Mark sat at his desk inside the high office building, looking over his late wife's life insurance papers.
It had been three long years since he lost his beloved wife, Clara, in a sudden illness.
Since that painful day, Mark spent every single hour focusing on his work and his young daughter, Lily.
Lily was only eight years old, and she used a wheelchair due to a weakness in her legs from birth.
Mark loved his daughter more than anything else in the entire world.
He wanted to make sure Lily always felt safe, loved, and protected in their large family home.
Eventually, Mark met a woman named Victoria at a charity gala in the city.
Victoria was stylish, well-spoken, and seemed very eager to join Mark's comfortable world.
She was quick to show affection toward Lily whenever Mark was standing nearby.
She brought expensive toys and spoke in a soft voice to the little girl.
Mark believed that Victoria would bring warm motherly love back into their quiet home.
After a year of dating, Mark proposed to Victoria with a beautiful diamond ring.
They planned a grand wedding that was set to take place in just a few short weeks.
Mark hired extra staff and worked long hours to finish up his business projects before the big day.
He wanted to take a long vacation so they could celebrate becoming a real family.
However, behind closed doors, Victoria was not the loving woman Mark thought she was.
She viewed Lily as an annoying chore that got in the way of her grand plans.
Whenever Mark left for his office, Victoria's warm smile faded into a cold sneer.
She hated the attention that Mark gave to his small, vulnerable daughter.
Victoria wanted the total attention of a wealthy husband and full access to his massive trust fund.
She began finding small ways to make Lily feel weak and unwanted when nobody else was looking.
Lily was a timid child who did not like to cause any trouble for her busy father.
She kept her feelings hidden because she thought her dad deserved to be happy again.
The mansion was big, but to young Lily, it was slowly becoming a very scary place.