"I''ve told you so many times, since the very beginning, to be good to Hannah, to cherish her. But you never listened. You were always doubting her."


    Grandma Rosenberg sighed deeply as she watched Lionel''s devastated expression.


    At this point, it was toote. No matter how much she urged him to make amends, it wouldn''t change anything.


    "I know why you came here today and why you had me call Hannah. But it''s time you faced reality."


    Her voice was gentle but firm. "Hannah is truly angry this time. Before, my words might have carried some weight, but now, nothing I say will make a difference. She probably only came today because she hadn''t seen me in a long time.”


    "She knew you were behind my call. I could tell she didn''t want toe at first, but she came anyway. You need to ept the truth and stop making the same mistakes. If you continue down this path, nothing good wille of it. It''s time to let go."


    She pleaded with him, but as she looked at his dazed, unresponsive state, it seemed her words weren''t sinking in. She had said all she could.


    Whether he listened was up to him now.


    Shaking her head helplessly, Grandma Rosenberg turned and walked away.


    Lionel watched her leave, lost in thought.


    He knew, of course, that Hannah had onlye for his grandmother''s sake. If he had been the one to call, she never would have answered.


    And now that she hade once, it meant she probably wouldn''te again. He had used up his only chance. There were no more opportunities left.


    At that realization, a sharp pain seized his heart, so intense it felt as if his insides were being torn apart.


    Was their rtionship truly beyond repair? Was there really nothing more he could do?


    That evening, Quennel arrived at the prison.


    When Sandra saw him, her


    demeanor waspletely different


    from before. Her eyes, filled with a


    mixture of excitement and


    anticipation, followed him as he


    walked toward her. ''


    "You look like you''re expecting good news. Unfortunately for you, today''s news is only good for me."


    Quennel pulled up a stool and sat down, crossing his arms and leaning back slightly. He looked down at the woman on the floor with a mocking glint in his eyes.


    "I leaked a clue tonight. If he''s


    diligent, he''ll be able to pinpoint this


    location. But if he doesn''t try hard


    enough, then he certamly


    certainly won''t find


    it."


    "Quennel, I''m very curious," Sandra asked. "If he does follow your clues and finds


    this ce, will you let me go, or will you lock him up here too?"


    "Lionel is not like me. He is, after all, a Rosenberg. If he were to


    disappear, the family would


    definitely call the police. I doubt


    you''d y a game that risky.


    Besides, if you let me go, I''ll tell him


    everything that happened to


    me


    here. Then you won''t be able to walk


    away unscathed either."


    Sandra had thought long and hard about why Quennel would leak information about


    her whereabouts.