Chapter 972
Chapter 972: The Howards’ Ally
However, Rayson didn’t expect Michael to stay so calm after hearing what he said. Michael merely said indifferently, “It’s just a regular business dealing, and the Huttons only lost a few hundred million. We’ll be able to make up for it soon. Besides, this matter has passed a long time ago, and there’s no point in raking up the past now, unlike what the Williams are doing.”
Florence quickly said with an awkward expression, “Mr. Hutton, I’m very sorry for what happened previously!”
Before, Lucas had called her and asked for her help to join forces with the Smiths to deal with the Huttons, causing them to suffer huge losses.
But Michael actually looked past it and came to the Howards’ rescue, making Florence feel extremely sorry and embarrassed.
“Those things are in the past. Ms. Howard, you don’t have to be bothered by it.”
At this moment, Michael quietly glanced at Lucas next to him.
Of course, he knew that the reason the Howards had attacked the Huttons was because of Lucas’s instigation.
Michael was full of guilt toward his son. So regardless of what Lucas did to the Huttons, he would never blame him for it, much less hold it against the Howards.
Seeing that Lucas didn’t seem to be looking at him or paying any attention to him, Michael felt a little dejected.
But he soon perked himself up and said to Florence, “I’m here today to pay my respects to Mr. Howard and offer my condolences.”
“Ah, alright, please, Mr. Hutton!” Florence immediately ordered the servants to bring some flowers over.
Michael brought Roman forward to pay respects to the late Felix.
As they were doing so, Derek and Rayson looked at each other, neither speaking.
Before they could get a clear grasp of Michael’s true purpose, they still didn’t want to provoke Michael too much, lest he really stands on the Howards’ side.
If the Huttons really helped the Howards, their alliance would be equally terrifying because they were both top families of equal standing with the Williams and the Piers. If they really fought against each other, all of DC would be taken by storm.
At that time, they wouldn’t get any benefits at all and would instead suffer heavy losses, which was definitely not something they wanted to see.
“Michael Hutton, what exactly are you here for today?” Derek asked impatiently after seeing Michael finish paying his respects.
But Michael simply ignored him and instead asked Florence, “Ms. Howard, I have two major projects now, and I would like to cooperate with the Howards. Would you be interested?”
Florence was stunned for a moment, but she immediately understood what Michael meant. The fact that he was still willing to cooperate with the Howards at this juncture showed that the Huttons were clearly going to stand on their side and give them a hand!
“Of course, I’m very interested!” Florence hurriedly agreed with a smile.
Michael grinned before suddenly saying, “This is a cooperation between the Huttons and the Howards. Will all the irrelevant people please leave?”
After speaking, he glanced at Derek and Rayson next to him.
The obvious hint for them to leave immediately made Derek and Rayson turn gloomy.
At this moment, Florence said to the two of them, “Mr. Piers, Mr. Williams, please leave with your subordinates! We have something to do now, so pardon me for not entertaining you!”
With Michael’s help, Florence no longer had to be afraid of the Piers and the Williams’ coercion.
How could Derek be willing to give up the huge profits about to come to him?
He narrowed his eyes, stared straight into Michael’s eyes, and said grimly, “Michael, do you really want to stand on the Howards’ side and go against the Piers and the Williams? I suggest you don’t get involved in this mess!”
Michael sneered, and his face darkened. “Derek, are you threatening me? I don’t need your permission to do anything!
“So what if I’ve decided to help the Howards? If you don’t agree, I can help the Howards get rid of the Piers first!”
As soon as Michael said this, all the people in the funeral hall were stunned!
If Michael only wanted to help the Howards and back them up, it would be fine. But Michael actually said that he wouldn’t hesitate to join hands with the Howards and use their forces to destroy the Piers together!
This was exactly the same dilemma that Florence had encountered earlier.
The Huttons, the Howards, the Piers, and the Williams were all among the eight top families of DC, and strictly speaking, their authority and power were on par with each other.
If one of them went against another family alone, it would definitely be a lose-lose situation.
However, if two top families united to deal with another, although they would pay a certain price, the attacked family would definitely be wiped out!
Unless the Piers could also find more suitable allies, only then would there be a chance of a turnaround.
But it was basically impossible to get into such a large-scale war unscathed, as it would be extremely intense.
Moreover, who knew if there would be other families taking advantage of the opportunity to reap benefits amid the chaos and cause the top families in DC to go through a power reshuffle?
Thus, after hearing Michael’s threat, Derek immediately turned beet red with anger, and even the veins on his forehead began throbbing.
“Michael, what do you mean by that? Do you really think that the Piers are pushovers? You even said that you would destroy us. Hah, dream on!” Derek roared furiously.
Florence stood next to Michael and said coldly, “Derek Piers, the Howard residence isn’t a place where you can act rampantly! Take your people with you and leave my home now immediately. Otherwise, I’ll be more than happy to join hands with the Huttons to get rid of the Piers!”
Her words were a blatant threat!
Derek was immediately enraged.
Florence had taken over as the head of the Howards because of Felix’s death. Derek and Rayson had both thought that Florence would be easy to deal with since she was just a woman without a foundation. Thus, they came up with the idea of a marriage to get Florence to marry into the Piers, which would be equivalent to getting their hands on at least half of the Howards’ assets.
But they didn’t expect Florence to be so tough and stubborn. Furthermore, Michael, the head of the Huttons, actually suddenly came over and acted out of the ordinary by choosing to help the Howards. He even went so far as to threaten to join hands with Howards to destroy the Piers.
It was simply outrageous!
After Michael said that, Rayson fell silent, making Derek begin to worry.
If Rayson still stood firmly on the Piers’ side and joined hands with them to deal with the Howards and the Huttons, he would still have a chance of winning.
But now that Rayson was staying silent, he didn’t know what his intentions were. If the Williams decided not to help the Piers, there was no way the Piers would be able to withstand the joint offensive of the Howards and the Huttons. They would have no choice but to concede then!
So, what should he do now?
Derek suddenly felt helpless and at a loss for what to do. He subconsciously looked at his father, Conrad, the former head of the Piers.