Mark drove home with his emotions running high. Lucas couldn't do this to him just because he hadn't accepted Lisa. He moved his car at a fast pace to get there as quickly as possible. On the porch, the man with a cross face between Francis and American sat quietly, enjoying a cup of tea. It was as if nothing had happened. Mark quickly approached the man, grabbed the cup from Lucas' hand, and glared at him."What do you mean you blocked all my cards?" Mark clenched his fists.Lucas still stared nonchalantly at Mark's red face."Are you stupid? I didn't cancel your cards. I didn't have the right. Our father did." Lucas took the teacup back from Mark's hand and sipped at it calmly."Yeah, and you told Dad to do it, didn't you?" Mark snapped.Lucas let go of the cup a little roughly. The next second, he laughed eerily. A mocking grin that made Mark even more apoplectic."Why, it wasn't yours to begin with. And you want to hear the other good news?" Lucas scoffed.This time, he got up fro
Mark left Howard's house with only a few dollars in cash. Fortunately, it was enough for Mark to rent a cheap inn for at least the next few nights. He couldn't walk any further with his suitcase. Mark turned a deaf ear to Lucas' repeated calls for him when he decided to leave and refuse Lucas' offer. He already didn't care what the man said. Sacrificing his own feelings just for money? Ha, absolutely ridiculous.If Mark's hard work for the Howard family company was not appreciated, then there was no point in staying. He had not been a member of their family from the beginning. Even this time, Mark seemed to be disregarded simply because he didn't share Lisa's feelings. For God's sake, Mark loved Lisa. But this wasn't the kind of affection he felt. Lisa would be his little sister and would never change.Mark would genuinely be someone else in the Howard family. He managed to stay out of Lucas' way, even though he had to give up all his hard work. Sometimes, he wondered if he was missin
Lisa wiped the tears from her eyes. It felt like she couldn't even see clearly anymore because she cried too much. Her whole life seemed to crumble because Mark kept rejecting her feelings. Why was it always like this? Why couldn't Mark make her feel the same way? Lisa had just been holding a sharp black pen in her hand as she stared out the window of her room. Her whole body seemed to be out of order. Lisa had no appetite and could not sleep properly. Lisa just wanted Mark all to herself."I really don't deserve you, do I?" Lisa muttered to herself.Lisa closed the bedroom window. She picked up the carving knife from her drawer, which was actually one of her crafting tools. The shine of the sharp blade looked enticing. Lisa had done this many times before, but this time, it would definitely not be felt.Lisa wrote a short message on a piece of paper. It was just an apology to her family and to Mark. She was also grateful for everything she had received so far. If she couldn't get Mar
"Check the document. Otherwise, you'll regret not finding out sooner."Aileen was reminded of the warning words of the mysterious Mark. The arrogant man with the enigmatic appearance had joined the marketing department a month ago."What the hell does that mean?" Aileen grumbled to herself as her hands searched for the file she wanted.The man's performance immediately baffled Aileen, the head of marketing. And here she was, sneaking into the Director's office to follow Mark's absurd suggestion.Her eyes widened as she read a document with a title on it. "Ah, here it is!" she muttered.She quickly opened it and flipped through the pages to find the one she wanted. Pulling her cell phone from her pocket, she snapped pictures of the report's summary pages.Occasionally turning her head toward the door, Aileen ensured the secretary did not re-enter the room. She was now concentrating on taking pictures. Her heart was pounding. It felt like a bomb would go off at any moment when the door
"Then what Mark said is true," Aileen muttered as she tapped her pen on the desk.With her eyes still occasionally fixed on the file, she picked up her cell phone and dialed the man's number."Yes, Ms. Aileen?" a voice asked from the other end of the line."Could you come to my office, please? There's something I'd like to discuss with you," Aileen replied, ignoring her reluctance to ask the man to come to her office as if they were partners who always got along well."All right, I'll be there in ten minutes." The man on the other end of the line then ended their conversation.Aileen was surprised to find herself reaching for a small mirror from her bag to correct some makeup on her face. She tried to catch her breath so as not to look too nervous."Come on, Aileen. Why do you look so tense to meet him, huh? Damn!" She cursed herself for being so out of control.She was not used to being awkward around men, especially when the man was below her in the office. But Mark Miller was diffe
The booming voice of the man in his early forties did not shake Mark and Aileen's resolve. Both stood where they were, looking straight into Mr. William's face."Good afternoon, Sir. I'm sorry, we didn't mean to make a scene outside your office, but we need to talk to you as soon as possible, so...""Tell me here as soon as possible. Or if it takes longer, I'll let Laura listen and take notes. I'm in an important meeting with a client," Mr. William replied quickly."Um, actually, we'd like to have a word with your important client, if you'd let us, Sir?”"What do you mean? And who is this gentleman, Ms. Aileen? Isn't he a new employee in your department, transferred from another branch?" Immediately, Mr. William turned to Aileen, whom he had gotten to know well during his two years of service."Uh, this is Mr. Mark Miller, Sir. We have an important matter to discuss with you immediately." Aileen finally replied, summoning all her courage.She was not afraid of Mr. William. It was just
"Oh my God, Mr. William. Would you take your employees hostage? Isn't that wrong?" asked Mark calmly, despite two thugs grabbing his hands from behind."Don't patronize me about what is or isn't wrong for me to do! Now tell me who you are!" scolded Mr William as he looked at Mark from head to toe.Mark seemed to struggle with whether to confess now or later."Let me introduce myself, Mr. William. I am Mark Miller, a representative of the audit team from Headquarters," Mark said in an arrogant tone.Suddenly, every other pair of eyes in the room widened in surprise. One of the shocked thugs almost lost control of Mark's hand, and Mark almost managed to duck out of the way before the other attacked Mark's lungs from behind, knocking him off balance.William was now in complete shock. His mouth was suddenly stiff, and he was unable to speak. There was a few moments of silence before Mark's voice finally returned,"So please cooperate, Sir. First of all, tell these people to let us go," M
"Oh, God! Nowhere, huh?"Aileen gasped in shock. The hopes that had just soared were now dashed to the ground."Shit! Why did they take my phone?" screamed Mark, sounding very annoyed.Aileen rolled her eyes in disgust."Of course they did. It's an unwritten rule of siege procedure. Disarming the victim and their communication devices is the most important thing they have to do," Aileen said in an annoyed tone.Mark snorted quietly. He was very annoyed by this fact."Oh, I hope the cell phone wasn't turned off so the central team can find out where we are now. They'll still be able to find the last place the phone was before it went off."Aileen decided to give up hope for now. She was now focused on thinking of ways to break free of the restraints and escape the room."Can you crush this chair and make a pointy end to hang our ropes from?" Aileen offered her opinion.Suddenly, Mark thought about such a method. It seems possible, he thought. Then, he struggled to move from his positio