Not long after Giselle left, Dustin walked back in.

“Faye, I brought you your favorite beef patties. You’re pregnant now. You need to take care of yourself. You’re so thin. How is the baby supposed to get enough nutrition?”

My gaze shifted from the paper bag in his hand to his shirt.

This man had always been neat and careful about details. But now, three of his shirt buttons were fastened wrong. Through the open collar, faint red marks were visible on his neck.

When he noticed my stare, he touched his nose awkwardly. As he moved, a familiar scent drifted into the air—Chanel No. 5. The same perfume Giselle wore.

He had also forgotten something else. Half a year ago, on the day Noah died, he had been holding beef patties he bought for me too. Ever since that day, the sight of them made my stomach twist.

I looked at him without saying a word. He sat down beside my bed.

“Faye, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

The memory of his phone call with Giselle flashed through my mind. My hand instinctively covered my belly. I had to protect my child.

I looked at him coldly. “There is nothing left to talk about. You know exactly what you’ve done.”

My strength hadn’t fully returned. The smartest choice right now was to avoid direct conflict.

A flicker of panic crossed Dustin’s eyes.

“There’s nothing between me and Giselle. The breakfast I bought her was all food you don’t even like.”

As he spoke, his eyes darted toward my phone.

My heart tightened. I opened Giselle’s Instagram.

[The greatest happiness in life is sharing breakfast every day with the one you love.

The person who truly loves you will always give you everything you want.

️️️]

The photo showed a table filled with different breakfasts. In the trash bin beside it was a paper bag, exactly the same as the one sitting in front of me.

“Faye, this is a misunderstanding. Let me explain,” Dustin said as he rushed toward me to grab my phone.

The heavy perfume on his body, mixed with the smell of crushed beef patties, made my stomach churn. I gagged uncontrollably.

When Dustin heard me retch, he pushed me off the bed. I stumbled and fell onto the cold floor.

“Faye, you know I have issues with cleanliness. I know pregnancy makes you sick, but you could’ve gone to the bathroom.”

I sat on the floor, too weak to stand. The cold seeped through my body and straight into my heart.

It felt like I was seeing Dustin for the first time.

No, I should have known long ago how fake and selfish he was.

“Ms. Watson, it’s time for your stem cell extraction procedure. Please come with us to the operating room.”

Before I could react, two nurses stepped forward and tried to lift me up.

“I never agreed to any surgery,” I struggled. “Let go of me.”

Dustin stepped in, forcing an apologetic smile.

“My wife hasn’t been emotionally stable since our older son’s accident. She blames herself for his death and still hasn’t recovered from the shock. I’ve already signed the consent form on her behalf. If necessary, you may use sedatives.”

His words exploded in my head.

Because Dustin often blamed Noah’s accident on my carelessness, I once believed that I was the one who killed Noah. I almost had a mental breakdown and was sent to a recovery center. Only now did I understand that he had been planning this all along.

He wanted to label me as mentally ill.

I stared at him and forced myself to stay calm. Slowly, I took out my phone and opened my chat history with my divorce lawyer.

“I’m already divorced from him. His signature means nothing.”

Before anyone could respond, Giselle suddenly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me, her lips close to my ear.

“Your son’s heart is rejecting my body. If you refuse to give me stem cells, I’ll throw his heart to the dogs.”

I turned to look at her.

“So this was your plan all along?”

She smiled faintly. “Don’t worry. Soon, you’ll be able to go to hell and settle your accounts with your dead children.”

My body went cold as the nurses pushed me out of the ward. My fingers moved across my phone by pure instinct.

I will make everyone here pay the price.

A huge shadowless surgery light hung above my head in the operating room. The white light made my eyes ache.

“Ms. Watson, the embryo stem cell extraction will begin in ten minutes. We will administer anesthesia now,” the nurse said in a cold voice, like an emotionless machine.

“No…” I cried out softly.

A twisting pain came from my lower belly, as if someone was scraping inside me with a cold, dull knife.

My baby…

My arms were strapped down and I could only struggle weakly. Soon, I felt something warm and sticky spreading beneath me.

“Doctor, please save my child,” I begged in panic. The doctor frowned at me, then turned to the nurse.

“Stop the procedure. The patient shows signs of miscarriage.”

I grabbed his sleeve desperately. “Please, save my baby. I can’t lose this child too.”

The doctor looked at me coldly and pushed my hand away. “Some people aren’t meant to have children. Sometimes, the fetus chooses to leave on its own.”

Those words pushed me straight into despair.

Did I really not deserve a child?

My heart collapsed in an instant. I clutched my hair, crying and laughing at the same time. The doctor sighed and exchanged a look with the nurse.

The next moment, darkness swallowed me.

When I woke up, it was already late at night. I immediately reached for my belly. It was still flat, but the warmth I once felt was gone.

My eyes fell on the hospital wristband.

[Faye Watson.

10 weeks pregnant.

Miscarriage.]

My child was gone.

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, I cried in silence. Then my phone began to vibrate again and again, breaking the heavy stillness.

In the company group chat, Dustin kept tagging me.

[From now on, all business matters will be handled by Giselle.]

[Giselle is appointed Vice President of the company. She does not need to report to Faye and has the same authority as me.]

I closed the group chat, only to see his private message.

[Faye, the doctor said the stem cell extraction was a minor procedure. After you’re discharged tomorrow, come to the office and help Giselle.]

[Come now. Giselle needs you urgently.]

I took a deep breath.

Perhaps, the one who did not deserve children was him. Not me.

***

When I stepped into Arnell Group, this building where I had spent countless days and sleepless nights, I felt strangely detached.

Perhaps because soon, I would personally destroy everything here.

The receptionist froze when she saw me.

