Chapter 414 I Go to Call Mrs. Brown to Get in the Car
William was a man who navigated the business world with ease. Normally, even if he disliked someone or found them disagreeable, as long as they hadn't crossed any major lines, he wouldn't embarrass them in public. After all, in the adult world, there were always interests at stake. But today, he directly humiliated someone in front of everyone—and that person was his own maternal grandfather.
Years ago, his biological mother had abandoned her husband and child to run off, leaving Vaughn alone to raise their son.
During all that time, there had been no word from the Jimenez family, yet now, they had come looking.
William had made it big now, and this man had traveled all the way from Regal City, claiming they were family at an occasion like this?
This shameless attempt to claim kinship was too much for even the onlookers to stomach.
In the silent hall, no sound came for a moment, until someone in the back let out a cold snort, breaking the stillness.
"Mr. Brown, regardless of everything, Mr. Jimenez is still your grandfather," Stefan spoke up, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.
William handed his glass to a server and looked at Stefan, his tone cold. "So what?"
The man's expression didn't change, but this simple response carried contempt.
"Is Mr. Jimenez looking for me because the Jimenez family is going under?" William's mocking voice rang through the hall. Today's banquet was attended by plenty of influential and powerful figures.
Steven had a prestigious reputation in Regal City, and naturally, coming to Emerald City meant networking and socializing. When those elite figures heard about the connection between the Jimenez family and William, their minds started working. William was someone they wanted to curry favor with, and the Jimenez family was their olive branch into Regal City.
On life's journey to reach the top , both money and power were both essential.
The group had thought that with both William and Steven present, they could achieve everything in one go.
But they never expected William to personally tear apart their beautiful dream.
He threw all their fantasies on the ground, trampled them, and crushed them to pieces,
Making all their efforts worthless.
The Jimenez family in Regal City had already declined. Not only were they no match for rising stars, but they were also being suppressed by others. They weren't really a prime target for networking, but with William's backing, there was still hope. Steven knew everyone was thinking this way, so he had used William's reputation to connect with many powerful people. During this time, countless visitors had come to the Jimenez Mansion.
But with just a few words, William shattered everyone's pipe dreams.
"Only those who behave properly can have peace of mind and handle matters in a steady way.. Mr. Jimenez, if you're someone with any sense of propriety, you should know that acting within your means is how you reach the peak. Otherwise, you'll be crushed to pieces." William's naked warning was completely impolite, scaring those gathered around the old man to scatter, not daring to invite bad luck.
Each word William spoke carried little weight on its own, but put together, to Steven's ears, it was like someone pointing a finger at his forehead and cursing him by name.
But given the reaction of everyone around, he had no room to respond.
...........
"Mr. Brown, Mrs. Brown slashed Mr. Jimenez's tires."
When William came out of the venue, Finn quickly approached and whispered this news in his ear.
The man dropped his cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his foot. "So she slashed them."
"Where is she?"
"Eating barbecue at the intersection up ahead."
William hummed in acknowledgment, signaling Finn to drive. Finn understood—at a time like this, they were definitely going to find Thalia.
The car stopped by the roadside, and through the window, William could see Thalia bent over, eating heartily.
"I'll go get Mrs. Brown in the car."
"No need." William leaned back in his seat, took out his cigarette case, lit one, and watched Thalia eating barbecue in the shop from afar, not forgetting to send a message: [Is it good?]
When Thalia received William's text, she looked around in surprise and immediately spotted the Bentley parked by the road.
Light smoke drifted out from the half-open window.
She called the stall owner over to pack up the rest, grabbed the food, and headed toward the business van parked by the road.
Finn saw the business van start up and wisely followed.
.............
"I thought Mr. Jimenez and Mr. Brown would have a good relationship. I never expected this. If I'd known, why did I waste all that effort? I spent money on him, got nothing in return, and now I might even get on Mr. Brown's bad side."
"I told you from the start not to randomly suck up to anyone who could get close to Mr. Brown. Now you regret it, don't you?"
"Mr. Brown's father himself said he has no say in Mr. Brown's affairs and told us not to waste our time on him. Otherwise, with Mr. Jimenez's personality, we would have worn down the doorstep of Mr. Brown's father's school. Some people just have no self-awareness."
"That's the difference right there."
"No wonder people say Regal City folks are all about clinging to power and showing off their connections. This is a perfect example, isn't it? From what Mr. Brown said tonight, he knew all along that Mr. Jimenez was using his name to network with everyone."
"Probably. He just didn't care. If they hadn't run into each other here today, this might have just passed."
"Some people try to suck up but fail, and end up offending people instead."
Sarcastic remarks rose and fell throughout the hall. Some people, though not speaking or getting involved, still had their ears open, quietly listening to everyone's mockery while occasionally glancing at Steven's face.what a sight it was.
"Grandfather, should we leave?" Michael watched this scene and carefully asked Steven.
Steven now understood that if he didn't leave and continued standing there, he'd just be giving these Emerald City businessmen—who couldn't make it to the big leagues and were desperate to suck up to William—more material to mock.
"Our car...who did this?"
When everyone reached the parking lot, Stefan immediately saw the deflated tires and was so angry his head buzzed.
"Call someone to pick us up." Steven's face darkened. He didn't need to think to know who did it.
Michael watched from the side, appearing anxious on the surface, but deep down he was quite satisfied with what William had done today.
Today's words and events would be enough to keep Steven up all night with anger.