After Zach left, Howard finally snapped out of his daze and yanked Rachel by the


    arm.


    "Are you out of your mind? Do you even realize what you just told him? If he confronts Hugh and says he heard everything from you, our family is done for!"


    Rachel winced from the pain of his grip, but the words had already been spoken. There was no taking them back.


    She yanked her arm free, her eyes zing with anger. "Then what do you suggest we do? The Larson family isn''t nning to rein Serena in. Zach doesn''t step in and keep her in check, she''ll just use their influence to climb higher!


    “Besides, Zach and Hugh can''t stand each other. If they go head-to-head and Serena gets caught between her old me and new husband, we''ll have the perfect leverage over her. Isn''t that exactly what you wanted?"


    She had a point.


    ap


    But Howard was even more worried that if this blew up and the Larsons found out, they might send Serena back. If that happened, all his efforts would have been for nothing.


    Shaking his head frantically, he muttered, "No, this won''t work! If the Larsons find out that we, as her parents, encouraged her ex-boyfriend to interfere in her marriage to Hugh, won''t that-"


    "When did we encourage Zach?"


    Rachel cut him off with a question of her own, stepping closer to reassure him. "We just knew they had history and assumed they ended things on good terms. All we wanted was for Zach to remember their past and maybe talk some sense into Serena. It''s not like we told him to do anything drastic.


    “Besides, Zach never asked about Serena''s rtionship with Hugh. We didn''t hold anything back he just didn''t ask."


    In other words, ignorance was innocence.


    Howard exhaled, finally rxing. "You''re right. We didn''t stir anything up. If something happens, it won''t be on us."


    Rachel added, “Exactly. And Serena is already inside the Larson family. They won''t just throw her out so easily. As long as she has an ex-boyfriend lingering around, we''ll always have something to use against her."


    Her lips curled into a satisfied smirk.


    They exchanged a knowing nce. This was a win-win situation.


    Meanwhile, at the Foster Group''s branch office, Morton ced the Larson Group''s Yellowbrook City project proposal on his desk.


    "The Larson Group has revised their Yellowbrook City project proposal several times. Cole approved thetest version quickly and is pushing for us to start immediately."


    Zach barely nced at the file. "There''s no rush.


    Zach slowly turned around, his gazending on the thick project proposal on his desk.


    His voice was cold. "Has Jansen Group responded? Did Serena agree toe here and negotiate with me?"


    Morton hesitated. "Ms. Jansen hasn''t given a reply yet, but the Larsons are pushing for progress on the mall project. They want us to move quickly. Should we-"


    "Keep waiting. I''ll wait until Renaes to me herself."


    After all, the Yellowbrook City mall project wasn''t something that could bepleted overnight. There was no rush.


    Zach was calm andposed. Seeing that Zach couldn''t be persuaded, Morton didn''t press


    further.


    The project was already secured, so waiting a little longer wouldn''t hurt.


    Meanwhile, Howard was putting pressure on Serena. Using both coercion and persuasion, he was determined to force her into seeking Zach''s help, hoping to secure a share of the profits from the Yellowbrook City mall project.


    Under Howard''s influence, several of Serena''s projects at Jansen Group were being stalled. Departments were withholding approvals, strangling progress.


    Her department heads and deputy managers were at their wits'' end,ing to her one after another withints.


    "If the finance department doesn''t approve this budget soon, the whole project is going to copse! We'' alking about losses in the hundreds of thousands!"


    "This project is nearing its deadline, but the project department still hasn''t submitted the required data. Forget the breach-of-contract penalties. What about thepany''s reputation?


    They were like ants on a hot pan, running out of options.


    Standing to the side, Natalie frowned deeply. "Ms. Jansen, it''s not just these projects. Even the logistics and IT departments are ignoring our requests. We can''t retrieve important data from theputers, printers aren''t working. It''s as if they''re deliberately targeting us.


    and the new


    Serena felt a headacheing on. She lowered her gaze to her phone. On the screen, a new text message from Howard appeared.


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