Wesley took me to the nearest hotel.

After checking in, he handed me a business card.

I stared at his long, elegant fingers, remembering how he had handed me a card at my father’s funeral—one that Mark had later tossed into the trash.

My mind wandered for a moment, and Wesley must have thought I didn’t want the card. His expressionless face gave nothing away as he asked, “You planning on skipping out on paying me back?”

I quickly replied, “I’ll pay you back. I promise.”

Satisfied, Wesley pulled his hand back, slipped the other into his pocket, and walked off without another word.

Out of respect for my rescuer and, frankly, the man to whom I then owed a debt, I hurried after Wesley and escorted him out of the hotel’s lobby.

Just as he was about to get into his car, he paused, his hand resting on the door. He turned to look at me.

His gaze had a way of making me shrink back, even though I tried not to show it. Let’s be real—Wesley, with those gold-rimmed glasses, barely ever cracking a smile, gave off major “charming villain” vibes.

His face was unreadable, his tone just as cold. “June, I gave you my card because I want you to reach out when you need help. Your parents wouldn’t want to see you like this—acting like your life is over.”

I felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me because he’d seen right through me. Although I had taken ’his card, I wasn’t planning on asking him for anything. Of course I would pay him back, but that was it.

Trying to keep my composure, I forced a smile. “Wesley, I’m fine. Really.”

“Are you?” Wesley’s voice was sharp, cutting right through my pretense. “If I’m not mistaken, you were just about to kill yourself a few minutes ago.”

“I wasn’t!” I protested immediately.

‘As God is my witness, I wasn’t trying to end my life—I’ve just had a momentary breakdown.’

Wesley gave me a disappointed look, the kind that made me feel like I’d failed some unspoken test. “I warned you before—use your head. But you…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Forget it.”

I frowned, feeling the sting of his words. “Wesley, I appreciate your help tonight, but you’re crossing a line.”

With a sardonic smirk, Wesley got into his car, slammed the door shut, and drove off without another word.

I watched his car disappear into the distance, silently praying that my parents, wherever they were, would bless Wesley with a good life—despite how he’d just made me feel.

Afterward, I took the key card and headed up to the room.

Wesley had booked me an executive suite.

The room was huge, with a living area separate from the bedroom. In the dead of night, the silence felt suffocating, and loneliness pressed in on me.

Lying on the plush hotel bed, I stared blankly at the ceiling, Wesley’s last words echoing in my mind.

“June, after all these years, I hoped you’d have wised up. Your parents didn’t raise you to be this clueless. Honestly… Mark’s garbage. The whole world sees it. Everyone but you, apparently.”

‘He was right. I didn’t have any sense before.’

Looking back, I wondered if my parents had seen through Mark from the beginning. ‘Did they know all along that he wasn’t a good man? Because someone’s moral decay doesn’t happen overnight.’

‘Mark has always been rotten to the core. And I? I’ve been trapped in the web of his sweet lies, unable to break free, convinced he was the best thing that had ever happened to me—even when everyone around me knew better.’

‘But now, I am finally awake. And I want a divorce—immediately.’

The next morning, I woke up early, checked out of the hotel, and used some of the cash Wesley had given me to hail a cab back home.

Since Mark and I had already torn each other apart last night, and he had a new woman on the side eager to take my place, I figured getting a divorce should be easy, right?

Once the divorce was finalized, I could focus on investigating what had really happened with the baby. I didn’t need Mark for that—I could uncover the truth on my own.

As I approached the apartment, I spotted the single shoe I had left behind in all the chaos the night before. It lay there, abandoned, much like I had been.

I was just about to knock on the door when I heard voices inside. It sounded like Mark was about to leave, and Faye was following him to the door. So, I waited to let him open it.

“Mark, I just don’t get it,” Faye was saying. “Last night was the perfect opportunity. Why didn’t you just divorce June already? That worthless girl. We’ve already dealt with the trash in her belly—what are you waiting for? She’s got no family, no one to back her up. What are you afraid of? I can’t stand another day with her under the same roof!”

I froze.

‘Dealt with? Trash? What on earth is she talking about?’

And then it hit me—like a bomb going off in my head.

They had drugged me.

They had killed my baby.