Lionel was lost in thought for a long moment. He took a deep breath, then finally stood up and said to the three elders, "I''m sorry."


    The moment he spoke, silence once again descended upon the living room. No one responded to him.


    "When you''vee to your senses and grown a brain, we''ll discuss this again. We''ll set another time. And next time, Lionel, I expect you won''t keep us old men waiting. You need to learn some basic decency."


    With that, Elder Finch turned and left without a backward nce.


    The other two elders gave Lionel a long, meaningful look, sighed deeply, and followed him out.


    Soon, only the three of them remained in the vast living room of the family home.


    Mrs. Mary Rosenberg nced at her disappointing son, worried she would have a stroke if she spoke to him any longer. She simply got up and walked out, unwilling to have any further conversation.


    After she left, only the two brothers remained.


    Quennel stared at Lionel in silence for a few seconds before letting out a smallugh. "Well, well. It seems everything I told you yesterday went in one ear and out the other. You didn''t listen to a single word. And look at you now. This could have all been resolved today, but you managed to drive everyone away."


    "You''re officially the first person in history to infuriate the elders to this extent. I can''t even imagine the looks on their faces the next time we have a meeting."


    He knew Lionel was reckless, but he never imagined he''d be so foolish in front of the elders.


    The man was ying with fire, and sooner orter, he was going to get burned.


    "It was obvious they just wanted to call me here to humiliate me. You really think I didn''t know that? They''ve already made up their minds about whether to kick me out or not."


    With no one else around, Lionelid his cards on the table.


    "You all talk about not holding a grudge, about letting me fend for myself out there. As if. All of you can''t wait for me to be cut off from the family so you can find a way to destroy me!"


    Lionel had seen through their intentions long ago.


    "Quennel, you and Mother can stop pretending this is all for my own good. If you truly cared, you would have already spoken to the elders beforehand instead of wasting my time with this lecture."


    "Lionel, if you can''t see what''s wrong with your attitude, then I don''t think anything


    you do will work. Forget the elders-even Hannah won''t let you off the hook."


    Quennel stood up and looked down on him, a condescending smirk on his face.


    "You made a fool of her at the courthouse. Do you really think Hannah is just going to forgive that? Right now the only chance you have of avoiding a divorce is if the family elders intervene and negotiate with her."


    He decided to just tell him the elders'' true motive.


    "Otherwise, Hannah is already preparing to file awsuit, and you can expect divorce papers soon. The elders were hoping to use your. marriage to deepen our partnership with the temple family. Afterall, the Temples are on the same level as the Rosenbergs."


    With that, Quennel turned and walked away, unwilling to waste another breath on him.


    He had thought that after exining all the risks yesterday, Lionel would surely listen.


    But he was wrong. The man was hopelessly stupid. His appalling attitude toward Hannah was one thing, but to treat the family elders with the same contempt was sheer madness.


    Quennel suspected that after managing things for the Rosenberg family for a few years, Lionel had started to believe he was indispensable. That''s where his arrogance came from.


    He failed to realize that he only had power because the elders granted it to him. Once they took that power away, he would be nothing.