"Miss Joyce, what’s wrong?"
I quickly composed myself and offered an apologetic smile. "Mrs. Sterling, I’m so sorry to bother you, but that bracelet is incredibly important to me. I have to find it... Is there any way I could see the surveillance footage from the day of the banquet?"
"Surveillance footage?" Mrs. Sterling seemed taken aback, as if she hadn’t expected me to make such a sudden request.
I looked at Mrs. Sterling with hopeful eyes, my heart nearly leaping into my throat.
Mrs. Sterling pursed her lips. "Alright, then. Follow me, Miss Joyce."
I was overjoyed. "Thank you, Mrs. Sterling."
Soon, I followed Mrs. Sterling to the security room. As she set the surveillance footage to the day of the banquet, I couldn’t help but clench my fists.
Everything rewound to the day of the banquet.
I saw myself enter the banquet hall, and Vincent Lombard stared at me from beginning to end, right up until he came over to berate me...
Then came the part where I drank the wine that had been drugged.
But after I saw myself being helped out of the hall by a waiter, the rest of the surveillance footage was gone.
"What about other areas? The hallway outside the hall, or the lounge?"
Mrs. Sterling smiled. "Why would we need cameras there? Especially not in a lounge."
A wave of helplessness washed over me. ’If there isn’t even footage here...’
’Then how am I ever going to find out what really happened that night?’
"Miss Joyce?" Seeing how distracted I was, Mrs. Sterling looked at me with some confusion. "Are you alright?"
I forced a smile and shook my head. "I’m fine."
"Mrs. Sterling, may I go take a look at the lounge?"
Mrs. Sterling was surprised for a moment, then smiled. "Of course. I’ll take you there."
As we walked from the security room, through the main hall, and retraced my steps from that day, the hazy, forgotten memories in my mind slowly began to sharpen.
Mrs. Sterling pushed the door open. "Miss Joyce, this is the room where you rested that day."
I instinctively scanned the room, and in that moment, all the memories came rushing back at once.
"This room is normally used as a guest room, so after that day, a maid gave it a simple cleaning, but nothing was moved. Everything is arranged just as it was. You can look around, Miss Joyce, and see if your bracelet fell somewhere."
"Thank you, Mrs. Sterling."
"Well then, Miss Joyce, take your time searching. I have other matters to attend to, so I won’t stay with you."
After seeing Mrs. Sterling out, I closed the door.
When my gaze swept over the large bed to the side, the image of being pinned down on it suddenly flashed through my mind...
I quickly looked away, the tips of my ears growing hot.
’But I knew this was no time to be shy. I had to recall the events of that day as quickly as possible, especially the man’s face...’
Following my memory, I went from the bed to the sofa, and then to the bathroom...
Finally, I returned from the bathroom to the bed...
But my mind was hazy from the drug that day, and on top of that, the man’s unrestrained demands had pushed me to the brink of blacking out...
However, while I still couldn’t remember the man’s face, I did recall his heavy, ragged breaths next to my ear. He sounded like a beast, eager and devouring, sinister and wanton...
’That wasn’t Theodore Grant.’
Once I confirmed this, the blood in my veins ran cold.
My hand drifted to my lower abdomen— ’The baby in my belly isn’t Theodore Grant’s...’
’Could it have been someone Vincent Lombard arranged?’
’Or was it someone else who attended the banquet that day...’
The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I became.
Just as I was consumed by anxiety, the phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated.
It took me a long moment to snap out of it. Still dazed, I pressed the answer key without even looking to see who was calling.
"Where are you? I just ran into Chloe Miller at the office. Why didn’t you go shopping with her?"
It was Sebastian Forrest’s voice.
Hearing Sebastian Forrest’s concerned voice at my most lost and helpless moment, my eyes inexplicably reddened, and a wave of overwhelming grievance surged from my heart.
’I wanted to tell him I was finished, completely finished. That the baby I was carrying wasn’t Theodore Grant’s at all, but the child of some unknown man.’
’Maybe even someone Vincent Lombard had set up.’
’Worse yet, what if everything that happened in the room that day had been filmed...’
’If that video ever gets out, I’ll be completely ruined!’
But what little rationality I had left told me I couldn’t say a thing.
I didn’t dare tell him anything.
Sensing that something was wrong with my breathing, Sebastian Forrest repeatedly asked over the phone what was wrong and where I was.
My voice was choked with sobs. "I... I’m at Mrs. Sterling’s place. I suddenly remembered I’d lost a bracelet, so I came over to look for it..."
Sebastian Forrest’s voice paused for a few seconds on the other end of the line. "Are you crying?"
I thought I had suppressed it, but Sebastian Forrest had still heard it.
In that moment, all my pent-up grievances erupted, and I finally couldn’t hold back anymore. I wrapped my arms around myself, squatted on the floor, and began to cry.
I don’t know how long passed, but after I had vented all my negative emotions, I finally remembered I was still on the phone with Sebastian Forrest.
I wiped away my tears. "Hello..."
But because I had been crying for so long, my voice was too hoarse to be understood.
But the other end of the line immediately responded, "I’m here."
It was only then that I heard the noisy sound of car horns through the phone. I sniffled. "Are... are you driving?"
But Sebastian Forrest didn’t answer, asking instead, "Tell me, why were you crying?"
I bit my lip. In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the truth. "I... I was missing my mom..."
There were a few seconds of silence on the line, then Sebastian Forrest’s voice sounded somewhat helpless. "Well, are you feeling any better now?"
"Yes, much better."
I pushed myself up to my feet.
Regardless, what’s done is done. Worrying and being afraid won’t change anything now.
All I can do now is try to minimize the damage as much as possible.
Including the baby in my belly.
If before I had been filled with joy and love for its existence, now all that remained was struggle and pain.
No matter what—this child cannot be kept.
Right now, it is an unknown, a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.
Even if I can’t bear to let it go...
Knowing that its birth would be destined for humiliation and misfortune, I can’t just wishfully think it will be okay and make it suffer along with me!
I couldn’t help but take a deep breath. My gaze lowered, my palm gently stroking my abdomen back and forth as I secretly made my decision...