They stood close, Lionel''s brow furrowed with concern as he seemed to be offering her advice. His gentle, caring demeanor was a stark contrast to the cold, dismissive tone he always used with her. The hypocrite. He had kidnapped her, humiliated her, and yet he could still put on such a convincing act. After all these years, she was only now seeing his true colors.


    A knot of anger tightened in her chest. As she walked toward the exit, a red Ferrari screeched to a halt in front of her. The driver, a handsome man in sunsses, got out.


    "Well, well, if it isn''t Ms. Green. Why the long face? Who upset you? I''ll go beat them up for you."


    "Mr. Lancaster?"


    Yves took off his sunsses and opened the passenger door for her. He nced into the lobby, his eyesnding on Lionel and Sandra. "Ah, I see. You ran into some trash first thing in the morning. No wonder you''re in a bad mood." He pulled out his phone and found a picture of a bundle of sage. "I should have brought some of this to cleanse the bad vibes. But I guess a digital version will have to do."


    His boisterousughter caught Lionel''s attention.


    "Get in. I''ll give you a ride to work," Yves said with a flourish.


    Hannah didn''t hesitate. She got into the car without a single nce back at Lionel and Sandra and drove away.


    "Why was Mr. Lancaster here to pick up Hannah?" Sandra asked, surprised. "Isn''t he based in Sova?"


    Lionel was silent, his right hand clenching into a fist.


    Sandra saw his darkening expression and hid a smirk. That fool. Getting into another man''s car right in front of Lionel. She really had


    a death wish After what she had


    she!


    done with Hans, Sandra was not


    about to let her off the hook.  "Lionel," she said, feigning concern, "do you think Hannah is still mad about yesterday? Is that why she asked Mr. Lancaster toe here, to make you jealous?" She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "You''ve already done so much for


    me don''t want to cause any more trouble between you two. Maybe... maybe we shouldn''t see each other anymore. My parents and I will figure something out."


    Her voice trembled, a sob catching in her throat.


    "What are you nning to do?"


    Sandra''s eyes lit up. "We''ll think of something all else fails, I''ll just marry him. I have to get married


    eventually. I almost married you


    remember?" She forced a bright smile. "Don''t worry about me. You should go talk to Hannah_You know how girls are I''m sure she''lle around. And wh And who knows what Lancaster''s intentions are, showing up like this when he knows you two are married."


    She took his arm and tried to pull him toward the door.


    Lionel took a few steps, then stopped. "I''ll go with you to talk to your family first. Don''t worry about her. I''ll handle it."


    Sandra''s eyes filled with tears. "It''s all my fault. If my family wasn''t in trouble...”


    "Get in the car."


    Lionel''s face was a stony mask as he got into the car,pletely unaware of the photographer lurking in the shadows.