By late afternoon, two police cruisers pulled up outside the grand mansion along with Mark and his attorney.
The sun was starting to dip below the trees, casting long dark shadows over the manicured lawn.
Mark stepped out of the vehicle first, his posture rigid as he walked up the wide stone steps.
He unlocked the front door and pushed it open, revealing the grand foyer bathed in dim light.
Evelyn was sitting in the formal living area holding a glass of water, looking pale and nervous.
She stood up quickly when she saw the two uniformed officers step inside behind Mark.
"Mark, what is the meaning of this?" Evelyn demanded, trying to sound offended and brave.
"You had no right to take Lily away from this house without talking to me first," she added.
Officer Ramirez walked forward, keeping his hand resting casually near his utility belt.
"Mrs. Evelyn Vance, we are here to execute an emergency protective order," the officer stated clearly.
"This is ridiculous!" Evelyn snapped, her voice rising in panic as she took a step back.
"I am her stepmother, and I have done nothing wrong in this house!" she insisted loudly.
David Vance stepped forward and held up a manila folder containing printed screenshots from the camera feed.
"We have the full high-definition video of the balcony incident, Evelyn," David said calmly.
Evelyn froze in place, all the color draining instantly from her face as she saw the pictures.
The paper clearly showed her hand pushing against Lily's small back right before she fell.
"You thought the cameras were turned off during the system update last week," Mark said quietly.
"I moved the storage to a private cloud server three days ago," he revealed with a steady voice.
Evelyn dropped her glass onto the rug, the water soaking quickly into the expensive beige fabric.
"Mark, please, I was desperate!" Evelyn cried out, taking a sudden step toward him with open hands.
"The people I owe money to said they would take everything from me!" she sobbed hysterically.
"You put my daughter's life in danger for money," Mark said, his eyes filled with absolute disgust.
Officer Ramirez stepped between them and asked Evelyn to turn around slowly with her hands behind her back.
"You are under arrest for child endangerment and attempted grand larceny," the officer informed her.