Lionel stood frozen, watching her walk away. He never imagined she would remember a careless remark he''d made so long ago and hold onto it for all these years.


    When he got into the car, he found Hannah on the phone, a bright smile on her face.


    "Mhm, I''m on my way over now," she said, ncing at him before turning away slightly, as if for privacy. "Whatever you want. We''ll have lunch together; you can decide where."


    Lionel listened grimly as her cheerful conversation continued for several minutes. The moment she hung up, he demanded, "Was that Yves?"


    Her smile vanished, reced by a cold, distant expression. "My rtionship with Mr. Lancaster is purely professional. Please don''t speak about us in that tone."


    Her words hit him with the force of a physical blow, and a deep frown creased his brow. Hannah ignored him, turning her attention back to her phone to reply to a message.


    It was from Tess. She said Lionel had dropped theint and thepany had asked her toe back. But after everything that had happened, she was done. She was nning to move to a city down south. She''d always loved the ocean and dreamed of retiring by the sea; now she was just doing it a little earlier than nned.


    Hannah: [This is all my fault. Tess, before you go, can we meet? I have something for you.]


    Tess: [It''s not your fault, honey. Lionel is the one with the problem. You didn''t do anything wrong! I''m busy with paperwork and finding a ce right now, but let''s definitely get together once I''m settled.]


    Hannah: [Okay!]


    After sending the message, the smile faded from Hannah''s face, reced by a bitter sneer. With a single word, he could ruin Tess''s career, and with another, he could restore it. All for Sandra. Time and again, he had targeted the people closest to her.


    At that moment, the only thing she felt grateful for was being an orphan. If she had parents, Lionel would probably be going after them by now.


    The carpsed back into silence. They were still twenty minutes from the office.


    As Lionel gripped the steering wheel, about to speak, the phone on the dashboard lit up. A custom ringtone yed, and the name [Sandra] glowed on the screen, an intimate and ring presence in the confined space.


    Hannah nced at it, then impassively turned her gaze out the window Dark clouds were gathering on the horizon, mirroring th


    growing storm inside her.


    Lionel hesitated, and the call went to voicemail. Not five secondster, it rang again.


    Seeing him still ignoring it, Hannah''s patience snapped. "Stop putting on a show for me," she said, her voiceced with irritation. "Just answer it. If something really happens to her you just turn around and me me


    for it


    anyway."


    Lionel stared at her. Her expression was one of indifference, but beneath ity a deep, weary annoyance. Finally, he answered the call.


    "Lionel, help me!"


    A panicked, trembling voice filled the car.


    "There''s someone at my door with a knife! I''m so scared! Lionel, you have toe help me, I don''t know what to do..."


    The small car was filled with the sound of Sandra''s terrified sobs.


    Just then, the light turned red. The car stopped, and in that instant, Hannah


    decisively unbuckled her seatbelt and pushed the door open.


    “Hannah!” Lionel eximed, fumbling with his own seatbelt.


    "Aah-help-" The line went dead with a dial tone.


    Hannah heard the desperate cry from the car, followed immediately by the screech of tires as Lionel sped away. A hollowugh escaped her lips.