Chapter 9 - Picking Up the Pieces
The next few weeks were a whirlwind of legal documents and media silence.
True to his word—or rather, terrified by my blackmail—my father made everything disappear.
Chloe signed the annulment papers without a fight, likely advised by her own family to distance themselves from the Sterling drama.
My personal accounts were unfrozen, giving me enough capital to start over.
But I didn't want to buy a mansion or return to the corporate world.
I rented a beautiful, modest three-bedroom house in Pasadena with a big backyard.
I asked Valerie to move in with me.
Not as a wife, not yet.
But as a partner.
As the mother of my child.
We needed to rebuild what was broken.
"Are you sure about this?" Valerie asked on moving day, looking at the keys in my hand.
"You've given up your whole world for us."
I pulled her into my arms, resting my forehead against hers.
"My whole world was empty, Val."
"This is where my life actually begins."
The transition wasn't perfectly smooth.
There was three years of resentment and pain to work through.
There were nights when Valerie would wake up in a panic, terrified that my father had come back.
There were days when I struggled to figure out how to be a father to a toddler who already had her own personality and routines.
But we worked at it.
Every single day.
I got a job consulting for small, ethical startups—companies that actually helped people instead of crushing them.
It didn't pay millions, but it paid enough.
More importantly, it meant I was home every night for dinner.
I learned how to braid Lucy's hair, a task that required more patience than any board meeting I had ever attended.
I learned that Cloud the rabbit needed a seat at the dinner table.
I learned that Valerie's laugh was the greatest sound in the entire world.
One evening, about four months after the airport incident, we were sitting in the backyard.
The California sun was setting, painting the sky in vibrant shades of pink and orange.
I was pushing Lucy on the swing set I had built myself—badly, but it held up.
Valerie was sitting on the patio, watching us with a soft, peaceful smile.
"Higher, Carter!" Lucy demanded, kicking her little legs.
"Alright, hold on tight!" I laughed, giving the swing a gentle push.
She giggled, a sound of pure, unadulterated joy.
I stopped the swing and knelt in front of her.
"Hey, Luce," I said softly.
"Yeah?" she looked at me with those storm-gray eyes.
"You know how I've been staying here a while?"
"Uh-huh."
"Well, I was wondering... if you wanted to, maybe you could call me Dad?"
I held my breath.
I had never pushed her.
I wanted it to be her choice.
Lucy tilted her head, thinking about it with that serious crease between her brows.
May you like
"Okay, Dad," she said casually.
"Now push me higher!"
