But Lionel''s words did nothing to stir Mrs. Woods''s conscience. In fact, they only made her more aggressive.


    "Mr. Rosenberg, you call yourself a man? Is dredging up the past all you can do?"


    Mrs. Woods crossed her arms, sinking haughtily onto the sofa and looking up at him with a cold sneer.


    "Then again, a shameless person like you would do something like this. You were shameless enough to send people to take back the gifts you gave my daughter, so of course you''d stoop this low."


    At the mention of that incident, Lionel''s expression darkened instantly.


    "What, did I say something wrong? It was because of you that Hannah brought a mob of people over and took everything back, right in front of everyone! You knew we were struggling financially, but you didn''t even try to stop her!"


    Seeing his face grow darker, Mrs. Woods''s smile widened, a cruel glint in her eyes as her words grew even sharper.


    "Am I wrong? If you had just stopped her, things wouldn''t have gotten so ugly. For a grown man to take back gifts he''d given... have you no shame?!"


    Lionel didn''t respond, just clenched his jaw tightly.


    Seeing his silence, Mrs. Woods pressed on, her voice rising. “So what if they were gifts given during your marriage? You knew they were marital assets, yet you gave them away anyway. Now that things have blown up and your wife is divorcing you, you suddenly want to im you can''t pay the settlement because you don''t have the sole authority over your assets."


    The thought that Hannah''s interference could cost them the settlement money infuriated her.


    She pointed a finger at Lionel''s nose and continued to berate him. "The world doesn''t work that way. You hurt someone, you apologize, and you pay for it! If you refuse, then you can go to jail!"


    On the way over, Mrs. Woods had already decided that if he refused to pay, she would press charges and have him incarcerated.


    No matter how much the Rosenberg family despised Lionel now, they wouldn''t want to see him in prison.


    It would be a stain on the family''s


    reputation. They would surely step in


    and pay to make the problem go. away So, they were definitely getting their money; the only


    question was how much.


    If they let thew decide, the amount wouldn''t be much. But Lionel was rich, and settling for a small sum would be a huge loss. They had to demand more!


    “Hannah went there on her own. By the time I found out, they were already moving things out. How was I supposed to stop them?"


    Lionel instantly regretted bringing up the past. Women loved to dredge up old arguments, especially this one.


    She was now so obsessed with money that she would sell out her own daughter. If he didn''t give her something, she would only be more vicious.


    "You will get your settlement. The police haven''t even issued a statement yet, so is it really


    appropriate for you to be demanding money from me? I''ll tell you this: I


    am willing to pay, but the amount


    will be


    determined by the polle


    If


    you get greedy and demand more, I


    can and will sue you for extortion."


    Since she had thrown all civility out the window, even threatening to have him jailed,


    there was no reason for him to be polite either.


    "I was showing you respect because you''re Sandra''s mother. But if you''re going to throw my courtesy back in my face, then dort me me for. being blunt. Please leave!"


    After he finished speaking, Lionel nced at a nearby staff member, signaling for them to show her out.


    He refused to waste another breath on this woman. He already had more than enough to deal with, and she was only making things worse.