Chapter 596: Bradley Wants to Help Ethan?
Bradley just sat there, not saying a damn thing.
He felt like the whole world had lost its mind.
Claire stormed back to the Douglas family, looking like she was ready to kill someone. She tried calling Daniel to come back and talk, but the dude ghosted her all night.
"Ma'am, here's some hot milk," the housekeeper said, walking in with a cup and handing it to Claire.
Claire's face went from bad to worse. She took a sip, and something felt off. She frowned.
The housekeeper turned white as a sheet and backed away quickly.
Claire got it instantly, called in some folks to grab the housekeeper, and dialed 911.
"Ma'am, you should hit the hospital and get your stomach pumped."
Claire hadn't swallowed much poison, but the whole stomach-pumping, injection, and IV drip ordeal dragged on all night.
Eventually, the cops found the milk was just loaded with sedatives. Claire hadn't drunk much, and she would've been fine after a good nap.
Claire lost it and started smashing stuff in the hospital room.
"Ma'am, about the housekeeper," Howard's assistant, Mark, walked in, looking around nervously.
"Forget it. Just get her out on bail." Claire didn't want the housekeeper blabbing to the cops.
No need to ask. Claire knew who was behind it. It had to be Howard.
Howard couldn't wait to see her dead.
He didn't want to make a scene, so he had someone slip her sleeping pills, hoping she'd never wake up.
"I want to kill Howard! I want to kill him!" Claire's voice was raw, clutching the bed sheet tightly.
Mark stepped up to calm her down, speaking softly, "Howard's a sneaky bastard, using a woman to take the fall. He's the worst."
Claire, shaking all over, hugged Mark and gritted her teeth. "You have to help me kill him! You have to!."
Mark nodded. "Howard wants me to go with him to Bostan tomorrow. Looks like he's made some deal with Mr. Patrick there. I'll find a chance to take him out."
Claire's face went cold. Howard and the Patrick family in Bostan?
It made sense. The Raymond Group had been blowing up lately, overshadowing the old top dogs. The Raymond Group was now crushing the Douglas Group, and the SHC Group wasn't doing much better.
Henry was smart enough to avoid direct conflict with the Raymond Group but dodging them forever wasn't a solution.
Even if Henry played it cool, Mr. Patrick couldn't be totally chill about it.
Plus, the Patrick family was a mess. Word on the street was that Henry's half-brother, Ian Patrick, was also pretty sharp. The family head let Ian join SHC Group, probably because of the threat from the rising Raymond Group.
Was Howard looking for a buddy because he couldn't keep up?
"Howard wants to team up with the Patrick family? In his dreams!" Claire snarled. "Find a way to leak this to Ethan and Brandon."
Claire's face twisted with anger, now burning with rage and hatred, ready to take Howard down.
Ethan got a call from Brandon after his meeting at the Douglas Group.
"Did you hear? Howard went to Bostan to team up with the Patrick family," Brandon said with a grin.
Ethan snorted. "This is his last-ditch effort."
Because besides the Patrick family, he had no other options left.
"Did Howard bring Bradley into the company?" Brandon asked over the phone.
Ethan's eyes landed on the lone figure at the end of the conference table. Everyone else had bailed, but Bradley stuck around, clearly waiting for Ethan.
"Looks like he's waiting for me," Ethan muttered.
"Your brother's no joke," Brandon said casually. "I did some digging. The guy's got skills and, oh, he's gay."
Ethan leaned back in his chair. "You knew that too?"
"Who do you think I am?" Brandon sounded pretty smug.
"Don't push it," Ethan frowned. "So far, he hasn't crossed any lines."
Plus, Bradley's mom had just passed away.
The guy had a rough life.
"Relax, I got this."
After hanging up, Ethan got up to leave.
Bradley finally stood up after a long silence. "Can I have a minute?"
Bradley was a cool customer. He'd never take Ethan as his brother and Ethan wouldn't acknowledge him as one either.
Ethan looked at him. "What's up?"
"I..." Bradley clenched his fingers, like he was gathering his nerve. "I don't want to compete with you for anything. My mom didn't know Howard was married at first. She only found out after she got pregnant with me and saw him with your mom in the financial news."
Ethan felt a bit annoyed. He didn't care about this stuff and wouldn't take it out on Bradley. He just didn't like these people.
"I'm sorry. By then, she was already pregnant with me. Even when she tried to run, he found us. When I was ten, he used me to threaten her. If she didn't stay, he'd take me away. Later, he said his wife had died, and my mom slowly accepted him, not knowing he'd remarry so fast."
Bradley wasn't trying to make excuses for Leah. He knew she wasn't innocent, but she was dead now.
"I know you don't want to hear this, but I still want to say I'm sorry. I don't want to compete with you for anything. If you need my help, I can help you." Bradley looked up at Ethan.
He knew Ethan got what he was saying.
Howard and Claire were behind Ethan's mom's death, but Ethan didn't have solid proof. Claire and Howard were in on it together and wouldn't risk giving Ethan any evidence.
So, Ethan needed someone to help him.
And Bradley could.
"You help me?" Ethan sneered. "What's the catch?"
Or rather, what did Bradley want?
Bradley thought for a moment. If he said he wanted nothing, Ethan wouldn't buy it. "I haven't decided yet because I'm not sure if I can really help you. When I can, you can agree to one condition of mine."
Ethan frowned, eyeing Bradley warily.
Bradley saw the misunderstanding and quickly added, "Don't worry. My condition will be something you can handle, not about the Douglas Group's shares or making things hard for you."
Ethan was quiet for a moment, unsure if he could trust Bradley, but so far, the guy hadn't shown any bad intentions.
"If you want me to trust you, show some sincerity first," Ethan said coolly, turning to leave.
No matter what Bradley's game was or what conditions he'd eventually lay down, he was the best shot at getting solid evidence from Howard's side.
In fact, even if Bradley hadn't come to him, Ethan would've found a way to recruit him.
He didn't expect Bradley to make the first move.
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