Later that afternoon, Mark sat down with his trusted family attorney.
They met inside a quiet office in downtown Dallas overlooking the city.
Attorney David Miller opened a thick paper folder on his broad desk.
David: Mark, there is more to this than just sudden anger.
Mark: What do you mean by that, David?
David: Victoria was looking at your financial trust funds last week.
Mark leaned forward, placing his hands flat on the polished mahogany.
He had established a massive inheritance fund exclusively for little Lily.
The trust was worth over two million dollars from his family's estate.
If Lily were out of the picture, Victoria stood next in line.
David: She consulted a probate lawyer behind your back three times.
Mark: She married me for the inheritance money from the start.
David: It appears that way, based on her recent bank searches.
Mark felt a sickening weight settle deep inside his chest.
He had trusted Victoria to help raise his motherless little girl.
Instead, she had viewed Lily as a financial obstacle to remove.
Mark: File for a full emergency divorce immediately, David.
David: We will freeze all shared accounts by five o'clock today.
Mark stood up and shook his attorney's hand with steady resolve.
He drove back home to focus entirely on comforting his daughter.
Lily was sitting on the living room sofa, wrapped in a blanket.
Mark sat beside her and pulled her into a warm hug.
Mark: Nobody is ever going to hurt you again, Lily.
Lily: Is she coming back home, Daddy?
Mark: No, sweetheart, she is gone for good now.