Chapter 720 Did William Abandon His Wife and Child?
Mark had revealed his identity and held the shares he had accumulated over the years. Combined with the shares Bradley gave to Daniel, he could indeed establish a foothold in the Douglas Group.
Mark and Daniel could solidify their position in the Douglas Group as long as they secure this collaboration with the Powell family.
Was he really the Messiah behind all this?
Jasmine remained silent and only spoke after Mark and Daniel left. "Do you believe what he said?"
Did Ethan believe William?
Ethan shook his head. "Human nature is the hardest thing to predict. I don't know what's true or false."
Truth and lies, who could really tell them apart?
Did William abandon his wife and child back then, or was there another reason?
Jasmine lowered her eyes. "I saved Grandpa once, but we didn't have much interaction. I can't be sure either."
Until the truth was clarified, everything was uncertain.
Mark hated William and had been plotting for many years to take over the Douglas Group and reclaim everything that belonged to him.
He didn't hesitate to offer his children and wife to Howard.
All of this seemed to have become a closed loop. Once Mark was exposed, everything connected.
It seemed natural that Mark was the Messiah behind it all.
"Is he really the Messiah?" Jasmine was a bit worried.
"Yes and no." Ethan shook his head.
Mark schemed against the Douglas family and their company for years. He proved himself formidable.
He contacted those illegitimate children, helped them, and used them for his own purposes. Every move he made was very smooth.
But there were still some things that didn't make sense.
"Why did the Hamilton family go bankrupt? What is Grandpa hiding? Why was I kidnapped back then?" Ethan frowned.
Why weren't the kidnappers punished, and why did William and the Hamilton family stop pursuing it?
If the kidnapper was Mark, it made sense for William to hide him, to hide his son.
But back then, Mark couldn't have eliminated the Hamilton family. His strength only grew over the years with the help of his illegitimate children.
In the early years, he just schemed and plotted.
"The Hamilton family's bankruptcy is a big question mark. It always feels like something doesn't add up." Jasmine also found it strange.
After Mark revealed his identity, many doubts were indeed resolved. But there were still many that didn't add up.
"You go home and rest. I'm going out for a bit," Ethan said.
Now that Mark revealed his identity, he was facing things head-on.
The collaboration with the Powell family was certainly important, but at least Mark would be restrained for the time being.
He was too confident.
Leaving the Douglas Group, Ethan got into Raymond's car.
"Mark revealed his identity, claiming to be a member of the Douglas family, Grandpa's son." Ethan's face didn't look good.
Raymond threw a file to Ethan. "Take a look. Mark was one of the people who kidnapped you back then. But he wasn't the mastermind. The mastermind should be the Hawthorne family."
"Mark being the Messiah behind all this is probably correct." Raymond found that Mark definitely had connections with those illegitimate children.
"Many years ago, Mark was just a poor kid from a rural village, always by Howard's side. It took him years to climb to the position of assistant. Where did he get the money to support those illegitimate children?" Ethan looked at Raymond.
Where did Mark get the money?
Those illegitimate children wouldn't obediently follow him without hope. It definitely wasn't just Mark's words that made Deborah and the others listen.
"That's also what I'm puzzled about." Raymond hadn't found out that part either.
Mark had indeed been scheming against the Douglas family. But in the early years, he didn't have the power.
He couldn't have caused the downfall of the Hamilton family.
"Let's go, we're going to see Deborah. She didn't want to see you yesterday. But for some reason, she changed her mind and wants to meet you now," Raymond said.
Ethan looked out the car window. "How much was the Hawthorne family involved?"
Could it be Marshall?
"Owen has drained Marshall over the past few years. He has the will but not the power. Besides, after your grandfather died, his resentment faded. It's unlikely to be him. If it were, he would've started acquiring the Douglas family by now; he wouldn't be this patient." Raymond shook his head.
The Hawthorne family was definitely involved, but not that much.
"Daniel and Mark's side also need to have our people." Raymond glanced at Ethan.
"Yes, Bradley is with him." Ethan trusted Bradley quite a bit.
"Bradley?" Raymond laughed. "You actually trust an illegitimate child? Ethan, you've really changed."
Ethan used to despise illegitimate children like Daniel. Trusting Bradley was truly shocking.
Ethan couldn't explain why he trusted Bradley.
Hopefully, he was worth that trust.
Ethan went to see Deborah.
Deborah looked much more exhausted. She looked up at Ethan and spoke softly, "You want to know who the Messiah behind all this is, right?"
"Mark?" Ethan spoke for her.
Deborah was startled and a bit nervous. "You already know."
"He revealed his identity himself," Ethan said calmly.
The last glimmer of hope in Deborah's eyes vanished. She thought she could use this secret to bargain for her life with Ethan.
"Ethan, when I was thirteen, he appeared and saved me," Deborah said softly. "My mom was a gambler, addicted to gambling, and owed a lot of high-interest loans. She said I was a child of the Hawthorne family and made me go to them repeatedly for money. If Mark hadn't helped my mom pay off the loans, we would have died back then."
"How much was the loan?" Ethan asked.
"Thirty million." Deborah clenched her hands.
So she admired the 'Messiah' greatly.
Messiah saved her life and gave her new hope.
"Thirty million." Ethan sneered.
Over a decade ago, it would have been a luxury for Mark to have even three hundred thousand. How could he have helped Deborah pay off thirty million?
"How did he help you pay off that money?" Ethan asked again.
"Cash. He gave me a lot of cash, more than I could carry alone," Deborah said, a bit agitated.
It was the first time she'd seen so much money, and she wanted to keep it all. With thirty million, she could escape her gambling-addicted mother and start anew.
Mark probably gave her the money to test if she'd take it and run.
But back then, Deborah still had some conscience and chose to pay off the loans.
Ethan squinted. Over a decade ago, thirty million in cash to pay off loans—someone was helping Mark.
Marshall was notoriously stingy; he wouldn't throw away tens of millions to pave the way for Mark.
Plus, fattening up Mark wouldn't benefit the Hawthorne family.
"Over the years, have you noticed anyone else behind Mark?" Ethan asked.
Deborah was silent for a long time, then shook her head. "I don't know."
"Take care of yourself." Ethan stood up, ready to leave.
Deborah, in a panic, called out, "Ethan, I didn't mean to kill Xavier. Can you save me one more time?"
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