Hannah couldn''t help butugh. "Lionel, a man who''s never home has no right to ask me where I''ve been."


    Lionel was taken aback, clearly not expecting such a response.


    "Lionel, did Hannah answer? Where is she?" his grandmother''s voice called from the dining room.


    His expression darkened. "Whether I''m home or not has nothing to do with you," he said coldly. "Don''t change the subject. If I hadn''t covered for you with Grandma just now..."


    Hannah''s chest felt heavy, as if arge stone was crushing her. She cut him off, her voice strained. "You''re right, it has nothing to do with me. Because we''re getting a divorce. So you don''t need to worry about where I am!"


    Lionel was about to say more, but the line went dead.


    "What did Hannah say?" his grandmother asked, walking up to him and noticing his scowl. "Did you say something to upset her again?"


    "Lionel, don''t you forget, if Hannah hadn''t saved you, you wouldn''t even be alive today. You were lucky to marry her. Why can''t you appreciate that?"


    Lionel sighed internally. "She said she''s out shopping with a friend. Let''s go eat." "Really?"


    Lionel didn''t answer, just nodded.


    Meanwhile, Hannah was at thew firm, finalizing her resignation. She borrowed a colleague''s phone to call her former client.


    "Ms. Smith, it''s Hannah. Do you have a moment? Could you tell me exactly why you decided to drop the case?"


    There was a long pause on the other end before the woman spoke.


    "My ex-husband called me out of the blue. He said he would agree to the divorce, but only if I dropped the case. He said someone gave him à lot of money and warned him that if I didn''t, you would be dragged into it. So... I''m so sorry."


    Her voice was choked with sobs, confirming what Hannah had already suspected.


    To get her to handle Sandra''s case quickly, Lionel had gone to her client''s ex- husband and paid him off.


    For Sandra, he was truly willing to do anything.


    "Ms. Smith, you don''t need to apologize to me. This was the oue we wanted, after all,” Hannah said, looking out the window at the sky.


    "Ms. Smith, I wish you all the best in your new life. May every day from now on be


    a good one. Don''t dwell on the past. Look forward."


    Hannah clutched her resignation letter, a faint smile on her lips. Her dim eyes caught a glimmer of the morning light. Her client was free. In twenty-six days, she would be too.


    As she turned to leave, she saw Mr. Jones walking toward her with a stack of files.


    "Have you thought about where you''ll go next? I have a few friends at other firms I could rmend you to."


    Mr. Jones handed her the files. "Hannah, you''re a rare talent, but you''re too stubborn. If you had just taken Sandra''s case, you would have been on the promotion list for next. year. Why did you have to do this?"


    Hannah looked at the files in his hands andughed humorlessly, pushing them back. "Mr. Jones, you of all people should know that as long as Sandra is here will always


    be overshadowed What promotion?


    I should be thankful I haven''t been


    demoted."


    Her expression grew serious as she turned to leave.


    When she first joined the firm, things had gone smoothly. She was promoted quickly. But ever since Sandra arrived and Lionel became a partner, this ce had be her own personal hell.


    Cases she worked hard on were snatched away by Sandra, and she was left to clean up Sandra''s messes. Even when she ranked first in performance reviews month after month, the promotion always went to Sandra.