Mark walked out of his office with a tight plan forming in his head. He knew he had to gather hard physical evidence before Victoria realized that he was working with Arthur to end their marriage. He walked quietly down the upper hallway toward Victoria's personal dressing room located right off the master bedroom suite. The door was slightly open, and Mark could hear Victoria talking in a low, sharp voice on her cell phone inside. He stopped just outside the door frame, standing silently against the wall to listen to her private conversation. Victoria was pacing back and forth across the hardwood floor, her tone completely different from the sweet, gentle voice she usually used around Mark's high-society friends.
Victoria: He did not sign the trustee paperwork today, Richard. He got angry because I put the girl outside.
Voice on Phone: You were supposed to stay calm until the documents were notarized!
Victoria: The kid was screaming constantly! It was driving me insane. Besides, Mark is weak. He will calm down by tonight.
Voice on Phone: Just make sure he signs the settlement papers before the board meeting on Friday.
Mark felt his blood boil as he listened to Victoria discuss his life like a cheap business deal. The man on the phone was her private attorney, Richard Vance, the same lawyer who had pushed for the last-minute prenuptial additions. Mark stepped away from the door quietly, not wanting to trigger an arguments until he had every piece of paper in his hands. He went down the rear stairs toward the security control room located near the home's primary garage entrance. The mansion was equipped with high-definition security cameras covering every entrance, patio, and main hallway, but Mark had rarely checked the saved video footage in the past. He opened the digital recording unit using his personal master passcode and began reviewing the video files from the past month.
What Mark saw on the screen made his stomach twist with deep regret and guilt for not paying closer attention sooner. Day after day, while Mark was away at his downtown corporate office, Victoria had treated young Lily with cold indifference and hidden cruelty. The camera footage showed Victoria snatching toys out of Lily's hands, locking her in her bedroom for hours at a time, and whispering harsh threats into the little girl's ear whenever she tried to approach her stepmother. Mark watched in absolute horror as video from three weeks prior showed Victoria taking a thick, leather-bound binder from Mark's private wall safe in the study while Mark was out of town on a business trip. That binder contained the original certified copy of his late wife's last will and testament, as well as the initial trust fund establishment deeds.
Mark saved all the video files onto an encrypted flash drive, plugging it into his pocket before leaving the security room. He knew now why Victoria had been so confident about taking control of the estate. She thought that by removing the original trust fund documents from the house, Mark would be unable to prove the specific terms set by his late wife in court, leaving the court to rely on the revised prenuptial terms instead. Mark felt a surge of pride in his late wife's foresight, remembering that she had insisted on registering digital duplicate copies of all estate paperwork directly with the Dallas County probate court database years ago.
Mark: You thought you were so clever, Victoria.
Mark walked back up the grand staircase with the encrypted flash drive locked in his pocket. As he reached the top landing, he saw Victoria standing near the top of the stairs, looking down at him with a fake, sweet smile pasted across her face. She had changed out of her silk gown into an expensive designer dress, trying her best to look like the loving wife again.
Victoria: Mark, darling, are we still going out for dinner tonight with the estate board members?
Mark: Oh, there has been a change of plans, Victoria. The board meeting is happening right here, right now.