Lionel looked up at her. Besides him and his assistant, no one knew that Sandra was joining the Rosenberg Group. How could she possibly know?


    "What, am I wrong?"


    The thought of him targeting Tess just to get at her made Hannah''s blood boil.


    Seeing her defiant stance, he concluded she must have nted spies in hispany. She imed she wasn''t joining the Rosenberg Group, only to turn around and join the Lancaster Group, and now she was here to grill him. When had she be so calcting? She used to be so simple, so sweet.


    "Your little scandal hit the newsst night," Hannah continued, her voice sharp. "Your PR team did an amazing job shutting down the story, but your legal department managed to target the wrong person. If you have enough money to pay for ipetence, you might as well donate it to charity. It would be better for your soul."


    At the mention of the news, Lionel froze.


    "Tess took the photos, but someone else wrote and published the article. Lionel, are you going after Tess, or are you going after me?"


    Tess had been a journalist for years and had covered the Rosenberg Group before, even breaking major stories without a peep from Lionel. Was this because of her, or because the story was about Sandra?


    "What photos?" his grandmother demanded.


    Hannah said nothing, simply turning her gaze to Lionel.


    "What photos are they?" his grandmother pressed.


    Lionel''s face hardened. "It''s nothing. The matter has been dealt with."


    Seeing his reaction, his grandmother pieced it together. Her anger red. "It was Sandra, wasn''t it? You''re a married man! Why are you still getting so close to other women? You say you keep your marriage private to protect Hannah from harassment, but you need to remember your own status! You... you...!"


    She pointed a finger at Lionel''s nose, shaking with frustration.


    Seeing how upset she was, Hannah quickly asked Lily, the housekeeper, to help Mrs. Rosenberg Sr. upstairs.


    As Hannah and Lily escorted her to her room, the old woman''s voice carried back down. "Whoever made the mess should be the one to clean it up! you''re going to employ a


    bunch of useless fools, then fire them all and start over!"


    "I''ll have it handled properly," Lionel called back. "As for hiring, that''s already been taken care of."


    Hannah''s steps faltered. She nced back at him in surprise.


    Hired already?


    A knot formed in her stomach. She clenched her jaw, said nothing more, and continued helping Mrs. Rosenberg Sr. upstairs.


    After settling Mrs. Rosenberg Sr. in, Hannah returned to the living room. Lionel was still on the sofa, a cigarette dangling from his fingers. He exhaled a plume of smoke and Hooked at her. "Arent you ourous


    who I hired?"


    Hannah didn''t stop walking. As she passed behind him, her voice was cool and distant. "It must be someone with more skill and experience than me. Otherwise, how could they possibly get into the Rosenberg Group?"


    His question confirmed her suspicions. It didn''t take a genius to figure it out. Who else but Sandra would he be so eager to mention to her?


    "Someone that capable must be a reasonable person," she added. "They wouldn''t let personal bias cloud their judgment and deliberately make things difficult for an innocent person."


    She reached the bottom of the stairs and paused, though she didn''t turn back. "Lionel, you can''t hide things forever. This time it was Tess, next time it will be another reporter Are you nning to take on every journalist in Sova?"


    Hannah''s shoulders slumped. She gripped the banister and trudged up the stairs, herposure finally cracking as she turned the corner. A single tear escaped and fell to the floor.


    He could treat her however he wanted, but why did he have to drag other people into it?


    Lionel, do you really hate me that much?