Chapter 710: Chapter 658: Disaster Arises from Within
“One Weekly,” “Hong Kong Digest,” and other major dia outlets had already reported extensively on the scandalous drama; almost every TV station had featured big story pieces and exclusive interviews. Suddenly, every corner of Hong Kong buzzed with discussions about the scandal, engaging young and old alike.
Both Lin’s Bank and Liheng Group’s stocks plumted that sa day on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and crashed to a halt by the closing bell. Many hoowners who had pre-purchased properties in the Sky and Water project rushed to demand refunds upon hearing the news, and the entire staff of Liheng Group was put on high alert to fend off these disgruntled clients.
At that mont, in the luxurious Hong Kong mansion Tony had bought, he sipped brandy while watching the news on TV.
“Tony, should we go see Mr. Qu?” Josephine asked Tony.
With a cold laugh, Tony responded, “I indeed should go and see when that old bastard will drop dead!”
“Tony, how can you say such things!” Josephine exclaid, shocked by his remark.
Tony looked at Josephine with disdain and retorted, “What do you, a woman, understand?!”
What hurt Josephine the most was Tony’s disdain for her and his habit of informing her about matters but never allowing her participation.
“You should know that this setup for Liu Hun was a joint effort by our three families!” Tony downed his brandy in one gulp and boasted to Josephine, “Do you think! Do you think I truly wanted to cooperate with them?”
Hearing this, Josephine sensed an ulterior motive in Tony’s words and asked, “So, what are you planning to do?”
“To be honest, even though I think Liu Hun is absolutely unbearable, I owe him thanks,” Tony said proudly.
“Why is that?” Josephine listened intently, knowing that when Tony was smug and self-satisfied, he was most prone to reveal everything.
“My original plan was to pit the two families against Liu Hun and then, after gaining the upper hand, launch a fund to funnel all their money into my account! Despite its potential success, it was risky, as soone might uncover the ploy. Now, all is well!” Tony bragged, raising his head pridefully, “Old man Qu is unconscious, and Old man Lin is preoccupied with Lin Feng, leaving free to easily devour their shares! Hahaha! By then! Hmm! I’ll roll up the money and head off to Britain. Who the **** can touch then? I’ll beco the new aristocrat of Britain!”
Hailing from a noble family, Josephine—who was aware of the chaotic private lives but necessary integrity of European aristocrats—utterly despised Tony.
As Tony was basking in self-glory, little did he know what Josephine was truly thinking. He said, laughing, “I’ll make a call to Ma Hongtao. As long as everything is set on his end, all will be smooth sailing!”
Seeing Tony’s smugness suddenly sparked an idea in Josephine’s mind, a sense of inexplicable disgust erging within her.
However, Tony’s plans were far from foolproof. Even though Qu Liheng truly could no longer manage affairs, Lin established himself as beginning to have doubts about the alliance of the three families, as he increasingly questioned their mutual trust.
When Tony received word from Lin that the plan was on hold, he furiously smashed things around the house. He had been inford by Ma Hongtao that everything was ready, yet Lin hesitated at this critical mont.
Unacceptable! Ma Hongtao must convince Lin! He needed to make him see the benefits! Tony thought to himself and imdiately called Ma Hongtao, instructing him to et Lin and explain the critical nature of their agreent. Moreover, what he couldn’t let go of most was getting his hands on Lin ixin; he was determined not to let that piece of tantalizing bait escape.
After Ma Hongtao received Tony’s call, he was about to dial Liu Hun when his phone rang again, “Hello? Who’s this?”
“May I speak to Mr. Ma Hongtao?” a voice with a less than perfect Cantonese accent ca from the other end.
“Who is this?” Ma Hongtao had never heard this voice before, nor recognized the number.
“I’m Tony’s wife, Josephine. I was wondering if we could et for a chat?” Josephine asked over the phone.
“Um… alright then!” Ma Hongtao, unsure of what Josephine wanted, considered it and then agreed.
“Great! Let’s et at Prestigious Café at two o’clock this afternoon. I hope you won’t ntion this to Tony. Don’t stand up,” Josephine said before hanging up the phone.
Ma Hongtao found the situation peculiar, so he decided not to inform Liu Hun imdiately but instead went to et Josephine as planned.
Upon arriving at Prestigious Café, Ma Hongtao saw the woman from the phone call. Indeed, she was gorgeous and sensual compared to Asian won; not only was she tall and had well-defined facial features, but her cheeks were also fair without too many typical foreigner freckles, and her piercing green eyes were incredibly charming. Also, her outfit revealed a tantalizing view of her cleavage.
