Early the next morning, Dylon woke up to find a message from Leslie lighting up his phone. A small, satisfied smile yed at his lips.


    Just like he''d expected, once Leslie figured out what really went down between him and Reese, she wasted no timeing straight to him.


    He called Leslie, and when she confirmed a time to meet, his smile only grew wider.


    "Leslie, today''s honestly not great for me. I''ve got a bunch of important meetings I can''t skip," he told her, his tone polite but distant. "But if you''re okay with it, maybe you could set something up with my wife instead?"


    Leslie, of course, knew exactly what Dylon was doing—making her jump through hoops. But she didn''t have the luxury toin right now. "Of course, that''s fine with me," she said, forcing a calm tone. "When would Mrs. Ramos be avable?"


    She really didn''t have a choice. She''d spent allst night calling and texting Sebastian, desperate for any response, but got nothing. If she wanted any shot at fixing things with Sebastian, Dylon and his wife were her only way in.


    When Dylon hung up, Rosie turned from her vanity to look at him. "Why aren''t you meeting her yourself?"


    Dylon strolledzily out of bed and into the bathroom. "She''s the one who needs our help. We can''t chase after her."


    He''d seen it clearlyst night-Sebastian''s heart was never with Leslie. That meant Leslie was useful, but not someone they needed to please.


    "When you meet her, just listen more than you talk. See what she wants, figure out her angle."


    Rosie finished rubbing in her moisturizer. "Don''t worry, I know how to handle her." When Rosie arrived at the café''s private booth, Leslie was already there waiting. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Leslie," Rosie said as she sat down, her silk dress perfectly tailored and her movements graceful.


    "Not at all, Mrs. Ramos. I hope I''m not disturbing you," Leslie replied, forcing a polite smile as she tried not to show her frustration at Rosie''s obviousteness.


    "Yesterday, Mr. Ramos mentioned maybe I could talk to Sebastian, try to get him to ease up on you two," Leslie said, getting straight to the point. "I just wonder- what happened between you, Mr. Ramos, and Ms. Meyer?"


    Rosie met her gaze, recognizing Leslie''s attempt to show off how close she was to Sebastian. Instead of answering, Rosie smiled softly and shot back, "I heard Mr. Ratcliff went to great lengths to help you work with ckOak. You must be pretty important to him, right?"


    Leslie''s fingers froze for a split second, eyes shing with annoyance. "You''re too kind. But of course, to Sebastian, Mrs. Ratcliff is the most important woman in his life."


    "Whatever she wants, he''d probably hand it to her on a silver tter," she added, deliberately lifting Reese up in the conversation, hoping to spark some jealousy in Rosie.


    Rosie did feel a pang of unease, but didn''t let it show. She took a slow sip of water, set the ss down, and finally replied, her tone cool and collected.


    "You''re right. Sebastian is really protective of Reese these days. Even after she lost the baby, he never med her.


    "But you know, the Ratcliff family still doesn''t realize she had the abortion herself.


    "She''s got guts, I''ll give her that. Good thing we found out early, and happened to know someone at the hospital, so we could help cover it up and keep the truth from the family."


    The words hit Leslie like a punch to the gut. She clenched her hands under the table, struggling to keep her emotions in check.


    That was her child, the only thing she had left to connect herself to Sebastian, the one card she''d spent years holding onto.


    And Reese just got rid of it? Just like that?


    That bitch! How could she?


    "Why would she do that?" Leslie''s voice trembled with anger.


    “Shh...” Rosie pressed a finger to her lips and nced around, lowering her voice. “Keep it down, Leslie. If this got out, the Ratcliffs reputation would be ruined. I''m only telling you because I trust you."


    But Leslie barely heard her. The anger and hatred inside her were boiling over.


    "Does Sebastian know about this?"


    He probably did, right? Maybe that''s why he ended up in the hospital. If that''s the case, maybe it was time to make sure everyone found out what e had done ouden. Sebastian would finally be done with her.


    "Mrs. Ramos, you mentioned you know someone at the hospital... Do you think you could get a list of the staff who were on duty in Mr. Ratcliff''s father''s ward?"


    Rosie''s guard went up instantly. "What are you nning?"


    If anything happened to Mr. Ratcliff because of this, the family would never forgive them.


    Leslie gave a cold, thin smile. "His


    father cafes most about family


    legacy df he knew Reese had the abortion herself, do you really think He''d ever ept her as his daughter-inw?" ''