Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance
Chapter 360

"The Cedillo family is really thriving," Finley said with a light tone, but to Tom's ears, it carried a deep-seated sense of hatred. Tom was ruthless. He asked, "Sir, do we need to do the same thing with Mia's baby as we did with Naomi?"

"No." Finley raised a hand to stop him. He continued, "The Irvins and the Mastins are not the same. Today's Andre is nothing like Bruce back then. Back when Naomi was around, Bruce was just a slightly influential employee, and the Cedillos were nothing more than somewhat affluent merchants. Neither was a threat. The present Andre alone can overshadow all of them. His influence is so great that even those above me have to curry favor with him while keeping him at bay. If we were to harm his wife at this point, how do you think the Cedillos would react? Would Andre just let it pass?"

Tom couldn't understand why his boss held such a high regard for Andre, who was not even thirty. "What if he doesn't let it pass? I can guarantee that there will be no mistakes."

Finley was a seasoned schemer. He shook his head. "We mustn't underestimate him. The Marshal family barely escaped from him last time. Do you think it's because they were lucky? Wrong, it was Andre who deliberately let them off. He can't take over any major corporations domestically right now, otherwise, it would be the end of his brother's political career. Once there's a hint of monopoly with Cedillo Inc., the state won't let him off the hook. Furthermore, no president would want a mayor who has a business empire backing him. But he also can't let the Marshal Group go bankrupt. If it goes under, Havenbrook will be in chaos and his brother will be the one who has to clean up the mess. So Andre gave the Marshal family a way out."

Finley gazed at the still-bright sky outside. The offspring of the Cedillo family were becoming more formidable. He initially thought Bruce would stop at being a bureau chief, but he climbed even higher. He had managed to suppress Bruce's promotion, but little did he know that the Cedillos had another outstanding member, Andre. If he had known that Andre would turn the Cedillo family into a legend, he would have killed him fifteen years ago.

Tom also regretted it deeply.

"Andre, who holds the economic lifeline and is hailed as the business king by countless economists, if he doesn't let it pass, the entire business world will be in chaos, and then there will be no order in the market. This is detrimental to everyone indeed."

Tom replied, "Sir, I think you're giving Andre too much credit. How could he possibly let his empire fall into disarray for a woman and an unborn child?"

Finley looked at the pregnant woman being lovingly held in the video on his phone, "You still don't understand the people of the Cedillo family."

The Cedillos all treasured their loved ones deeply. Hansen was a hopeless romantic when he was young; he almost ruined his life for his wife over forty years ago.

Bruce was also a romantic. Because the Mastins had harmed his wife, the once-thriving Mastin Corporation was driven to bankruptcy by him.

If Andre didn't care for his wife, why would a man like him publicly hold her, go after the Marshal family to make his wife happy, and hand over billion-dollar contracts for his wife to play with?

Love was too apparent in the Cedillo family.

Tom fell silent. He hadn't realized that dealing with a person involved so many considerations. "So are we just going to let them off?"

Finley took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on the black and white photo on the shelf. He said, "No. Tom, look into this person who 'died' fifteen years ago. Find out who saved her back then and why the Cedillos have been hiding her identity." Tom nodded in agreement.

Soon after, a call from Brian came in. Half a year had passed, and according to their rules, Brian had to present the company's financial status for the hidden backers to review.

Finley let Brian in. For now, he needed the Marshal family as a tool, so he couldn't just discard them.

Brian entered cautiously, holding a handwritten account. He handed over the prepared documents with a respectful demeanor, his lips pressed tightly with nervousness. He lowered his head, assuming a submissive posture. Finley was familiar with the state of the Marshal Group, so he merely skimmed through the accounts.

But the more he read, the more his brows furrowed. Each page revealed a worse situation than the last. Until the end, he got up, gritted his teeth, and glared angrily at Brian. He took the accounts in his hand and flung them at Brian's head. "Why is there such a huge loss!"

Brian knew as soon as he entered that the boss wouldn't be pleased with the outcome. He explained, "Boss, all of this was Andre's doing. He seems to have let the Marshal Group go, but in reality, he's applying pressure behind the scenes. Our money is indeed in place and the funding chain is intact, but no matter how much money we have, we can't fight him when he secretly cuts off all our supply lines.

"Goods that we could normally buy for 30 billion now cost double the market price. Naturally, our prices are also double the market price. However, other companies in the market are buying from Calder Corporation at market price. The prices are high. Of course, the sales are not good.

"Not only is he applying pressure, but ever since Officer Rubin was taken down, Chad has also been performing surprise audits. Each time he checks, the bank gets spooked and comes to check on our profits."

Brian lamented to Finley, "I feel like I've aged ten years in the past six months. I can't sleep at night, and a single phone call can startle me awake. Andre and Chad, these two seem determined to crush me," Brian complained.

Ever since he crossed paths with Leo last year and ticked off Mia, Brian found himself sliding down a slippery slope. One hurdle after another, it seemed like there was no end in sight for him. "In the past, the Marshals and the Cedillos might not have been the best of pals, but the Cedillos would always remember the past favor and return it. All of this started to change when Mia got involved with the Cedillos. Jillian got the short end of the stick several times thanks to her. My niece even got expelled from school because of her, and I heard that Molly only got found out because of her too. I also heard that they've been best friends for years."

Mia and Molly knew each other from the beginning? Finley glanced at Tom, signaling for him to show Brian the video. Tom whipped out his phone, pulled up a picture of Molly, and slid it over, "Brian, is this her?"

Before even laying eyes on the phone, Brian dismissed it, "I've never met Molly. I wouldn't know... hold up!" Brian grabbed the phone, his eyes widened as he looked at the girl on the screen. "This isn't Molly." Finley looked at Brian, "You said you've never seen her, so how do you know she's not Molly?"

Brian seemed to have had an epiphany, pointing at the phone and excitedly telling Finley and Tom, "I've seen her before at the police station. But she's not Molly, she's Jade Byrne, Chad's little sister." The last time Brian was taken to the police station by Chad, he scanned the room and noticed a girl who wasn't in a police uniform. Her remarkable appearance left an impression on him. Finley narrowed his eyes. Jade, Molly, who on earth was she?!