Miranda''s words hit Dorian so hard, he was momentarily speechless.


    "You should have ''hypocrite'' and ''phony'' written all over your faces. Did you even stop to reflect on yourselves when you med everything on Arabe?"


    Hannah almost pped for Miranda right then and there. It felt so good, like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.


    Dorian''s expression had been tense ever since Miranda started speaking and hadn''t rxed since.


    "So, even though Arabe''s been kicked out, you''re still not going to forgive us?" His voice was starting to sound cold and distant. Miranda was speechless.


    "You ask for honesty, then you get upset when you hear it. And look, just a few words from me, and your true colors are already showing."


    Hannah went silent. Dorian was at a loss. His voice turned icy. "What if Arabe had to eat slop with the pigs?"


    Miranda raised an eyebrow, locking eyes with Dorian for a moment. This was something she had thrown at Dorian during a party once.


    He had asked what it would take for her to forgive them. She had replied, saying they''d have to eat slop with Arabe, just like she did back in the day.


    And now, Dorian was bringing it up again. There was a certain look in Dorian''s eyes she recognized.


    It was the way he used to look at Arabe. Or maybe even more intense.


    It had a kind of crazed, protective edge to it that made her wonder if they had transferred their old protectiveness for Arabe onto her. Like she had said before, she thought the four Hawke brothers were a bit unhinged.


    And she wasn''t just insulting them. Being that obsessed with their sister was practically a mental illness.


    It was clearly some kind of psychological disorder, probably something akin to a White Knight syndrome. An instinctive, indiscriminate urge to protect someone.


    Now, it seemed like he was directing those feelings towards her. At least, that was how Miranda saw it.


    "Well, I might consider it," she replied with a smirk. "You must remember the kind of life I had in the Zade family back then, Mr. Hawke?"


    Dorian''s stern expression darkened. "I understand now."


    Dorian knew exactly what kind of life Miranda had in the Zade family. All the storiesing out about the Zade family, and even what they admitted themselves, painted a clear picture of how Miranda had lived.


    They had known before that her life wasn''t easy, but they hadn''t realized just how bad it was. What they learned recently turned their previous assumptions upside down.


    Their own sister had endured so much, living a harsh life in ce of a deceitful imposter for years.


    Despite that, she had grown into a remarkable person.


    Meanwhile, Arabe, with her deceitful ways, had repeatedly tricked them, dragging their reputation and that of the entire Hawke family through the mud, almost bringing them to ruin.


    Inparison, their feelings for Arabe hadpletely dissipated.


    A hint of coldness shed across Miranda''s eyes. "Good that you do."


    "Can I ask you something?" Dorian continued.


    Miranda looked up.


    "Where''s Sunny?"


    Miranda tugged her lips. "You really want to know where Sunny is?"


    Dorian stared at Miranda. "Where is she?"


    Miranda''s eyes danced with amusement.


    "About this, I could tell you."


    Momentster, Dorian was striding out the door, moving as if he had somewhere urgent to be. Watching him leave, Miranda felt her suspicions were confirmed.


    Dorian''s feelings for Sunny were definitely more than ordinary. Ah, the tangled web of rtionships.


    "Mira, do you think he''ll really make Arabe eat slop?" Hannah was curious.


    Miranda chuckled coldly. "Who knows. But..."


    She pondered for a moment.


    "But what?" Hannah pressed.


    Miranda started counting on her fingers. "But if they start fighting, maybe they could get extra years added for perjury, harboring a


    criminal, and if you throw in assault,


    illegal detention, kidnapping


    uwful mistreatment."


    Just listening to Miranda list things off made Hannah shiver. How long would that


    add up to?


    "Yeah, soon enough," Miranda nodded.


    Hannah, unable to keep her curiosity at bay, asked, "What''s soon?"


    Miranda replied, "The time until they rot in jail."


    Hannah went silent. Why did she feel like her sister was deliberately stacking the odds against them?


    "Do you think they''ll really end up in jail?"


    Miranda''s grin widened. "Take a guess?"


    Hannah wasn''t sure how to reply. If Miranda didn''t think jail was too light a


    punishment, she might have already pulled the trigger.


    At least right now, the evidence she had was enough to send the Hawke family


    behind bars. But it wasn''t enough.


    She wanted them to walk in with


    their lives in shambles, unable to live


    like normal people ever again. Otherwise, what difference was there between serving time and


    getting a state-sponsored retirement n?