At the Macht family residence.
"What's wrong?" Liana asked, her heart aching at the sight of her husband's haggard face.
"If it's about money, I can speak to my father and the others. You don't have to-"
Before she could finish, Councilman Macht interrupted her with a wave of his hand.
"It's not about money." Councilman Macht sighed. "I'm already working on a solution to that.
Thank you for all you've done lately."
"Mm." Watching her husband try to pull himself together, Liana nodded gently, though concern still lingered in her eyes.
She could sense that his troubles went beyond their finances.
After a moment, Councilman Macht could not help sighing again.
"What is it, exactly? Is something else troubling you?" Liana pressed, sitting down beside him.
"It's-about Hazel." Councilman Macht rubbed his brow. "You remember that-friend of hers, don't you? The young man who visited us twice."
"James Scott?" Liana remembered him immediately, and a barely perceptible hint of excitement even crept into her voice. "Of course I remember him! He's become quite famous lately. All the papers are calling him the 'East Borough Hero.' He's a household name in Backlund now." She paused, then ventured, "Do you-want to ask him to help you campaign in your constituency?"
Enlisting famous people to help win votes was a common tactic among politicians.
"Actually-" Councilman Macht's expression grew complicated. "I already asked Hazel to speak to him-"
"Hazel-" Liana frowned slightly. Asking their daughter to seek someone's help was something she found difficult to accept. But remembering the "intimate" relationship between Hazel and the young man, she said nothing more about it and simply asked, "How did it go? Did he agree?"
Seeing her husband's grim expression, her heart sank. She asked tentatively, "What? Did he-learn about our family's difficulties and