Chapter 5 - A Witness of the Crime

"Thank you for sparing some time to meet this old man, CEO Lim Yi Sheng." he smiled bitterly at the man in front of him. He knows how busy the man is but what he was about to tell him is a very important matter considering his upcoming marriage with his grand daughter.

Lim Yi Sheng smiled and politely said, "It is my pŀėȧsurė to meet you Chairman Xi." Chairman Xi is already at his late 60's but his presence and demeanor has not changed at all, normal person would easily feel that this old man is someone you can't afford to provoke. He is, after all still the Chairman of Xi Empire and one wrong move could make your life turn to worst.

"You don't have to call me Chairman Xi, we all know that this title is still with me because my grand daughter refuses to accept it." it is not a secret in the corporate world that although Xi Ana isn't the chairman by any legal means she is already regarded as one by the whole world but that doesn't lessen the authority that Chaiman Xi Shendong holds.

"Anyway, I will get straight to the point as I know you are a very busy person. Do you know what happened with Ana's mother?" there was a sign of pain in the eyes of the old man which didn't escape from the observation of Lim Yi Sheng.

Honestly speaking, what the world knows is that the Madame or Chairman Xi's daughter died due to an illness, she was kept away from the public for three months and after that they announced her death even the burial was kept private. Lim Yi Sheng tried to investigate about it a few days ago but there was no other information regarding it, "I did try to investigate." he admitted.

"I know." a lot of people tried and Chairman Xi is notified with all attempts of trying to unveil the death of her daughter.

"Since you're about to be a part of the family I guess you have the right to know what happened with her." the pain a while ago has now resurfaced with longing and sadness.

"Xi Ana's mother was murdered." Lim Yi Sheng was a bit shocked with the sudden information though it is one of the possibilities he have concluded, but having it confirmed by Chairman Xi himself was too much of a shock for him.

"..and Ana saw everything." a surge of mixed emotion flooded the man but he remained calm and collected. So, the woman he was about to marry has a past like this.

"I don't know what exactly happened but on the day of Ana's 7th birthday, a party was held in the old residence of Xi Family. After all the guests were gone, Ana and her mother suddenly went missing." Chairman Xi is trying his best to conceal the pain in remembering the unfortunate events of the past. No one can understand the pain he felt when he learned that his only daughter was killed.

"We tried everything to find them but we were not able to locate them. Until at dawn of the next day, we were able to trace the vehicle that took them. We immediately went there but we were already too late. She's already lying on her own blood that some of it has already been washed away because of the rain, there is a total of 52 bullet holes in her body. They ruthlessly murdered my daughter." he is now crying in pain, remembering all these makes it hard for him to even breathe. He can still picture it clearly on his mind, his daughter's dead body in front of him.

"What happened to Ana?" Lim Yi Sheng remembered that they were both missing.

"When we went to the abandoned building at dawn, Xi Ana is standing in front of her mother's dead body. She's just standing there, she didn't even utter a single word when we reached them. Maybe seeing her mother die in front of her made a huge blow in her because from that day on, she forgot everything that happened to her mother that night." shock and worry registered on Lim Yi Sheng's face, he wasn't prepared for a huge secret like that.

"The doctors said that it might be a case of Cognitive Dissonance, to bring back the balance in her life she eliminated the thing that made everything complicated. It's not like she really forgot it, it's just that her mind made her believe something else."

It's a rather complicated matter but they couldn't find any reason to explain her situation.

"So your act accordingly and made up a reason why her mother wasn't around anymore?"

"Yes, I'd rather lie than force her to remember that event ever again."

"I just called President Xi's ȧssistant to ask if she has any remaining schedule for the day but she said that the president has canceled all her schedules because she has a personal matter to attend to." he was a bit disappointed because of what he heard. He was supposed to ask her out for a dinner but unfortunately she is not available.

He went to pick up a file from his desk and gave it to his ȧssistant.

"I want you to re-investigate this case." the ȧssistant opened the file and was surprised from what he saw.

"This is.." he can't hide the sudden change in his emotion upon opening the file, this is a very sėnsɨtɨvė case. It's not something you can just go and investigate.

"Yes, it is. That is the only copy in this world and no one else knows what really happened back then. Chairman Xi said that they never found any clue regarding the person who killed her and there is a big possibility that that person is a skilled hired killer who works for a lot of wealthy people."

"Does President Xi knows about this?" he can't help but ask. This is a very serious matter.

"She witnessed the crime but she has no recollection of what happened that night, she can't even remember any memory she had with her mother that day. She's soon going to be my wife, I want to know everything about her before that." he's not sure why but thinking about what happened to Xi Ana when she was young, Lim Yi Sheng can't help but feel pain on behalf of her even though she can't remember it.

He understands perfectly the reason why Chairman Xi wanted to take that secret to his grave, its to heavy. Xi Ana must have been in so much pain that she just entirely shut out the memories of that painful event.

"Try to figure out who killed her, do this as discreetly as possible. We don't want any further complications and if by any chance it is what I think it is then the more reason to keep everything under wraps. We can ȧssume that Xi Ana was able to live because she forgot what happened. Do you understand?" the look on the CEO's face is indescribable, there's only pain and worry. His emotions were in a disarray and he can't conceal it.

He then remembered that Chairman Xi also mentioned that Xi Ana was a cheerful young girl but starting from that day on she became cold and aloof, she doesn't want to talk to other kids anymore. They tried consulting a psychiatrist regarding her condition but they were told that Xi Ana might have unconsciously created a defense mechanism to protect herself from pain that is why she became the way she is now.

He raised his right hand to take a look at their engagement ring. There was a tinge feeling of regret forming in his heart and he knows it very well, he knows the reason why he's feeling this way.

"I shouldn't have listened, at least then, I wouldn't have cared." he silently muttered to himself.