“Ms. Watson… why are you here?”

I said nothing. She quickly gestured to others, then raised her voice on purpose.

“Mr. Arnell is not in the office right now. Would you like to wait until he returns to schedule a meeting?”

I walked straight toward my office. But everything inside was gone.

I pushed the door open.

The business plan I had stayed up eight nights to finish was being used to support a table leg. The simple white walls were now covered with Giselle’s personal photos.

The small ceramic figure Noah had made with his own hands lay broken in the trash can.

In the quiet room, I heard sobbing sounds. I rushed to my lounge room and saw Giselle playing a video on the computer. It was a video of me crying when I missed Noah.

“Giselle, how dare you secretly record me?” I shouted angrily and pointed at her.

She calmly tucked her hair behind her ear.

“I wouldn’t dare. These videos were given to me by Dustin to cheer me up. Didn’t you record them yourself?”

She casually turned the screen toward me. Only then did I realize… Every clip was something I had once sent to Dustin in my weakest moments.

He had turned my most painful and weakest moments into entertainment.

“Oh, right. This isn’t your office anymore. You already know that, don’t you?”

She walked over in her high heels and waved her red-painted fingers. “The storage room next to the restroom. That’s where you belong now.”

Then she called in two tall men dressed in black.

“Dustin arranged them to protect me. They’ll escort you to your new workspace. Everything here belongs to me now, especially the business partnerships you secured.”

I looked at her proud face and said nothing.

Because I knew…

Very soon, she would learn where she truly belonged.

After I was thrown into the storage room, the leader of the men in black looked at me with a hint of pity.

“You’re too kind. It would be best for you to stay away from Ms. Norris and her people.”

I looked up at him and gently shook my head.

I still had a debt of blood to collect for my child. I would not leave like this.

***

After finishing my packing, I walked into the lobby and ran straight into Dustin. His eyes lit up when he saw me.

“Faye, I knew you wouldn’t forget. Tonight, we’re signing the tens-million deal with the Spencer Group. Giselle’s allergic rhinitis is acting up, so she can’t drink. We’ll need you.”

Before I could respond, he pushed me toward the car.

“Faye, I know the Spencer Family is difficult, but Giselle has also put in a lot for this project. After the signing, I hope you’ll step back and let her take the lead.”

Before getting out of the car, he grabbed my arm and said each word clearly.

I let out a cold laugh.

“Oh? What exactly has she contributed? Did she stay up all night revising the proposal? Or follow the project on-site?”

He clearly didn’t expect me to push back. He stared at me for a few seconds.

“Faye, being this stingy isn’t suitable for a mother.”

I smiled faintly.

Right. I just won’t treat you like my child anymore.

“Dustin, you’re finally here. I’ve been waiting for you for so long.”

Giselle’s voice came over. She was wearing a custom Dior gown and a full set of Bulgari jewelry. She looked flawless like a doll locked inside a glass display.

My gaze paused briefly on her ears, stretched downward by heavy ten-carat gemstone earrings and curled my lips into a cold smile. So, this was her “sacrifice” for the project.

As we entered the banquet hall, the head of the Spencer family approached us with a glass of wine.

“Ms. Watson, Mr. Arnell. Long time no see.”

I smiled and raised my glass. “Sorry I haven’t visited lately, Mr. Spencer. I hope you won’t mind.”

“Mr. Arnell, Ms. Watson hasn’t been in a good mood lately. Please allow me to apologize on her behalf,” Giselle cut in gently as she lifted her own glass.

The head of the Spencer Family looked at her with interest but said nothing. Giselle looked to Dustin for help.

He sighed, took the glass from her hand and passed it to me.

“Faye, it would be more sincere if you apologized personally.”

My heart sank. The glass was nearly full of straight whiskey.

Half a month ago, I had drunk myself into a stomach perforation for work. He had held me that night and promised I would never have to touch alcohol again.

Now, the same man was forcing a full glass into my hand.

The man before me seemed to sense the tension and smiled.

“I was just joking with Ms. Watson. No need to be so serious. I’ve already signed the contract. From now on, I’ll be relying on Ms. Watson.”

Giselle stared at him in disbelief. The man who was said to be the hardest to deal with had signed so easily with me.

A sharp light flashed through her eyes.

“Faye, you’re amazing. Dustin and I have already prepared a celebration dinner for you,” she said warmly as she linked arms with me and almost dragged me into another private room.

As soon as I entered, I saw many business competitors who had lost bids to me before.

“Faye, everyone here wants to learn from you. You won’t be stingy with your experience, right?” she said, locking the private room door behind her.

“Move,” I shouted sharply.

But she calmly sat on the sofa and raised her eyebrows. Soon, four unfamiliar men pushed me down onto the sofa.

“I’ve heard Ms. Watson can drink endlessly without getting drunk. I wonder if we’ll get to see that tonight.”

Someone I had reported three years ago for cutting corners placed an entire box of XO on the table.

I looked around at the cruel smiling faces in despair. Then, the door opened. It was Dustin.

Giselle immediately leaned into him, pressing her chest against his arm.

“Dustin, didn’t you say Faye is incredible at drinking? Can she teach me? Then I can help you more in the future.”

I shook my head at him desperately. “I can’t drink.”

After seeing the hesitation in his eyes, Giselle clutched her chest and said pitifully, “You still don’t believe I can be as capable as Faye. That hurts.”

Dustin looked at me and gritted his teeth.

“Faye, drink.”

After taking so many glasses, the sky outside began to brighten. And my mind was completely numb.

The last thing I remembered was Giselle’s beautiful, snake-like smile.

“Faye, enjoy what comes next.”

She tapped something on her phone. And then, I lost consciousness completely.