Chapter 5

The torn pieces of the five-million-dollar check fluttered through the air, landing on Blaire's pristine Chanel jacket. Her face turned pale, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

Aisling Doyle, Blaire's younger sister, had been hiding in the corner of the hallway. She could not take it anymore. She rushed into the lounge and stood in front of Daryl.

"You are going too far, Blaire!" Aisling yelled, her eyes red with tears.

Aisling pointed at Daryl. "He gave up everything to take care of this family! He stayed awake for three days straight when you were sick in the hospital!"

Blaire looked at her sister with absolute disdain. She spoke as if reprimanding a junior employee.

"Emotional value cannot be quantified on a balance sheet, Aisling," Blaire said coldly. "He provides nothing but feelings. He is an obstacle to my pursuit of excellence."

Daryl reached out and gently patted Aisling's shoulder. He pulled her behind him, shielding her.

"You don't need to beg for me," Daryl said quietly. "Not to her."

Daryl turned his attention to the lawyer. His voice dropped an octave, carrying a tone of absolute command.

"Reprint the last page."

Daryl looked straight at Blaire. "Since the Doyle family values assets and social status so much, let's play a game."

He dictated the terms to the lawyer. "Add a gambling clause. One year from today. Whoever holds the higher net worth and social influence gets absolute custody of Cassie. Until then, joint guardianship, but she lives with me."

The lawyer stopped typing. He looked at Daryl as if the man had lost his mind, then turned to Blaire for instruction.

Blaire let out a sharp, mocking laugh. It was the laugh one gives a delusional beggar.

"You?" Blaire sneered. "An unemployed househusband who just threw away his only lifeline, trying to out-earn the Doyle Group in twelve months?"

Daryl did not argue. He just stared at her. The look in his eyes was no longer angry. It was a look of profound, chilling pity.

"Because you know nothing," Daryl said softly, "your end will be miserable."

That look of pity infuriated Blaire. It violated her logic. He was at the bottom, yet he looked at her like she was the one in the gutter.

"Add the clause," Blaire snapped at the lawyer, wanting to crush his delusions permanently.

The lawyer quickly typed the amendment and printed the new page on his portable printer.

Both of them signed the new clause. They pressed their thumbprints onto the paper. The legal trap was set.

Blaire snatched her copy of the agreement. She held it like a trophy and turned toward the door.

"Within a year," Daryl's voice floated behind her, dark and heavy as a curse, "your empire will collapse. Your beliefs will shatter. And you will be on your knees begging for my forgiveness."

Blaire's footsteps paused for a fraction of a second. She did not turn around.

"I will be waiting," she said coldly, and walked out.

The rest of the Doyle family looked at Daryl like he was a diseased animal and hurried out after her.

Only Aisling remained. She looked at Daryl, her face full of panic. "Why did you sign that? You can't win."

A dangerous glint flashed in Daryl's dark eyes. "The world is much bigger than you think, Aisling."

Daryl pulled his phone from his pocket. He dialed a heavily encrypted number he had not used in five years.

The call connected instantly. A voice on the other end spoke, trembling with absolute reverence.

"Lord Thanatos."

"Prepare the highest-level medical team," Daryl ordered, his voice turning into ice. "Initiate the Scavenger Protocol."