Chapter 159: Luo Piao Confesses to the Crime
More than ten minutes later!
The office door opened again and Xiao Liu hurriedly ran in, smiling and saying, "Xia team, the interrogation room is ready. We can interrogate Luo Piaopiao again at any time. Let"s quickly go over our words."
"Okay," Xia Mo said, "I just came up with a more reliable statement, which is to say that the communication company…"
After more than ten minutes pa.s.sed, Xia Mo finally finished going over the story with Xiao Liu. She then downloaded the audio file onto her phone using a data cable, and took her phone along with Xiao Liu to the interrogation room.
When Xia Mo and Xiao Liu entered the interrogation room, Luo Piao was already there and ready.
At first, she smiled and said, "Officer Xia, didn"t I tell you everything this afternoon? What else do you want to know?"
Xia Mo and Xiao Liu sat opposite Luo Piaopiao with blank expressions. Xia Mo furrowed her brows and asked, "Luo Piaopiao, do you usually pay attention to the development of communication?"
Development of communication?
Luo Piao looked innocent and asked, "What do you mean?"
Xiao Liu opened a folder and casually twisted the cap of his pen, saying, "Luo Piao, it seems that you don"t know how far the communication technology in our country has developed."
"Um…5G, right?" Luo Piaopiao said. "Nowadays, the whole world is competing for 5G. I have paid some attention to it."
"I"m not talking about that," Xiao Liu said. "I mean, do you know that our country"s communication companies have made great achievements in cloud storage in the past two years?"
Luo Piao looked at Xiao Liu with a puzzled expression and asked, "Um…I don"t pay attention to these things. What does it have to do with me?"
"Of course, it does," Xia Mo said, "Due to the achievements in cloud storage, our country"s communication companies have launched a service that can store all the call content of a number for a week."
"Within this week, all the calls you made and the content you talked about with anyone can be restored verbatim just by checking the storage," Xia Mo added.
What?
Hearing Xia Mo"s words, Luo Piaopiao seemed to have realized something and her face changed suddenly. She stuttered, "A..Are you joking? When did the communication companies have such a service?"
"To be precise, this is not a service," Xia Mo said. "In March of this year, our country pa.s.sed a bill that allows communication companies to automatically record and store their customers" calls in the cloud for a week. However, they are not allowed to leak these recordings without authorization, otherwise, they will face huge fines and compensations."
"These call recordings can only be accessed by law enforcement agencies. Unfortunately, the recordings of your calls in the past week have just been approved and sent over. So, Luo Piao, don"t try to argue anymore. Just confess honestly. We have already obtained all the evidence against you," Xia Mo said sternly.
Luo Piao stared at Xia Mo and suddenly sneered, "What a joke! I"ve never heard of such a thing. Stop fooling around. I don"t want to say anything now. I want to see my lawyer."
"Luo Piao," Xia Mo said, "Just because you don"t know about it doesn"t mean it doesn"t exist. Since you don"t believe me, then fine, let me show you something."
As she spoke, Xia Mo took out her phone and turned on a recording.
Luo Dawei"s voice sounded first.
"h.e.l.lo, Piao, it"s Dad. Have you had breakfast?"
Luo Piao said, "Yes, just finished. Dad, how"s your consideration going? It"s impossible for us to cooperate with Chu Tian here. He"s putting a lot of pressure on us. Once his White Milk Tea national chain starts up, our Xiang Piao Group really won"t be able to withstand it."
Luo Dawei: "Dad knows. Dad called to tell you that I had already made up my mind to kill Chu Tian…"
As the recording played halfway, Xiao Mo turned it off and looked at Piao"s frightened expression. "Piao, do you recognize this conversation?"
With a frightened look, Luo Piao looked at Xia Mo and shook her head, saying, "It"s fake, it must be fake. Don"t deceive me, I have never said such words."
Seeing Luo Piao"s expression, Xia Mo did not say anything. Instead, she clicked on another recording.
This time, the voice of Luo Piao sounded first.
Luo Piao: "Hey, Ah Wei, how are the arrangements going?"
Ah Wei said, "Miss, I"ve already contacted the person who kidnapped Chu Tian. Once the matter is over, they will not appear in Haicheng for five years.”
Luo Piao: "Is it reliable?"
Ah Wei: "Don"t worry, Miss. It"s definitely reliable. I"ve already given them a deposit of $2 million.”
Halfway through the playback, Xia Mo turned off the recording and played another recording.
