Chapter 650 The People Behind the Scene
Jasmine dropped the fruit knife, stood up straight, and locked eyes with Mark.
Mark, his muscles twitching, yanked the knife out, pressed a tissue to the wound, and gritted out, "Back in the '60s and '70s, San Francisco's business district was booming. But the first big player around here was the Hawthorne family. Then William showed up solo, trying to make a name for himself. The Hawthornes didn't think much of the Douglas family, figured an outsider wouldn't get far."
Mark pressed harder on the wound and slumped onto the nearby sofa.
To get to the bottom of it all, the old generation's beef had to be investigated.
"They never saw it coming that William was a tough cookie," Mark sneered. "A broke kid from Boston not only made waves in San Francisco but also snagged the Chamber of Commerce president's daughter."
That would be Ethan's grandma.
"Back in the day, the Chamber of Commerce ran San Francisco. They held all the cards. William, already a sharp guy, skyrocketed once he got a leg up, threatening the Hawthorne family's spot."
Mark leaned back on the sofa and continued, "Would they just let him be? But it was too late. They had to watch the Douglas family rise, watch William marry into money, and have a kid, living the dream."
Jasmine frowned. She'd heard about the old Douglas family drama. William was a legend.
"They tried everything to take William down. Brian from the Hawthorne family used his business connections to mess with the Douglas family. Before Howard married Ethan's mom, the Douglas Group hit a massive crisis, almost losing it all."
Mark let out a bitter laugh. To him, the Douglas family was just a bunch of freeloaders who used women to climb up.
"That year, to save the Douglas Group, Howard, under William's orders, married Celeste Hamilton, the only daughter of Frostgate's top family."
"After marrying Celeste, with the Hamilton family's help, Howard slowly stabilized the San Francisco market and expanded into Frostgate, making the Douglas Group a major player in the business world. This set the stage for Ethan to take over later."
Howard wasn't all that capable, but luckily, William and Celeste built a strong foundation.
When Ethan took over the Douglas Group, it took off, becoming the top dog in San Francisco.
As for the Hawthorne family, they were decent, but beating the Douglas family was a tall order.
"How could the Hawthorne family be okay with that? Brian was pissed off sick by William. And Owen, known as San Francisco's most devoted son, couldn't help but hold a grudge against the Douglas family." Mark sneered at Jasmine. "Even if you know the truth, what can you do?"
"Owen's a sneaky guy. He's been plotting to take out Howard and Ethan for over twenty years."
That year, Brian was furious and nearly had a stroke. Owen, young and vengeful, began his plan to infiltrate the Douglas family and use Mark and Claire to get revenge.
"So you're saying Owen's the mastermind behind all this?" Jasmine asked coldly, staring at Mark.
Mark's words were hard to trust completely, but they did give Jasmine something to think about.
"Sometimes, knowing less keeps you safer," Mark said, getting up and covering his wound as he headed for the door. "Lisa's got nothing to do with this; she was just a pawn for Claire. Let Lisa and Casey go."
Jasmine gave Tom a look.
Tom stepped in to block Mark's path.
"You think you can just walk out after dropping all that? Do you think I'm a fool? Give me some proof." Jasmine lifted her chin, staring coldly at Mark.
Mark frowned, took a few steps, then stopped and turned back to face her. "What else do you want from me? I've told you everything I know. You can dig up the rest yourself."
"As far as I know, you and Claire are from the same small town in Boston. Why did Owen specifically pick you two?" Jasmine picked up the blood-stained fruit knife from the table and toyed with it.
Mark's face went even paler. This woman was seriously unhinged.
"Claire is my wife. We had a wedding back home but never got a license. She had big dreams and wanted to try her luck in the city, so I brought her to San Francisco to be Owen's bodyguard."
Mark eyed Jasmine warily, genuinely scared she might lose it and stab him.
"You were Owen's bodyguard, and he had you plot against Howard? Even dragging your wife into it? How much did he pay you?" Jasmine wasn't dumb. People would do anything for money, but this seemed like a steep price.
"More money and status than I could ever dream of," Mark said, glancing at the Douglas family house. "I thought all of this would be mine. Owen promised that if I helped him take down the Douglas Group, he'd give me half the shares."
Jasmine sneered. Mark's ambition was crystal clear.
"Tom, let him go," Jasmine said, tossing the fruit knife into the trash.
"But there's no proof of what he said," Tom protested.
"Let him go," Jasmine insisted, raising her hand.
Tom had no choice but to step aside.
"He said it too easily, which makes it less believable. Does someone like him really have fatherly love?" Ben frowned, skeptical.
"It's always good to be cautious, but what he said is enough," Jasmine said, pulling a voice recorder from her pocket and fiddling with it. "Tom, are you afraid of pissing off the Hawthorne family?"
Tom scoffed. "I've already been disowned by my mom. What do I have to fear?"
Jasmine tightened her grip on the voice recorder. "Let's head to the Hawthorne Group."
Ben nervously stopped her. "We have no plan. Shouldn't we think of a way to counter them first?"
"No need," Jasmine shook her head. "We'll just go in guns blazing. I'm a wild woman now, lost my man, lost it all."
Jasmine looked at the voice recorder in her hand. "Someone like Owen, who's always scheming, just needs to hear these recordings to know he should eliminate all threats."
Using Owen to get rid of Mark.
"Did you notice? Mark's not just some ordinary guy," Jasmine said, looking at Ben.
Ben nodded. "He's smart. He wanted to use you to take on the Hawthorne family."
Jasmine nodded.
If Owen really did harm Ethan, she wouldn't let him get away with it.
But for now, Mark couldn't be let off the hook either.
Let them fight it out first, and Mark would be in deep trouble in San Francisco. By then, he wouldn't have time to worry about Claire.
"Then let's go crazy. It's what I do best." Tom raised an eyebrow and walked out of the living room. "Let's go. I'll take you to raise some hell."
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