Mark slid his metallic key into the home office lock and turned it carefully.
The heavy wooden door opened smoothly into the dark, oak-paneled private study space.
He walked over to his large glass desk and powered on the desktop monitor.
The screen illuminated his serious face as the security software interface loaded up.
He typed in his secret administrator password and accessed the local video cloud storage archives.
The digital interface showed continuous video files sorted by date and exact hour stamp.
He selected the file from earlier that afternoon when he had arrived back home.
The video player loaded the smooth high-definition footage of the lower main hallway corridor.
Mark watched the screen in absolute horror as the video began to play smoothly.
He saw Sarah arguing with Toby near the base of the wide main staircase.
She was speaking sharply and pulling the small boy forcefully toward the hall closet.
Toby was clearly crying and trying to pull his small arms away from her grasp.
Then the video showed the front doors opening as Mark had walked into the mansion.
Sarah had immediately changed her expression the second she saw Mark step inside.
Mark leaned back in his leather office chair, feeling a deep wave of pure anger.
Mark: She lied straight to my face without even blinking an eye.
He quickly inserted a portable USB drive into the desktop computer tower slot.
He copied the crucial security video files onto the portable drive for safe keeping.
He also searched back through several weeks of recorded footage from other home rooms.
He found multiple instances where Sarah spoke harshly and acted carelessly around young Toby.
She was clearly resentful of the boy and his late mother's ongoing legacy.
Mark saved every single video file into an organized folder labeled with dates.
He knew he needed legal counsel before taking his next serious step forward.
He dialed his long-time divorce lawyer, Arthur Vance, on his private mobile phone.
Arthur: Mark, it is quite late in the day, is everything alright?
Mark: I need you to prepare emergency custody papers right away, Arthur.