Mark rushed across the polished floor with heavy footsteps echoing through the bright house.
He dropped down onto his knees right in front of his brave young daughter.
He carefully took the crying infant off her back and held him securely against his chest.
Emiles clutched her small metal crutches with white knuckles as her shoulders shook with heavy sobs.
Her pale cheeks were bright red from tears and exhaustion.
Mark reached out with his free hand to hold her small tremble-filled hand.
Mark: I'm here now, sweetie.
Mark: What happened to you?
Emiles: I tried to keep him safe, Daddy.
Mark: Safe from what?
Emiles: Mommy said we had to stay quiet in the small back room.
Mark felt his pulse racing as he gently stroked her soft hair.
He looked up toward the standing woman near the dining room archway.
She was holding a legal folder wrapped in thick yellow tape.
It was his ex-wife's new legal representative from the local city firm.
Mark: Why is my young daughter crawling on the cold floor with a child?
Woman: We were just finalizing the property transfer paperwork today, sir.
Mark: You locked my child away to sign fraudulent documents?
Woman: Your ex-wife authorized every step of this legal arrangement.
Emiles squeezed her father's fingers tighter as she looked up into his dark eyes.
Emiles: She took my leg brace away so I couldn't run outside.
Mark felt an intense wave of protective anger surge through his entire body.
He pulled Emiles close to his side alongside the quiet infant boy.
Mark: Nobody is taking anything else from this family today.
Woman: You do not have the legal authority to stop this transaction.
Mark: I hold the original deed to this entire estate property.
The woman in the maroon dress stepped back slightly toward the open glass patio doors.
She looked around nervously as if waiting for someone else to arrive and assist her.
Mark knew he had to act fast to protect both children from further harm.