[Cherry]: I agree. If I hadn''t gone and tipped him off, Lionel probably wouldn''t even know about this.


    [Cherry]: If I hadn''t told him, he probably would have only found out after the fact. Then he''d start pestering you, Hannah, saying something like, ''Why didn''t you tell me you got a letter? I would have gone for you! It hurts me when you do things like this!''


    [Cherry]: ''Next time something like this happens, youe to me. I''ll go in your ce, you can trust me. I know you hate me now, but I still love you!''


    Hannah stared at Cherry''s messages, thinking she''d spent far too much time with Lionel. His particr brand of nonsense was starting to rub off on her.


    Those messages sounded exactly like something Lionel would say.


    [Samuel]: I hereby crown you the new Lionel. Now please stop talking, you''re making me sick.


    [Hannah]: I have to admit, that''s exactly what he would say and do. But we can''t tell anything for sure yet. We''ll have to keep watching.


    Hannah put down her phone and nced down from her high vantage point.


    Her gaze fell on Quennel. For some reason, ever since Sandra was kidnapped and tortured, she''d had a nagging feeling that her older brother wasn''t as simple as he seemed.


    It felt like he was hiding something from her, though she couldn''t put her finger on what it was.


    She hadn''t paid much attention to him before. The few times they''d interacted, they had only chatted and done little else.


    In truth, she really didn''t know her brother well at all.


    Samuel saw the look on Hannah''s face and had a good idea of what she was thinking.


    He followed her gaze, his eyes alsonding on Quennel.


    If Quennel wasn''t genuinely kind, but was approaching Hannah with ulterior motives, he would have to protect her.


    And if he was just being paranoid, well, he could apologize in his head. It wasn''t like he was saying any of this out loud.


    "Quennel, Hannah may not know what kind of person you are, but that doesn''t mean I don''t!"


    After a long, tense silence, Lionel finally spoke, his voice seething.


    "Before Hannah filed for divorce, you at least had some restraint, you didn''t do anything to outrageous, But now that things are like this, you''re not even trying to hide it anymore, are you?"


    "Do you really think that even after she divorces me, she would agree to be with you? fet me tell you you can stop dreaming!"


    Lionel red at him, his teeth clenched, dragging all of Quennel''s supposedly dirty thoughts out into the open.


    "Even divorced, she''s my ex-wife, your former sister-inw! You want to be with your sister-inw? Let''s see who would approve of that! see if your mother would approve!"


    Quennel waspletely blindsided. He never expected Lionel to say something like


    that at a time like this.


    If he wasn''t afraid of Lionel noticing, he would have nced upstairs to see


    Hannah''s reaction to those words.


    This man was truly unbelievable, daring to say such things.


    But then Quennel had another thought. Let him say it.


    Hannah could hear every word. This would probably only make her despise Lionel


    even more.


    At that thought, Quennel let out a short, humorlessugh and finally opened his mouth to speak.