After all, she knew Lionel all too well, which made it easy to predict his next move.


    Sure enough, when she, Samuel, and Cherry arrived at the family estate, they found Lionel exactly where she expected him to be.


    He was standing in the living room, locked in a heated argument with the three family elders.


    None of them had anticipated Hannah''s sudden appearance at this moment.


    "Hannah?" The words died on Lionel''s lips as he saw her. He stared in disbelief as she walked toward them.


    For a moment, he thought his eyes were ying tricks on him. He stood frozen for several seconds before subconsciously taking a step toward her.


    “Han..... Hannah, did you see what''s trending online? You must have realized something was wrong and came to talk to the elders, right?"


    At Lionel''s words, the three elders'' faces instantly darkened, their gazes turning hostile as they fixed on Hannah.


    After a few seconds of silence, Mr. Michael Rosenberg lost hisposurepletely, pointing his cane at her.


    "This is a Rosenberg family matter and has nothing to do with you. You''re practically an outsider now, so I suggest you mind your own business!"


    Hannah remained unfazed by Mr. Michael Rosenberg''s aggressive tone. She walked calmly toward them and sat down on a nearby sofa as if she owned the ce.


    Samuel and Cherry, however, were startled.


    They had only heard stories about the notoriously bad tempers of the Rosenberg elders, but being here now, a single sentence and a single re were enough to make their hearts clench with fear.


    It felt as if a person with a weaker constitution might have been scared into a high fever.


    They sat down close to Hannah, saying nothing, just quietly observing the scene.


    The atmosphere in the living room, already heavy from Lionel''s incessant arguing, grew even more oppressive with Hannah''s arrival.


    And it became profoundly quiet, so quiet you could almost hear each other breathing.


    “Hannah, you also think this wasn''t the work of some maid, don''t you?"


    Seeing that Hannah hadn''t contradicted him, Lionel instinctively assumed she hade for the same reason.


    Besides, this was his problem. The fact that Hannah, despite their bitter falling out, hade all this way could only mean one thing: she still had feelings for him.


    She still cared about him, still loved him!


    "Mr. Michael Rosenberg, it''s not that I hate Quennel and am determined to pin this on him."


    With Hannah present, Lionel''s voice grew more confident, as if he now had backup.


    "If you just investigate this matter properly, you''ll find that something is very wrong. You can''t just do this to me to protect Quenner just because he''s involved."


    Lionel was unwilling to ept the oue and deeply dissatisfied.


    But he had already said so much to the elders, and they stubbornly insisted on the


    official story, clearly determined to shield Quennel.


    "You must have found out it was


    Quennel, but you''re afraid of ruining his reputation, so you''re doing this. I can understand that. I''m not eve saying you have to throw Quennel under the bus."


    Lionel paused, then continued with a hint of resentment, "Since the story has already been released to the public, there''s no need to change it. But internally, among our own family is it really necessary to keep up this pretense?"


    5


    However, faced with Lionel''s incessant rambling, the three elders remained silent.


    Mr. Edward Rosenberg even closed his eyes, making it clear he no longer wished to listen to, or even look at, Lionel.