Mr. Edward Rosenberg had been pondering this ever since he saw the trending


    news.


    He had only watched a small portion of the videos circting online. Lionel''s words were so outrageous that he couldn''t stand to watch any more and had simply turned it off.


    Therefore, he wasn''t aware that Lionel had mentioned to Hannah that the elders had tricked him intoing.


    Lionel looked at the elders, his heart in turmoil. After a moment of internal debate, he decided to just tell them the truth.


    "It''s because yesterday you told me you had spoken with Hannah and that she had confessed to everything. That made me suspect she was trying to frame me by deceiving you."


    As Lionel spoke, he showed no sign of remorse, his tone defiant and self-righteous.


    "You all kept insisting I was the one behind it and deliberately tried to trick me. You didn''t even tell me the truth afterward, which is what led me to misunderstand Hannah. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have gone to see her today. When ites down to it..."


    This is all your fault.


    But Lionel swallowed thest part of his sentence. Saying it out loud would be far too disrespectful to the elders.


    However, Lionel failed to realize that what he had already said was offensive enough.


    Mr. Michael Rosenberg, who was already short-tempered, grew even more livid upon hearing Lionel''s words, which sounded suspiciously like he was ming them.


    His jaw clenched, and his brow furrowed as he asked in a harsh tone, "Lionel, are you implying that this is all our fault?"


    "Well..."


    He was about to respond instinctively, but seeing the thunderous look on Mr. Michael''s face, he immediately swallowed his words.


    The elder''s expression was terrifying. If he said the wrong thing now, the consequences would be severe.


    "Mr. Rosenberg, what''s done is done," Lionel said, trying to de-escte: "There''s no use talking about it now. Since it was broadcast live at we can do is try to suppress the story and wait for the public''s attention to fade."


    If it had just been a video or a written post, he might have been able to spin it somehow.


    But as it stood, no exnation would work.


    Everyone had seen the conversation between him and Hannah.


    More importantly, everyone now knew he had been tricked by the elders, which is


    why he went to confront Hannah in the first ce.


    Lionel wasn''t sure ifizens would sympathize with him for being deceived, but he


    knew the online vitriol against him must be immense.


    He couldn''t post an exnation


    either. His only defense was that the elders had lied to him. While that


    would shift the me, it wouldpletely alienate the elders.


    He was truly caught between a rock and a hard ce.


    "If we hadn''t said anything, were you nning to keep your past coboration with Cherry a secret forever?" Mr. Michael demanded, incensed that Lionel was still being obstinate.


    "For all we know, you two worked together before, and you''re colluding again now, getting your stories straight!"


    Just as Lionel was about to defend himself, Mr. Michael rose to his feet.