“Hello! I am Hongtao Ma!” Hongtao Ma extended his hand and shook hands with Josephine.
Josephine politely introduced herself, “I am Josephine.”
“I wonder, Miss Josephine, why you wanted to et ?” Ma Hongtao asked Josephine. If it weren’t for his deep love for another woman, Ma Hongtao felt he would have had no resistance to Josephine.
Josephine smiled and said, “Mr. Ma, are you working for Tony?”
Ma Hongtao imdiately beca a bit wary, secretly wondering if there was so rift between the couple. He cautiously nodded and said, “Indeed, I am.”
Josephine smiled at Ma Hongtao and said, “Since I sought you out, why don’t we be honest with each other?”
Ma Hongtao didn’t know what Josephine’s intentions were, so he said to her, “Let’s hear it.”
Josephine bluntly asked Ma Hongtao, “Why are you helping Tony?”
Ma Hongtao smiled and bluntly said, “Man dies for wealth, as birds die for food.”
Josephine understood this Chinese proverb and agreed by nodding, “What does Tony pay you? I can pay you more. How about you co work for ?”
After hearing this, Ma Hongtao was sowhat doubtful, not knowing whether this was genuinely Josephine’s idea or a test by Tony.
Seeing Ma Hongtao’s hesitation, Josephine, having already considered his concerns, smiled at him and said, “Rest assured, I’m not sent by Tony to test you.”
Ma Hongtao asked, “How can you prove that?”
Josephine took out a voice recorder from her bag, turned it on, and played it for Ma Hongtao. It contained Tony cursing Qu Liheng that very day. The more Ma Hongtao listened, the more shocked he beca. On one hand, he didn’t expect Tony to have such bad character, wanting to swallow his partner whole with no genuine intent to cooperate with Qu and Lin. On the other hand, since Josephine had brought out this recorder, it was clear she was planning to break with Tony.
“Do you believe now?” Josephine asked Ma Hongtao.
Ma Hongtao thought for a mont and asked Josephine, “Why are you doing this?”
Josephine smiled and replied, “You don’t need to know why I am doing this now; you just need to decide if you want to cooperate with .”
Ma Hongtao pondered and finally decided to tentatively take a step forward and then asked Josephine, “How can you guarantee that you can defeat Tony, especially since, as far as I know, your family isn’t even on your side, while Tony’s family in Britain has significant influence and financial resources?”
Ma Hongtao’s words stirred the pain in Josephine’s heart again. She showed an extrely painful and hateful expression. From her childhood, she had always tried to prove herself, but for various reasons, she not only failed to gain her family’s attention but instead beca a sacrificial pawn in a business marriage. She had secretly saved up for years, waiting for this mont to stake everything on a major struggle and gamble for her own destiny.
“Hmph!” Josephine scoffed coldly. “My outco, whether it ends in total ruin or shattered into pieces, has nothing to do with you. As long as you help and get what you want, isn’t that enough?”
Ma Hongtao smiled inwardly. He had gotten more from Liu Hun, and more importantly, there was a woman he had long dread of, so Josephine’s conditions had no appeal to him; hence, he didn’t plan to agree to Josephine’s proposal.
Just as Ma Hongtao was about to reject Josephine’s proposition, he suddenly thought of another option and tentatively asked Josephine, “If there was soone who could help you achieve your ambition, would you be willing to cooperate with him?”
Josephine was no fool and imdiately understood, her eyes brightening as she said, “So, you are ostensibly working for Tony, but in reality, you have soone else backing you.”
Ma Hongtao smiled, knowing that since Josephine had let him listen to the recording, they had sothing to exchange. However, he also needed to tread carefully, rely nodding in confirmation before continuing to ask, “Are you willing?”
Josephine thought for a mont and asked, “Facing Qu, Lin, and Tony, what makes him so confident?”
“I know how powerful he is, more than you can imagine. If you agree, I can introduce you to him and then you can judge for yourself if it can be done,” Ma Hongtao replied, continuing, “I’ve also spent a long ti in the finance sector in Britain. I know you’ve always been discontented. As a master’s graduate from Oxford, while all the major companies are eager to recruit you, you’re stuck doing nial tasks for Tony. Are you really content? Moreover… I feel that the George family is not even backing you and even uses you as a sacrificial pawn.”
“Enough!” Josephine abruptly cut Ma Hongtao off, his words cutting into her like knives, making her unbearably pained.
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