Luo Dawei"s voice sounded first.
"Luo Piao, I"m your dad."
Luo Piao: "Dad, you tell me, is it convenient for me to do it on my end?"
Luo Dawei said, "Leave the matter of dealing with Chu Tian to Ah Wei. He is very good at torture; he will definitely force Chu Tian to say the formula of White Milk Tea.”
Luo Dawei said, "Once he captures Chu Tian, you"ll go with him and make sure to remember the recipe for White Milk Tea. Also, Chu Tian can"t be allowed to live. Leave the handling of the corpse to Ah Wei. Don"t worry about it, he knows how to handle it. You just act like you don"t know anything, got it?"
Luo Piao said, "Don"t worry, dad. I understand. I will only go with him to take note of the recipe for White Milk Tea. All the other things will be taken care of by Ah Wei."
Without finishing the recording, for the third time, Xia Mo stopped it and looked at the almost stunned Luo Piao, saying, "Luo Piao, you can try to argue, but these audio recordings, once verified by professional appraisal inst.i.tutions, then you know better than me whether they are true or false."
Suddenly, Luo Piao snapped out of her trance and swallowed a gulp of saliva before tremblingly saying, "I, I want to see my lawyer, I want to see him now!"
"Luo Piao!"
Suddenly, Xiao Liu let out a low growl and said, "Look at what"s written on the wall. Confess and you"ll be treated leniently, resist and face strict punishment. At this point, do you still want to argue? Do you know the consequences?"
It seemed that Luo Piao was frightened by Xiao Liu"s scolding, as she looked at him and swallowed another mouthful of saliva.
"Xiao Liu," said Xia Mo, "Can you go out for a moment? I want to talk to Luo Piao alone."
Xiao Liu glared at Luo Piao one last time, got up and left the interrogation room.
After only herself and Luo Piao were left in the room, Xia Mo spoke kindly, "Luo Piao, actually, I don"t need to question you anymore, because I have all the recordings of your crimes, including your father Luo Dawei. You two definitely won"t be able to escape legal sanctions now."
"I am questioning you again because I want to give you a chance to confess and try to obtain leniency," said Xia Mo in a gentle tone.
"What you did this time was very bad, and someone died as a result. Even though Chu Tian killed the person, it is your fault because you started the illegal act that led to Ah Wei"s death, and you must take full responsibility."
“If this case goes to trial, based on my experience, you and your father as the masterminds behind the scenes, will receive a minimum of 15 years or more prison.”
"I am also a woman. I really want to give you a chance and help you. You are already over 30 years old. If you really get sentenced to 15 years or more, by the time you are released, you may already be 50 years old."
"Do you know what it means to be 50?"
"Although you"ll still be wealthy after you"re released, you"ll never be able to be a mother again. At 50, you may already be menopausal, and you"ll never be able to have children again in your lifetime."
"Is your life complete without having a child as a woman?"
"I truly sympathize with you right now, if you confess tonight, you can still seek leniency in the handling of your case. The judge will definitely consider giving you a lighter sentence, no more than ten years. If you work hard to reform yourself in prison and try for parole a few times, who knows, you may only spend three or four years inside and be released."
"Then, you will still be young, able to get married and have children. Your life won"t have any regrets. Do you really want to ruin your life irreversibly?"
"And then there"s your father, Luo Dawei. Just like you, if you confess, you can also fight for leniency for your father. Your father is already in his fifties. If he"s sentenced to more than a decade or two in prison, Luo Piao, that"s prison. Are you sure your father can survive until he"s released?"
"And with a lenient sentence, it"s different. He will be like you, maybe only stay in prison for three or four years, four or five years. When he is released, he will still be a wealthy person and can still live a good life."
"Are you willing to see your father, who has worked hard all his life, end up spending his remaining years in prison? What"s the point of him making all that money if he can"t enjoy it?"
"Think about yourself and your father, Luo Piao. This is your last chance tonight because tomorrow morning we will hand over all the evidence to the prosecutor"s office. At that time, you won"t have the opportunity for leniency. You and your father will have to bear all the consequences."
"Alright, I"ve said what I needed to say. It"s up to you to think it over and decide. Let me know when you"ve made a decision."
After finishing her words, Xia Mo stood up and turned to leave the interrogation room
Suddenly, before Xia Mo could leave, Luo Piao cried out, "Officer Xia, I"ll confess. I"ll tell you everything."