Chapter 20

Hannah looked around. The great hall was vast, bright and dazzling, every inch of it breathing grandeur.

Her lips parted slightly, her face full of awe.

Off to one side, Sebastian watched her with deep disdain.

Ha. What an ignorant creature. If she weren't his parents' blood, he would never have wanted anything to do with someone of her station.

Edmund and Eleanor had eyes only for their daughter, and didn't notice him.

Hannah wandered across the hall, praising everything she saw.

"Mom, Dad, our home is so beautiful! It's so big, calling it a palace wouldn't be an exaggeration!"

Eleanor smiled and stroked her hair. "Hannah, I've had the fifth floor decorated for you. Go up and see if you like it. If anything isn't to your taste, tell me, and your father and I will bring in a designer to redo it however you wish." Her voice overflowed with love.

Hannah smiled. "Since you arranged it, I'll love it, whatever the style."

"If you like it, that's all I need! If you like it, that's enough!"

Eleanor patted her hand, her eyes soft, and sighed. "Hannah, you were gone so many years, and now you're finally back. I want to give you the best of everything in the world. Just tell us what you want, and I'll do all I can to give it to you."

Hannah's eyes reddened. She drew a breath to steady her voice. "Mom, I understand. I don't need much. If you'll just stay by my side, I'm content."

From childhood to adulthood, she had never known what real family love felt like.

Now, faced with Edmund and Eleanor's deep, sincere affection, she was overwhelmed with joy, and yet uneasy. She feared it was only a beautiful dream, and that she would wake to find herself back in the dark, hopeless Winters house.

"Hannah, let the past be the past," Edmund said. "Your father knows everything you suffered. Don't worry. I'll see that justice is done. I won't let the Winters family escape!"

When his secretary had reported on Hannah's life with the Winterses, a furious anger had surged in him.

His wife's beloved daughter, whom she had searched for twenty-six years, had been living in agony in that house!

Worse still, that heartless couple had planned to give his daughter to a man older than he was as a mistress!

They were asking for it!

"Dad..."

Tears ran down Hannah's cheeks. Her broken, wounded heart was slowly being warmed and healed by her family's love.

So this is what it feels like to be cherished.

"Although the Winterses treated me badly, they did raise me for more than twenty years. You don't need to lift a finger. I believe it won't be long before they reap what they've sown."

She had divorced Lucas, and the Hales surely believed that by recovering the money Peter had taken, they could control her. They would not let it go easily, and would inevitably strike back at the Winters family.

"In that case, I'll spare their lives," Edmund said. "But they must still be taught a lesson. Otherwise, all you've endured will have been for nothing."

"I only worried that Dad would dirty his hands for me. But since you've said so, arrange it as you see fit. I have no objection."

Eleanor wiped her tears. "Your father should teach them. Hannah, you don't know how I survived all these years without you. If it weren't for Rosalind by my side, I might not be here at all."

Rosalind?

Hannah felt a pang of doubt at the unfamiliar name. She asked nothing. Instead, she hugged Eleanor, her eyes red, and comforted her.

"Mom, I'm back now. From now on I'll stay with you and go nowhere."

"Silly girl." Eleanor was crying and laughing at once. "You have your own life, too. How could you go nowhere? I don't need that. I only want you to be happy."

Hannah couldn't help but plead like a child. "No. I'll stay with Mom and go nowhere."

Edmund watched them with doting eyes, deeply content.

Only Sebastian's disgust deepened. He couldn't hold it in.

"You're a married woman, and you still act like a child. Don't you find that revolting?"

Hannah's smile froze. She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, anger flashed across Eleanor's face.

"Sebastian, how can you say that to your sister?"

He stared at Hannah with contempt, as if trying to see straight through her. Then he turned to his mother. "Can't I speak the truth?"

"Sebastian, watch your tone!" Edmund said sternly.

"Wasn't I polite enough? What more do you want? Should I kneel before her?"

His voice dripped with sarcasm. "A daughter of the Harringtons, thrown out by the insignificant Hales. I'm ashamed to say it aloud, and you all pity her?"

Hannah's face turned ugly.

Eleanor took her hand quickly and soothed her. "Hannah, your brother was spoiled by us, so he speaks without thinking. Please don't be angry..."

Sebastian ignored her. "They say the man cheated, but only she knows the truth. I don't believe she's blameless. It takes two to break a marriage! And you, Father, think of seeking justice for her? Ha..."

A scornful sneer curled his lips.

"If others learned your precious daughter was bullied by a family like the Hales, what would they think? They'd laugh at you. They'd say your daughter couldn't even handle a poor family, that she's as dull and stupid as a dumb animal."