chapter543

The string of zeros on the screen felt like ice in her veins.

Thalassa stared at her banking app, her fingers trembling as she processed the staggering balance. At first, she thought it was a clerical error—a misunderstanding of her severance package. But the transaction history told a different story: the hundred thousand dollars had arrived today, but a billion dollars had been deposited yesterday afternoon.

The realization hit her like a physical blow. “I will buy out your maternal rights for a billion.” Lysander’s words from the previous night weren't a hypothetical threat or a negotiation tactic. They were a cold, finished transaction.

In Lysander Sinclair’s world, everything was an asset to be acquired, including the bond between a mother and her children. By transferring the money without her consent, he had attempted to turn her into a seller and her children into merchandise.

“Thalassa, are you alright?” the receptionist asked, noting her ghostly complexion.

Thalassa gripped her phone, her knuckles white. “I’m… overwhelmed by the scale of the company’s ‘generosity,’” she managed to say, her voice tight with suppressed fury.

She walked out of the Sinclair Group headquarters, the sunlight feeling too bright against her skin. She dialed Lysander’s number repeatedly, but every call was met with a cold, digital silence. He had built a wall of gold between her and her children, intending to isolate her in a prison of sudden wealth.