"Lionel?"


    "Tell me what happened today," he said, his voice cold. "And I want the truth. No more lies."


    The cold, distant tone sent a chill through Sandra''s heart. She bit her lip. Her old tricks wouldn''t work anymore.


    Lionel trusted Hannah now, and if she dared to lie at this critical juncture, he would only resent her more.


    "I''m sorry," she began, crafting her story carefully. "I shouldn''t have lied to you yesterday. I was the one who sent the video. I was just worried that the Temples wouldn''t know what Hannah had been through, since she''s so reluctant to talk about her past."


    She continued, "I got the videos from Mr. Cooper, and I cooperated with her family to have him arrested. I came to tell Hannah about it today, but I think my approach was too blunt. She didn''t like it."


    As she spoke, Sandra let out a few soft sobs, dabbing at the tears on her cheeks. "I''m sorry. I just wanted to give Hannah a gift for her party. I never meant to scare her."


    Lionel''s brow furrowed. He saw the red light ahead and mmed on the brakes.


    "So you''re saying you yed the video, you helped get the guy arrested, and when you went to tell Hannah, she flew into a rage and beat you?"


    He nced at Sandra''s injuries. Anyone could see how severe they were; the blows had been meant to cause serious harm.


    He knew Hannah, and while she might get physical, she would never be this vicious.


    "I..."


    "Just tell me," he cut in, his voice sharp. "Who was it that beat you?"


    An unnerving silence filled the car.


    Sandra pressed her lips together, afraid to speak. If she med Hannah and he investigated, he would find out she was lying again, and it would be over.


    "It was Mr Cooper," she finally said, swallowing hard. "He realized he''d been used and attacked me. My injures have nothing to do with Hannalt was all Mr. Cooper.


    It was a mix of truth and lies-a story Lionel wouldn''t be able to disprove easily, especially since she had explicitly stated Hannah wasn''t the one who beat her.


    Lionel listened, unable to find any fault in her exnation.


    Soon, they arrived at the hospital.


    As the nurses were wheeling Sandra into an operating room, she suddenly grabbed Lionel''s hand. "Lionel please don''t wait for me, Go find Hannah," she pleaded weakly "Don''t let her stay angry."


    Lionel said nothing, simply pulling his hand from her grasp.


    Less than a minuteter, his assistant, Owen, rushed in. "Get me the contents of


    this USB drive,” Lionel ordered, handing it to him.


    "Right away." Owen took the drive and aptop to a nearby seat.


    A few minutester, the video file was open.


    As he watched, his brow furrowed and his eyes widened in shock.


    He nced from the operating room back to Lionel, who sat waiting anxiously. Taking a deep breath, he quickly typed a fewmands on the keyboard.


    "Mr. Rosenberg, it''s done." Owen handed theptop over.


    Lionel took it and clicked y. "What


    is this?" The screen showed the


    Temple family''s surveince


    footage, but


    e moment Sandra


    walked into the frame, the video cut


    to ck.


    Owen shook his head. "I''m not sure. This is how it was when I imported it. The file


    doesn''t seem to be corrupted."