Mark: Chloe... baby, look at me.
Chloe: Daddy... it hurts so bad!
Mark: Shh, I know, sweetheart. I'm right here. Daddy's here now.
Mark dropped to his knees on the damp marble floor, ignoring the water soaking through his suit trousers. He wrapped his arms gently around Chloe, pulling her small, shivering body into his chest. She buried her tear-stained face into his lapel, her tiny hands clutching at his neck.
Chloe: She said... she said you were going to send me away to boarding school!
Mark: What? Who told you that?
Chloe: Serena... she said after the wedding, you wouldn't love me anymore.
Mark: That is a lie. A sick, evil lie. I would never send you away.
Chloe: She burned me because I found the papers in her purse...
Mark: What papers, Chloe?
Chloe: The ones with the bank names... she said if I showed you, she would hurt my dog.
Mark: Good master... Good master, you did so well telling me.
Mark carefully pulled back Chloe’s sleeve to examine the injury. A red, blistering mark stood out starkly against her fair skin. The sight made his stomach churn with a mixture of profound guilt and murderous anger. He stroked her hair gently, his hands trembling as he kissed the top of her head.
Mark: Stay right here, Chloe. Don't look at her.
Chloe: Don't leave me, Daddy!
Mark: I'm not leaving you. I'm just calling the ambulance and the police.
Serena: Police?! Mark, have you lost your mind?! You can't involve the authorities!
Serena managed to drag herself out of the bathtub, dripping wet and coughing up soapy water. Her gold satin robe hung heavily off her shoulders, covered in white foam. She gripped the edge of the marble vanity, her dark eyes flashing with desperate venom.
Serena: If the police come, the press will destroy your company's stock price by tomorrow morning!
Mark: I don't give a damn about the stock price.
Serena: Think about your legacy! Think about the Dallas society board! We can handle this privately!
Mark: Privately? You tortured my daughter with a lighter!
Serena: It was a moment of stress! She was snooping through my personal belongings!
Mark: She's six years old!
Serena: She was going to ruin the prenuptial agreement! She was messing with my future!
Mark: Your future is behind bars, Serena.
Mark pulled his cell phone from his inner jacket pocket and dialed 911 on speakerphone. The loud ringing tone echoed through the marble bathroom, cutting through Serena’s frantic protests.
Dispatcher: 911, what is your emergency?
Mark: I need emergency medical assistance and police officers at 4400 Royal Lane immediately. My fiancée just physically assaulted and burned my six-year-old daughter.
Serena: Hang up that phone! Hang it up right now!
Dispatcher: Sir, is the suspect still on the scene?
Mark: Yes. She is drenched in soapy water and standing right in front of me. Send officers now before I lose my composure.
Serena: You ruined my life, you ungrateful bastard!
Mark: You ruined your own life the second you touched my child.