Howard is Blackmailed with a Video

Isabelle rushed out of the company building, but Evelyn was already gone, leaving her frustrated and pulling at her hair in anger.

"Damn it!" she cursed, pulling out her car keys and heading towards her vehicle. Before she could reach it, Isaac appeared, blocking her path.

"Move," Isabelle shouted at him, veins bulging on her neck.

Isaac didn't move. Instead, he smiled and said, "Evelyn left a while ago. You'll never catch up with her."

Isabelle was taken aback. How did he know she was trying to catch Evelyn?

"Don't be so surprised. Anyone with eyes can see why you brought Evelyn here in such a hurry," Isaac explained with a smug smile.

Was it that obvious? Isabelle had thought she had been discreet, but it seemed everyone understood her motives clearly.

"Let's talk, shall we?" Isaac opened the door to his car, inviting Isabelle to get in.

"I told you, I won't help you go against Alex. Just give up!" Isabelle tried to walk around him, but Isaac blocked her again. "Do you really think your grandfather will help you? After what happened today, you should know better. Your grandfather cares more about personal gain than about you, his granddaughter."

Isaac's words struck a chord. Isabelle didn't want to admit it, but she knew they were true.

"Don't you want to make Alex jealous? Don't you want to piss him off?" Isaac's tone was tempting.

"What do you mean?" Isabelle was interested now, looking up at him with curiosity.

"Just pretend to be with me. It'll make Alex jealous. Mark is just a pawn for Alex to deal with the board. Only you can help him secure his position as CEO. He will definitely come back to you," Isaac said with conviction.

Isabelle, in her naivety, believed him. It made sense. Alex had already prepared for the board meeting by bringing Rick in, which meant he was using Mark.

So Alex would abandon Mark? The thought filled Isabelle with delight.

"Alright, I'll trust you this once. But what's in it for you? Why are you helping me?" Isabelle asked, suspicious.

"I'm second in line at home. I won't inherit the family business. My brother will take over my father's position. I want your grandfather to give me a good position in the company," Isaac explained smoothly.

Isabelle thought he had planned well for himself. Simple-minded as she was, she fell for Isaac's scheme without question.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Rick was watching from the window. He had been stretching after a nap when he saw Isabelle and Isaac in the parking lot.

"What's that punk doing with Isabelle?" Rick muttered, clearly annoyed. He didn't like Isaac.

"He's probably up to something. After all, Alex's uncle was behind the board incident, and Isaac approaching Isabelle must be for Belmont's help," Rick surmised, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

Howard came back into the office, having printed some documents, and found Rick by the window. "If you're awake, then get out."

Rick turned and walked towards Howard with a smile. "Didn't we agree I'd wait for you to finish work so I could take you home?"

"There's still an hour until then," Howard replied with a frown, not liking how close Rick was.

"I can wait all day if necessary. What's an hour?" Rick said, lifting Howard's hand to kiss it before interlacing their fingers.

Howard wanted to get angry, but his phone rang. He thought it was Alex giving instructions and pushed Rick away to answer it. What he saw on the screen made him pale. It was a photo of Rick kissing him on the sofa.

His hand trembled, and his breathing became erratic.

"What's wrong?" Rick leaned over the desk, concerned by Howard's reaction.

"It's nothing, just my mom," Howard lied, as the message with the photo included a threat: "If you tell Rick, I'll release the video and ruin him."

Howard struggled to contain his anger and sent a message back: "Who are you? What do you want?"

The response came quickly: "Meet me at the Yue Lai Hotel, room 202, at midnight. If you don't come, I'll release the video too."

Howard clenched his fists, his anger barely in check. He wanted to negotiate or offer money, but the sender had already blocked him.

"Damn it!" Howard was panicking, unsure of what to do.

"Is it something with your family? You don't look well, dear," Rick asked, concerned, touching Howard's forehead.

Howard slapped Rick's hand away and shouted, "Get out!"

Rick was stunned by the outburst. "Fine, I'm leaving. Just calm down."

Howard continued to yell until Rick left the office. As soon as the door closed, Howard threw the documents and banged his fist on the door, his voice breaking, "Damn it, bastard."

Listening to Howard's emotional outburst from outside the door, Rick's expression darkened. It couldn't be family trouble, he thought. Howard's face didn't look right for that. Maybe it had to do with something else.

Rick pulled out his phone and called Alex. "I need to borrow someone from you."

Before Alex could respond, Rick hung up. Confused, Alex put his phone down, assuming Rick had his reasons.

Back in the office, Mark was lying on the sofa, checking the time on his phone. "It's been two hours. Why hasn't he arrived yet?" he muttered, then turned to watch Alex work.

When he's not being a jerk, he's actually quite handsome, Mark thought, starting to doze off.

As he drifted off, Mark felt someone pick him up and heard a soft comment about how cute he was. Too sleepy to open his eyes, he snuggled closer and went back to sleep.

In the car, Alex held the sleeping Mark, smiling as Mark cuddled closer. "Can you stop feeding me dog food? I don't want any," Rick complained from the driver's seat.

Despite his irritation, Rick was also upset, possibly about something involving Howard. "Is it something with Howard? Did you tease him too much?" Alex asked.

Rick sighed, still agitated. "He suddenly got really angry. It was a big outburst."

"And borrowing someone from me is related?" Alex sensed something was wrong.

Rick thought for a moment before replying, "I'll explain when I know more."

Alex didn't press further, knowing Rick had his reasons. He kissed Mark on the forehead, enjoying the moment despite the tension.