Chapter 256:

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“In exchange for the finality of this settlement, Blake Carlisle agrees that sole legal custody and primary physical custody of the couple’s only child, Lily Carlisle, shall be granted to her mother, Corinne Sargent. This agreement is subject to approval by the Family Court; during the interim period, Blake retains weekend visitation.”

He was offering a king’s ransom, willing to give up primary custody of Lily just to silence all friction and bind himself completely to Dayna’s media spectacle.

I leaned back against the sofa and exhaled slowly. I felt no anger, only a sharp, penetrating vigilance.

I picked up my phone and called Arthur Vance.

“Arthur, Blake’s lawyers just delivered a comprehensive settlement package. I’m sending you the encrypted files now. I need a full structural review.”

The next morning, Arthur called with his initial assessment. His tone was cautious. “Corinne… I’ve reviewed the financial distribution. The asset transfers, trusts, and equity payouts are astonishingly clean. There are no corporate clawbacks.”

He paused. “And the custody clause grants you full legal and physical custody. But a complete surrender of parental claims from a man like Blake Carlisle is entirely out of character. Why is he capitulating so completely?”

“Either Dayna’s PR crisis is manipulating him, or there’s a hidden mechanism buried in the fine print,” I replied, gazing out over Manhattan. “I won’t sign a single page until top litigation counsel has reviewed every line.”

“Understood,” Arthur said. “I’ll bring in specialized trial litigators.”

I set the phone down and studied the bound portfolio. I had spent years dismantling complex algorithms, and I knew one thing for certain: when an adversary offers you an effortless victory, the real trap lies hidden beneath the surface.

𝘑𝘰𝗶𝗻 𝘵hо𝗎𝗌𝖺𝗇𝗱𝘀 о𝖿 𝘧𝖺nѕ 𝘰n 𝗴𝖺𝗹𝗻𝘰v𝖾𝘭s.𝖼о𝘮

Corinne POV

On Saturday, Blake brought Lily to my apartment for his visitation day. He didn’t send the nanny, as he usually did. He came himself.

And Aidan Sterling was with him. “Just along for the ride,” Blake had said.

I knew better. He had brought Aidan to watch me, to see what game I was playing.

I opened the door. The white cast on my arm was stark and impossible to miss. Blake’s eyes lingered on it for a second, his expression complicated, a flicker of guilt or perhaps recognition, before he looked away.

Lily hid behind his leg, peeking at me shyly.

I knelt and held out my good hand. “Lily, welcome home.”

She came to me hesitantly, and I stroked her hair. “Did you have fun with Daddy this week?”

She nodded. “Uh-huh. Aunt Dayna’s in the hospital too. Daddy took me to see her.”

She watched my face carefully as she said Dayna’s name.

My expression didn’t change, and I kept my voice neutral. “Oh? Is she all right?”

My calm reaction seemed to stun both Lily and Blake. Off to the side, Aidan’s look of contempt deepened. He probably thought I couldn’t even be bothered to pretend to care. That was exactly the impression I wanted to give.

I took Lily to her room and helped her with her building blocks, but my mind was elsewhere. I kept one eye on her and the other on my tablet, sorting through work emails from Nexus.

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