Mark walked through the large front entrance with a thick folder.
He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his sister.
Rachel was carrying Claire wrapped tightly in the blue blanket.
Mark: Have you lost your mind running in here like this?!
Rachel nearly knocked Mark over as she pushed past him.
Rachel: You sick monster! Claire, listen to me, you are safe!
Mark stepped in front of the door to block her exit.
Mark: What are you talking about, Rachel? Put her down!
Rachel: Don't you dare pretend you didn't know what happened!
Mark stared at his sister with utter confusion on his face.
Mark: I just left twenty minutes ago for my meeting!
Rachel shifted Claire in her arms to reveal the child's face.
The sunlight from the door lit up the small dark mark.
Mark dropped his leather briefcase onto the floor with a crash.
Mark: What happened to her forehead? She said she fell!
Rachel: She didn't fall on any building blocks, Mark!
Claire hid her small face in Rachel's shoulder and sobbed.
Claire: Stepmom locked me in the storage room yesterday, Daddy.
Mark felt all the color drain completely out of his face.
Mark: Eleanor told me you were sleeping in your bedroom!
Eleanor walked into the foyer with a calm, cold expression.
Eleanor: Mark, do not listen to your dramatic sister's lies.
Rachel: Shut your mouth, Eleanor! I found her on the floor!
Eleanor: The child is stubborn and needs firm discipline sometimes.
Mark took two slow steps toward his wife in disbelief.
Mark: Discipline? You locked my motherless child in a room?
Eleanor: I am trying to run this mansion properly for us!
Mark: Get out of my way right now, Eleanor.
Mark's voice was shaking with overwhelming rage and deep regret.
He realized how blind he had been for many months.
He looked at his little daughter weeping in his sister's arms.
Mark: I am calling our family lawyer this very minute.