Chapter 248:

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Corinne POV

I woke before dawn in my Manhattan townhouse, the cool morning light filtering through the sheer curtains. Under the court’s interim custody schedule, Lily had spent the evening with me. She had come down with a mild seasonal chill the night before, and I had stayed at her bedside with cold compresses until her temperature settled back to normal in the early hours.

The image of Lily’s small, guarded face from the previous evening was still vivid in my mind. When she had stumbled over Dayna’s name before catching herself, the hesitation in her eyes had spoken volumes. It wasn’t guilt. It was the instinctive caution of a child caught between two incompatible worlds. It only reaffirmed what I needed to do.

The divorce decree was safely filed in the court records, but securing a permanent, uncontested custody judgment was the final step needed to shield Lily’s life from further instability. I glanced at my phone and noted the upcoming docket date with Arthur Vance. There would be no more ambiguous interim schedules, no more lingering gray areas.

I walked quietly down the hall to Lily’s room. She was sleeping peacefully, her breathing steady and her forehead pleasantly cool. I gently adjusted her blanket and brushed a stray lock of hair from her cheek with quiet maternal certainty.

Downstairs in the kitchen, I sent Casey a brief text: “Apex integration meeting is on. See you at nine.”

His reply came within seconds. “Did Lily’s fever stay down? Are you rested enough for the presentation?”

“Her fever’s completely gone, and I’m sharp,” I typed back. “Work is where I’m at my best.”

When Lily came down for breakfast, her small shoulders were slightly tense, as if she were wondering whether I would question her about the day before.

I poured her some warm milk and set a plate of fruit beside her bowl, offering her a gentle, reassuring smile. “Good morning, sweetheart. Eat up, and then we’ll pack your bag for school.”

Seeing my steady warmth, she visibly relaxed and began eating her breakfast happily.

а𝘤𝗍𝗶𝘷е c𝗈𝘮muո𝗶ty 𝗈𝘯 𝘨𝖺𝘭𝗻𝗼𝘷els.со𝘮

As we finished, I checked her school notices. Lily’s class had an upcoming educational field trip that required electronic authorization from both parents, one of the few remaining administrative ties that still needed Blake’s digital sign-off.

I dialed Blake’s direct number.

The line rang and rang, nearly timing out before it finally clicked open.

It wasn’t Blake’s voice.

It was a woman’s, husky with affected exhaustion and laced with smug provocation.

“Hello?” Dayna Nixon purred. “Blake’s in the shower. Can I take a message?”

The hand holding my phone didn’t waver. Dayna’s constant presence around Blake and her calculated appearances in the sports media were already a matter of public record.

This wasn’t a surprise. It was simply another documented fact.

“No message,” I answered with icy precision. “Just tell him to check his legal portal. My attorneys have submitted the required parental consent stipulations for Lily’s school records.”

I ended the call before she could utter another calculated syllable.

Across the table, Lily noticed the settled resolve on my face. “Mommy, what’s wrong?” she asked in a small voice.

I shook my head and gave her a calm smile. “Nothing. Let’s hurry. Mommy has to get to work.”

On the drive to Apex Sports Tech, I didn’t feel numb. I felt a strange sense of vindication. I felt like a surgeon calmly examining her own gangrenous tissue, deciding where to make the first cut.

I arrived half an hour early. Casey was waiting in the lobby, his brow furrowed with worry. “You look pale. Are you sure you shouldn’t be resting?”

“I’m fine,” I said.

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