Transmigration; Married to My Ex-Fiancé's Uncle-Chapter 205; Lu family 8

He didn’t wait for a response before disconnecting, ending the call with the same cold efficiency he applied to everything else in his life.

For a long moment, Lu Yuze sat motionless, staring at his phone as he processed the conversation and its implications.

His brother had seen Yuyan.

Had tried to claim her.

Had been denied and sent away.

That would create complications. Lu Cheng wasn’t stupid, he’d keep investigating, keep pushing, keep trying to understand the impossible situation of a dying child suddenly healthy and living with their nephew’s ex-fiancée.

Eventually, he’d find the truth.

Or parts of it, at least.

The marriage might come out. The real relationship between Shuyin and Yuyan. The fact that this wasn’t just some business arrangement but something far more complex and potentially dangerous.

But that was a problem for later.

Right now, Lu Yuze needed to protect his wife and daughter.

If his brothers thought they could interfere with his daughter, they were about to learn exactly why Lu Yuze was called the Frozen King.

Some things you didn’t touch.

And Yuyan, and increasingly, Shuyin, were at the very top of that list.

Lu Yuze pressed the intercom on his desk. "Ah Yue. My office. Now."

The response was immediate: "On my way, sir."

Less than ninety seconds later, his office door opened with barely a whisper of sound. Ah Yue entered with the efficient, economical movements of someone trained in both combat and corporate espionage, which, in fact, he was.

Thirty-something years old, compact and unremarkable in appearance, Ah Yue had served as Lu Yuze’s personal secretary, bodyguard, and fixer for over fifteen years. He was the one person outside of Yuyan whom Lu Yuze trusted without reservation. The one person who knew where all the bodies were buried.

Literally, in two cases.

"Sir." Ah Yue closed the door behind him and stood at attention, hands clasped behind his back, his expression neutral but alert. He’d been with Lu Yuze long enough to read the minute tension in his employer’s jaw, the way his fingers drummed once, just once, against the mahogany desk.

Something was wrong.

"Sit," Lu Yuze said, gesturing to the chair across from him.

Ah Ling sat, his posture perfect, his attention absolute.

For a moment, Lu Yuze said nothing, his gaze distant as he organized his thoughts. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, controlled, but edged with something darker.

"I want you to reopen the investigation into my wife’s death."

Ah Yue’s expression didn’t change, but there was a fractional shift in his posture, a sharpening of focus. "Xia Lin?"

"Yes." Lu Yuze leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepling beneath his chin. "I know we investigated thoroughly at the time. I know the official reports, the autopsy findings, and the hospital records. Childbirth complications. Hemorrhaging. Organ failure. Everything documented, everything explained."

"But?" Ah Yue prompted, because there was always a ’but’ when Lu Yuze used that particular tone.

"But something has never sat right with me," Lu Yuze admitted, his eyes cold and analytical despite the personal nature of the topic. "Xia Lin was healthy. Young. She had access to the best prenatal care money could buy. The pregnancy was monitored obsessively, I made certain of that, and everything was truly well, and the fetus didn’t have any complications. And yet, within hours of Yuyan’s birth, she was dead."

He paused, his jaw tightening almost imperceptibly.

"The doctors called it an unfortunate cascade of complications. Bad luck. A statistical anomaly. And at the time, I was too..." He stopped, reconsidered his words. "I was too focused on Yuyan’s survival to question it deeply. My daughter was dying, and that consumed everything."

Ah Yue nodded slowly, his mind already working through the implications. "You think it wasn’t natural."

"I think I’ve spent twelve years assuming it was natural because I didn’t have the capacity to consider alternatives," Lu Yuze corrected. "But now, with Lu Cheng sniffing around, with the family suddenly interested in Yuyan after a decade of carefully maintained distance, I’m wondering if I missed something. If there were forces at play I didn’t see because I was too consumed with grief and fear."

"What specifically feels wrong to you?"

Lu Yuze was quiet for a moment, his gaze turning toward the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city. Twilight was descending, painting the skyline in shades of amber and shadow. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"The timing," he said finally. "Xia Lin died, and within weeks, the Lu family started maneuvering to have Yuyan declared a lost cause. To pressure me to ’let her go peacefully’ instead of pursuing experimental treatments. To suggest that pouring resources into a dying child was irrational, unseemly, a waste of the family’s reputation and capital."

His voice dropped lower, colder.

"At the time, I thought it was just their typical callousness. Their inability to value anything that didn’t serve the family’s interests. But what if it was more deliberate? What if someone wanted both Xia Lin and Yuyan gone?"

Ah Yue’s expression remained neutral, but his eyes had taken on a dangerous glint. "Motive?"

"Inheritance. Control. Eliminating a potential threat to the succession line." Lu Yuze’s smile was sharp and humorless. "Take your pick. The Lu family has killed for less."

"Do you have any specific suspects?"

"No. Which is why I need you to investigate." Lu Yuze turned his full attention back to Ah Yue, and his gaze was absolutely frigid. "Go back to the hospital. Re-interview anyone who was present during the birth. Pull the medical records again, not just the official reports, but everything. Medication logs, staff schedules, and security footage, if any, still exist. Cross-reference the attending physicians and nurses with any financial irregularities around that time."

Ah Yue was already making mental notes, his mind cataloging the scope of the investigation. "The trail will be cold after twelve years. Records may have been destroyed, memories faded or corrupted, witnesses potentially unreachable."

I’m aware of that." Lu Yuze’s...