The following morning, the weight of the impending custody battle settled over Piper like a thick fog. She could feel it in the ache behind her eyes, the heaviness in her limbs, and the relentless knot in her stomach. The pressure wasn’t just about the courtroom anymore — it was the slow, gnawing realization that Noah’s fight for Lily might not be as pure as he wanted everyone to believe.
Piper knew she couldn’t ignore that instinct, even if it was buried beneath layers of guilt and second-guessing. It gnawed at her — something about the way Noah had positioned himself so carefully, so flawlessly, both in her life and in court. The story he told was too perfect.
Too polished.
She spent the early part of the morning pacing the kitchen, the soft light filtering through the windows doing little to calm her nerves. Lily sat at the table, coloring with markers, humming a tune to herself. Piper watched her daughter with a pang of longing, knowing that every moment with her now felt borrowed — fragile.
Her phone buzzed on the counter. It was Amanda.
Piper snatched it up, answering quickly. “Amanda? What’s going on?”
“I’ve been digging into Noah’s filings,” Amanda said, her voice steady but tinged with urgency. “There are a few things that don’t sit right. I want you to come into the office. We need to go over this — now.”
A flicker of unease curled in Piper’s stomach. “What do you mean? Is there something I need to be worried about?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Amanda admitted. “But I think we’re starting to see the cracks in Noah’s case. If we play this right, we might have an opening.”
Piper clutched the phone tighter. “Okay. I’ll be there soon.”
She hung up and turned toward Lily, who was still lost in her world of coloring. “Sweetie, we need to go out for a little bit. How about we visit Grandma?”
Lily perked up, her eyes sparkling. “Yay! Can we bake cookies with Grandma?”
Piper smiled, though her heart felt heavy. “Of course we can.”
After dropping Lily off at her mother’s house, Piper drove to Amanda’s office, her hands tight on the wheel the entire way. She could feel the tension thrumming under her skin, her mind racing with possibilities. If Noah had something to hide, she needed to know what it was — and she needed to know fast.
Amanda’s office was a small, neat space cluttered with papers and legal books. Piper sank into the chair across from her, heart pounding. “Okay, Amanda. Tell me everything.”
Amanda handed Piper a folder, her expression grim. “Noah’s custody filing included some financial affidavits that seemed... odd. He listed significant recent expenses — more than I would expect from someone with his income.”
Piper frowned, flipping through the documents. “What does that mean?”
“It means Noah’s spending doesn’t match his reported earnings,” Amanda explained. “He’s either hiding money, or someone’s backing him financially.”
Piper’s blood ran cold. “Why would someone fund his custody case?”
“That’s the question,” Amanda said. “We need to find out who — and why. If we can prove there’s something off about his motives, it could shift the judge’s perspective.”
Piper leaned back in her chair, her thoughts swirling. The idea of Noah being bankrolled by someone — someone with influence and a reason to disrupt her life — made her stomach churn.
“Do you think it’s about revenge?” Piper asked quietly. “Could this be about control?”
Amanda gave her a measured look. “It’s possible. Or it could be that Noah wants more than just custody — he wants leverage. We need to find out what that leverage is.”
Piper’s heart pounded in her chest. She thought back to all the times she had trusted Noah, let him into her life, and believed he was only trying to be a part of Lily’s world. And now she wasn’t so sure.
Later that afternoon, after leaving Amanda’s office, Piper drove home with her thoughts racing. She knew she needed to tread carefully. If Noah was hiding something — if his motives for custody weren’t as innocent as they seemed — she needed proof.
But how? She had no idea where to even begin.
Her phone buzzed again. This time, it was Jasper.
Jasper: Hey. Just wanted to check in about Lily. Everything okay?
Piper stared at the message for a moment, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. She could feel her frustration bubbling beneath the surface.
Where were you when I needed you, Jasper?
She wanted to lash out, to tell him everything she suspected about Noah, but she knew it wouldn’t help. Instead, she typed:
Me: We need to talk. I think something’s off with Noah’s custody bid. Can you meet me tonight?
The reply came quickly.
Jasper: Yeah. I’ll come by after Lily’s asleep.
That evening, Piper paced the living room, her nerves on edge as she waited for Jasper. She tucked Lily into bed with a kiss, her daughter’s sleepy smile breaking her heart all over again.
By the time Jasper arrived, the weight of the day pressed heavily on Piper’s chest.
He stepped inside, glancing around awkwardly. “What’s going on, Piper? You sounded... off.”
Piper motioned for him to sit on the couch. “I talked to Amanda today. She found something in Noah’s financial records — something that doesn’t make sense.”
Jasper frowned, sitting down slowly. “What do you mean?”
Piper sat across from him, her hands twisting in her lap. “Noah’s spending doesn’t match his income. He’s either hiding something, or someone’s funding him. And if that’s true... we need to know why.”
Jasper’s expression darkened. “Do you think he’s doing this just to hurt you?”
“I don’t know,” Piper admitted. “But it feels... off. Like this isn’t really about Lily. At least, not entirely.”
Jasper leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “If he’s hiding something, we’ll find it, Piper. We’ll fight him together.”
For the first time in weeks, something in Jasper’s voice gave Piper a flicker of hope. He sounded like the man she used to know — the one who would stand by her no matter what.
But then, as if on cue, her phone buzzed with a message from Isabel.
Isabel: Jasper forgot his briefcase at the office. I’ll drop it off tomorrow if that’s easier for you both.
The flicker of hope dimmed, replaced by the familiar pang of jealousy. Piper glanced at Jasper, who was rubbing his temple, clearly unaware of the message Isabel had just sent.
She swallowed hard, trying to ignore the knot tightening in her chest. "Thanks for coming," she whispered, her voice tight with emotion.
Jasper looked at her, his gaze soft. "We’ll figure this out, Piper. I promise."
And for a brief, fleeting moment, Piper believed him. But deep down, she knew the road ahead was anything but simple. Because Noah wasn’t the only one she was fighting.
She was fighting herself too — the part of her that still loved Jasper, the part of her that was terrified of losing everything she had left.