After confirming it was gone, Hannah let out a breath of relief and made a U-turn to head back.


    "Go to hell-!"


    Suddenly, the same car shot out of an intersection. Hannah''s heart leaped into her throat. She wrenched the steering wheel to swerve, but it was toote. The car mmed violently into her passenger side.


    Her body lurched forward, her head cracking against the steering wheel. The world went ck for a second. Dazed, she pushed herself upright and looked


    over.


    The other car was backing up, preparing to ram her again.


    With no time to think, Hannah stomped on the gas, trying to get away.


    A blinding re of headlights flooded her vision. Before she could process what


    was happening, a deafening crash exploded beside her. The car that had been about to hit her was sent flying sideways by another vehicle.


    "Hannah!"


    Quennel jumped out of his car and ran to her side, yanking her door open.


    "Hang on, I''m taking you to the hospital!" He fumbled with her seatbelt, then gently lifted her out of the driver''s seat.


    "Quennel?" Her vision was blurry, but she recognized his silhouette.


    "It''s me. I''m here. It''s going to be okay. We''re going to the hospital now." Quennel gged down a passing car and carefully ced her inside, his strong arm wrapping around her to keep her steady. He quickly made a call to the police and another to his own people to handle the scene.


    "Do you know who hit you?" he asked.


    Hannah shook her head weakly. "I couldn''t see.”


    "It''s okay. Don''t worry. I''ll find out who did this. I''ll take care of it."


    She managed a faint "mm," the gash on her forehead throbbing. Her mind felt chaotic, memories shing


    before her eyes like a chaotic film


    reel. It was strange. She des. Tilme


    Lione now, so why in this momenty of crisis, were all her thoughts of him?


    Meanwhile, Lionel had been waiting all day for Hannah to call and


    confront him about the press conference. Instead, the call that


    came was from Owen, telling him she''d been in a car ident.


    Quennel carried Hannah into the emergency room. Luckily, her injuries weren''t


    severe.


    "Quennel, m fine. You don''t have to worry so much," she said, forcing a smile as a doctor bandaged her head. She looked at him standing


    beside her, his brow deeply furrowed with concern.


    "You can still smile at a time like this?" he said, a mix of frustration and relief in his voice.


    "It''s better than crying, isn''t it?"


    "If you want to cry, then cry. I won''t..."


    Before he could finish, the door was thrown open. They both looked up to see Lionel standing there, panting, his face pale with rm.


    "What happened? How could you get in a car ident?" he demanded, striding into the room. His eyes fell on the blood-soaked cotton balls on the tray, and his expression hardened.


    Quennel apologized to the doctor, then walked over to Lionel, grabbing his arm and forcibly dragging him out of the room.


    "Let go of me!" Lionel growled.


    "Are you trying to interfere with her treatment?" Quennel''s eyes narrowed. "Get out."