thought.

If it were Sun Weiwei and her father, the kidnappers would surely have directly stated their names and eagerly urged her to transfer the equity to them.

But this mysterious kidnapper not only refuses to reveal his identity, but also demands that the equity be transferred into his own name, without mentioning Sun Weiwei and Sun Licheng at all.

Could this matter really have nothing to do with Sun Weiwei and her father?

Then who exactly is this mysterious kidnapper?

Why would he go to such lengths to kidnap her daughter, just to seize the Su Group's equity?

A string of questions swirled in Su Monong's mind, making her increasingly confused and uneasy.

Suppressing the doubts and panic in her heart, Su Monong forced herself to calm down.

Su Monong spoke into the phone, her voice low: "If you want the equity transferred, tell me how I should transfer my shares to you? What is the exact procedure?"

She knew she had to go along with the kidnapper's demands for now, first stabilize the situation, then find a way to rescue her daughter.

The hoarse man on the other end of the line remained icy in tone, without any hesitation, and directly laid out his clear demand:

"It's simple: directly transfer all 55% of the Su Group shares under your name to me. I'll give you only one chance—if you obediently complete the equity transfer, your daughter will live; if you dare play tricks, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"55%?" Su Monong's heart jolted.

Her equity happened to be exactly 55%, the core holding that controls the Su Group.

The kidnappers… obviously had already figured out her equity situation; they were clearly prepared.

Su Monong took a deep breath, her tone tinged with pleading and urgency:

"Transferring equity is no small matter; it involves major company decisions. I need shareholder approval and must go through a series of complicated procedures. I need half a month—please release my daughter first, and I will surely complete the transfer as soon as possible."

"Do you think I'm foolish?" the hoarse man on the phone sneered, his voice full of mockery and impatience,

"I'm giving you only three days—you must complete all equity transfer procedures within three days and transfer the full 55% of shares into my name. If the transfer succeeds, I will immediately release your daughter; if you fail to finish within three days, or if I discover any tricks, just wait to collect your daughter's corpse!"

Su Monong still wanted to plead, hoping to buy more time…

But the line already emitted a busy signal—'beep beep beep'—

The man gave her no chance to consider or explain, simply hanging up.

Su Monong clung to the already-hung-up phone, her pretty face turned ashen, her whole body limp as she slumped onto the sofa…

Su Monong's face turned deathly pale, tears spilling uncontrollably.

On one side lay her lifeblood, the Su Group…

On the other side lay her cherished daughter…

She was trapped in a desperate dilemma, her heart filled with despair and helplessness.

…

Meanwhile, inside the mysterious villa where Su Zhiyuan was being held…

The hoarse man who had made the call… set down his phone.

The man turned around, and respectfully reported to Sun Weiwei and Sun Licheng not far away:

"Miss Sun, General Manager Sun, the call is finished. Following your orders, I have already told Su Monong the equity transfer demand and deadline, and deliberately concealed our identity—she has not suspected anything."

Sun Weiwei sat on the nearby sofa; hearing this, she curled the corner of her mouth into a sinister cold smile.

Sun Weiwei's eyes were full of pride as she slowly said: "Well done."

She had long anticipated… that Su Monong would ask for time.

So, Sun Weiwei deliberately had the man give only a three‑day deadline…

She wanted to force Su Monong to make a quick choice, giving her no room to maneuver or to seek Lin Yuan's help.

Sun Licheng, standing nearby, nodded, a hint of a sinister smile appearing on his face.

Sun Licheng added: "This Su Monong loves her daughter dearly; even if she is reluctant to part with the Su Group's shares, for the sake of saving her daughter she will surely compromise."

Sun Weiwei let out a cold laugh, her eyes full of calculation:

"That's natural. However, I won't be foolish enough to let Su Monong transfer the shares directly to me or my father's name, lest we leave evidence. The man who made the call is a shareholder nominee we specifically hired—he has no background and no overt connection to us father and daughter."

"As long as Su Monong agrees to the equity transfer and moves the 55% of shares into this nominee's name, it amounts to handing over control of the Su Group to us."

Sun Weiwei paused, her tone growing even more sinister,

"By then, even if Su Monong realizes what happened and wants to call the police, they won't be able to trace anything to us father and daughter—every clue will point to this nominee."

Sun Licheng watched his daughter scheming, satisfied, and nodded:

"You've thought this through thoroughly. As long as Su Monong obediently transfers the equity, it won't be long before the entire Su Group becomes our Sun family's pocket—by then, Su Monong and Lin Yuan will be at our mercy."

Sun Weiwei looked at Su Zhiyuan, still bound to the chair and desperately struggling.

A flicker of ruthlessness flashed in Sun Weiwei's eyes, the smile at her lips turning even more chilling—

This time, she is determined to succeed.

