Chapter 571: Everyone in the Douglas family is very cunning.
In the car behind, the two dudes exchanged a look, floored it, and quickly backed up to bail.
Yeah, they got busted while tailing.
Ethan scowled. Were they here to keep tabs on him?
This crew probably wasn't Howard's, but Claire's.
Claire was likely trying to see if he'd go meet Brandon.
Claire hadn't gone full psycho on Ethan yet 'cause she was too cocky about handling all of Daniel's mess.
"Brandon, Claire's goons are on me. She'll probably find you before I do. Play along with her and Daniel," Ethan muttered into the phone to Brandon.
"Man, you're something else, making me mess with your dad and now your stepmom. What do you think I am?" Brandon teased, sounding exasperated.
"It's crunch time. If you screw this up, I'll really get rid of you," Ethan threatened, his voice low.
On the other end, Brandon coughed nervously. "Got it, boss. I'll handle it."
Ethan needed Brandon to stall and see what Howard's next move would be.
Howard would definitely go after Claire first.
After all, Claire knew too much.
Ethan wanted Howard and Claire to duke it out. In a tight spot, someone would spill the beans to save their own skin.
To take down Howard and dig up the truth from years ago, Claire was the only lead.
And Claire's weak spot was her own life.
On the way back to the Douglas place, Claire was in the car, catching some Z's.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash from behind, and a small car got hit and went flying.
Claire jolted awake, looking out the window in a panic.
"That was nuts. If that car hadn't broken the rules and rushed out, we would've been toast," the driver said, still shaken.
Claire's face went pale, and she felt a chill down her spine.
Could Howard really be trying to off her?
"Let's not get involved. Get us back, quick!" Claire said nervously, her voice shaking.
Her biggest fear now was Howard taking her down with him.
She wanted Howard's shares, not to push him over the edge.
"Call Daniel and tell him to get back here fast," Claire said quietly, glancing around. "Hurry up!"
The car accident had clearly freaked Claire out.
Claire was never very brave, and she did a lot of shady stuff, so she was always scared.
Someone with a guilty conscience always feared the victim coming after them.
The driver quickly got Claire back to the Douglas place. Claire got out, still pale, glanced around, and hurried inside. "Lock the door. No one gets in except Daniel and Lisa with the kids."
Larry and the nanny exchanged a look. "What about Mr. Douglas..."
"He ain't coming back," Claire said in a deep voice.
She knew Howard well. He made Daniel and Ethan compete, but his only goal was to buy him some time to deal with her.
"Call Lisa and tell her to get back too!"
Claire sat on the couch, feeling restless.
Someone like Howard wouldn't give her much time to think, so she had to win.
And she had to make Daniel win fast.
As for Ethan, she had to come up with a surefire way to keep him from competing with Daniel.
Ethan's weak spots were Jasmine and those two kids.
Jasmine was tough to deal with now, and Claire still wanted Jasmine and Daniel to patch things up, so she couldn't mess with her for now.
But those two kids could be targeted.
"Ma'am, Lisa said the kids are going to the science museum tomorrow and the amusement park the day after," the nanny came in and reported.
Ever since Annabelle's incident scared Lisa, she hadn't come back home.
She thought her mom had lost it.
"The science museum, the amusement park?" Claire frowned. "I heard Casey and Ethan's kids get along well?"
The nanny nodded. "Seems like it."
Claire waved her hand, signaling the nanny to leave.
Lisa could win the trust of those two kids, and maybe, this could be useful.
Daniel came back, looking pretty ticked off.
Claire eyed him and suddenly had a lightbulb moment. "Tomorrow, I'll find a way to get your sister out of the picture for a bit. You go find Casey and trick Casey and Ethan's kids."
Daniel was shocked. "Mom, what are you planning?"
Was she really losing it? Now she wanted to mess with those kids?
"No way, we can't actually hurt a child." Daniel refused.
"Daniel, think it through. If we don't deal with Ethan fast and snag Howard's shares, do you think your ruthless dad will spare me? Do you want to risk your mom's life for your little bit of compassion?" Claire snapped at him.
Daniel was stunned and went quiet.
Yeah, someone as cutthroat as Howard wouldn't leave any loose ends.
With Claire pushing him now, Howard would definitely make a move.
"Are you willing to be under Ethan's thumb for the rest of your life?" Claire pressed.
Daniel clenched his fists and finally said, "Alright, I know what to do."
Howard wasn't coming back to the Douglas house and was living solo.
Over the years, he had women on the side.
"Sir, that car accident didn't take out Claire, but it sure scared her." A bodyguard-looking guy walked in.
"Hmph, that witch dared to plot against me," Howard cursed, then added, "With this scare, she'll definitely go after Ethan, speeding up the process to get Daniel my shares."
After a pause, Howard said, "Keep an eye on her."
Howard was a sly fox. He wanted to use Daniel and Ethan to keep each other in check, hoping they'd take each other out and both end up in the gutter.
"Have you contacted the Raymond Group?" Howard asked.
"The head of their project department said once the contract's signed, there's no backing out unless their president steps in. Otherwise, no one can change it."
Howard nodded, pleased. "Good, as long as the Raymond Group doesn't budge, we still have time to watch Ethan and Daniel rip each other apart."
The bodyguard stayed silent, standing by.
The Douglas family was full of schemers, with the father and son plotting against each other.
The next day, at the science museum, Lisa wore matching mother-son outfits with Casey, with a little raccoon hairpin on her head, personally taking the three kids to the museum.
Justin and Joe wore wolf-themed outfits with little wolf ears, making the three kids look both adorable and cool.
Lisa stood at the back, watching the three little ones seriously queue up. "Turn around, let me take a picture of you."
Lisa had a DSLR camera, snapping pics of them.
Since her divorce drama with Jordan, Lisa had taken a break from the Douglas Group to fully focus on her kids, trying to make up for lost time with Casey.
"Mom, your phone's ringing." Casey pointed to the phone hanging around Lisa's neck.
Lisa answered; it was Claire. "Lisa, Jordan's here with me, saying you two are getting a divorce? What's going on? Come back right now. I need to talk to you urgently."
"Mom, I don't have time right now." Lisa frowned, not wanting to go back. "I'm with the kids."
"If you don't want to lose me, you come back immediately. Where are you? I'll have Daniel pick you up."
"Mom, we're at the science museum. We'll come back after we're done." Lisa wanted to hang up.
"Daniel will help you watch them. You come back immediately. I don't agree with your divorce from Jordan!" Claire found an excuse to trick her daughter into coming back.
Lisa was a bit annoyed but kept queuing with the kids.
On Saturday, the science museum was packed with kids, and the line was long. Before they could get inside, Daniel showed up.
"Casey." Daniel picked up Casey and looked at Lisa. "You should go home. I'll take care of them."
Joe glanced at Justin and whispered, "That's him, Mom's ex-boyfriend from school. Dad's rival is our rival."
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