Mark carried his young children past the rows of stunned, staring wedding guests.
Alyssa stood frozen at the altar, her expensive bouquet dropping to the floor.
The cool afternoon wind whipped against Mark as he pushed open the doors.
He carried the baby in his left arm and guided Lily closely beside him.
The manicured park across from the grand chapel was quiet and mostly empty.
Mark's heart hammered frantically against his ribs as he scanned the wooden benches.
Near the edge of the tree line, a figure sat hunched over completely.
Clara was shivering beneath a thin, worn jacket that offered little protection.
Her hand was clutching a bundle of folded court papers against her chest.
Mark: Clara!
The young woman slowly raised her head, looking completely pale and exhausted.
Her eyes were swollen from hours of continuous crying in the cold air.
Clara: Mark? How did... how did the kids find you over there?
Mark: Lily walked into the wedding carrying our newborn son, Clara!
Clara: I collapsed on the bench... I couldn't walk another single step, Mark.
Mark set the baby down carefully inside his warm, heavy tuxedo jacket.
He wrapped his arm around Clara, pulling her up from the wooden bench.
Mark: What happened to the house and the monthly money I sent you?
Clara: Alyssa came with a sheriff's eviction notice early yesterday morning.
Mark: An eviction notice? I pay the mortgage on that house every month!
Clara: She showed me signed documents saying you sold the deed last month.
Mark: I never signed any sale papers for our family home, Clara!
Clara pulled out the crumpled court documents from inside her coat pocket.
Mark grabbed the papers and quickly read through the official legal text.
His signature had been forged at the bottom of the property transfer.
The notary stamp belonged to Alyssa's private executive assistant at the firm.
Mark: She stole the title right out from underneath my own family.
Clara: She told me if I called you, you would take custody away forever.
Mark: She lied to you so you wouldn't crash her grand wedding day!
Lily grabbed Clara's pants leg, burying her face into her mother's side.
Lily: Mommy, is Daddy coming home with us now?
Mark: Daddy is going to fix every single bit of this right now.
Mark pulled out his phone again and dialed the local police department dispatcher.
Mark: I need an officer at the downtown chapel for grand fraud immediately.