No matter the cost, she will seize the Su Group and avenge all past grudges.

…

Meanwhile, Su Monong clung to the disconnected phone, her fingertips still trembling slightly.

Despair and helplessness wrapped around her, but she quickly forced herself to stay clear‑headed—

She cannot break down; her daughter is still in the kidnappers' hands.

She must find a way to rescue her daughter.

Almost without hesitation, Su Monong dialed Lin Yuan's number.

As soon as the call connected, the emotions Su Monong had suppressed for so long burst forth, her voice trembling with tears and urgency:

"Lin Yuan, something's wrong—Zhiyuan has been kidnapped! The kidnappers demand I hand over 55% of the Su Group's shares, or they'll hurt Zhiyuan!"

On the other end, Lin Yuan had just returned home; hearing this, his expression instantly darkened.

In the call, Lin Yuan's tone instantly turned grave: "Director Su, don't panic—first calm down, tell me all the details, I'll be right over!"

Without waiting for Su Monong to say more, Lin Yuan hung up…

…

In just a dozen or so minutes, Lin Yuan arrived at Su Monong's villa.

Lin Yuan pushed open the door and saw Su Monong slumped on the sofa, tears streaming down her face, her complexion ashen…

He quickly stepped forward, sat gently beside her, and patted her back.

Lin Yuan's tone gentle……he comforted:

Director Su, don't be scared, I'm here, it's alright, I will definitely bring Zhi Yuan back safely, you first calm down, the more panicked you are, the easier it is to make a mistake.

Under Lin Yuan's comfort, Su Monong's emotions gradually calmed a bit.

She lifted her tear‑streaked face……

Su Monong's eyes full of worry and doubt, her voice hoarse as she said:

Lin Yuan, I suspect……this might be the work of the Thunder Tiger Gate's remnants, they kidnapped Zhi Yuan before, now they're targeting us again, maybe they want revenge on us!

Lin Yuan gently shook his head, firmly denying:

Impossible, Mo Nong. The Thunder Tiger Gate's remnants have already been thoroughly wiped out by us, not a single one slipped through; it's utterly impossible for any leftover forces to emerge and kidnap Zhi Yuan—this must be someone else.

He knew the Thunder Tiger Gate's situation too well; the cleanup back then was extremely thorough, absolutely no fish could slip through.

Su Monong's speculation is clearly unfounded.

After speaking, Lin Yuan took out his phone, his gaze turning sharp.

Lin Yuan said to Su Monong:

"Wait for me a moment, I'll make a call to confirm something."

After he spoke, his fingertips quickly swiped the screen, finding Sun Weiwei's number.

Lin Yuan dialed without hesitation——

He had long suspected……

All of this is likely tied to Sun Weiwei and her father; he needs to confirm it personally.

After a few rings, the call was connected.

On the other end of the line…… there was no trace of Sun Weiwei's usual arrogant tone; instead, it was mixed with noisy, explosive music that made one's ears ache, clearly coming from a bustling place.

Lin Yuan suppressed the chill in his heart, his tone flat as he asked: "Where are you?"

On the other end of the line, Sun Weiwei deliberately affected a languid, impatient tone, mixed with the music's noise, and slowly said:

"I'm drinking at a bar, where else could I be? Lin Yuan, why did you suddenly call me? What's up?"

She deliberately put on an air of irrelevance just to dispel Lin Yuan's suspicions and cover up her kidnapping of Su Zhiyuan.

Lin Yuan listened to her tone and the background music, the chill in his eyes deepening……

Lin Yuan had already reached a conclusion in his heart, but he didn't expose it, merely saying lightly: "It's nothing, wrong number."

Having said that, without waiting for Sun Weiwei to speak again, Lin Yuan hung up directly.

After hanging up, Lin Yuan turned around to face an expectant Su Monong.

Lin Yuan said with certainty:

"No need to guess; this was done by Sun Weiwei. The music in the background was deliberately faked, her tone overly deliberate—clearly she's covering something up."

Upon hearing this, Su Monong's pretty face turned deathly pale instantly.

Her body trembled slightly, her eyes filled with disbelief and fear:

"Is it really her? She actually dared to do this! Lin Yuan, Zhi Yuan…… will Zhi Yuan be in danger?"

Lin Yuan gently took Su Monong's hand, his tone firm, giving her enough confidence:

"Director Su, rest assured, leave it to me; I'll handle it."

"I guarantee you, I will definitely keep Zhi Yuan safe, absolutely not letting her come to any harm. Stay at home, try to stall them as much as possible, don't readily agree to the equity transfer, and just wait for my news."

Having said that, Lin Yuan released Su Monong's hand, rose, and hurried toward the door……

Lin Yuan grabbed his coat, pushed open the door, and quickly got into his car.

The Tesla instantly started up, speeding off toward the outside……