Xenia shot her right hand into the air, her eyes wide and earnest. "I, Xenia, swear


    to God," she said, each word ringing with conviction. "If a single word I''ve just said is a lie, may lightning strike me down. May I die a horrible death, and may my whole family die with me!"


    Seeing the lingering disbelief in his eyes, she added desperately, "If I''m lying, then may my brother never find a kidney!"


    Hearing her swear on the one person she held most dear, Lionel finally began to question what Sandra had told him. But he had known Sandra for so many years. He couldn''t believe that someone so gentle and considerate could be capable of such a thing.


    Xenia looked up, saw the conflict on his face, and crawled forward on her knees.


    "Mr. Rosenberg, I know I''m just an outsider, and you have no reason to believe me," she pleaded. "But you can ask anyone at the firm. None of them knew Hannah was your wife. They all thought Sandra was your mistress, so everyone treated her like royalty. They knew she disliked Hannah, so they all ganged up on her, giving her the worst cases, the most difficult clients, all the grunt work."


    To save herself, she had to drag everyone else down with her.


    "Mr. Rosenberg, Sandra is not the person you think she is. And I''m no saint either. I hurt your wife for money, but I was only trying to save my brother!" she cried, tears and snot streaming down her face.


    A heavy feeling settled in Lionel''s chest. He had never heard any of this before.


    The room fell silent, filled only with the sound of Xenia''s desperate sobs.


    After a long while, Lionel stood up.


    "Mr. Rosenberg..." Xenia looked up, her eyes red and swollen, her heart pounding with dread as she waited for him to speak.


    "Hannah went to your house yesterday," he said, his voice cold and devoid of emotion "She told Zack you were in jail for hitting her with your car. In response, your brother hired men to rape Sandra. They failed, and he''s been arrested."


    "Wh-what?"


    The color drained from Xenia''s face. She copsed onto the floor, her eyes wide with horror as she stared nkly at the ground, her breathing growing ragged.


    She looked up, shaking her head in disbelief. "No, that''s impossible. My brother isn''t like that. Mr. Rosenberg, there must be a misunderstanding. He''s never done anything wrong in his life, he would never..."


    Xenia''s voice trailed off as a horrifying thought took hold. She scrambled forward and grabbed his pant leg.


    "It was Hannah! Yes, it had to be her! She must have said something to my brother, manipted him into doing it. Mr. Rosenberg swear t brother would never do something like this on his own. It was Hannah! She and Sandra have always been at odds. She instigated him?


    Lionel kicked her away and walked out of the police station, ignoring the sound of


    her hysterical screams behind him.


    Once in his car, he drove toward the


    office. After a moment of thought, he called Owen. "Get me all the surveince footage from thew firm. I want to see if what Xenia said


    about them ganging up on Hannah is true."