Mark carried Lily down the grand stairs to the quiet kitchen downstairs.
He set her down gently on a tall wooden stool near the counter.
He poured a glass of cool apple juice to help her calm down.
Mark: Tell me exactly what happened upstairs, Lily.
Lily: I was looking for my drawing paper in the library, Daddy.
Mark: Was the master study door unlocked when you went inside?
Lily: Yes, the big heavy door was wide open.
Lily: I saw grandmother standing near the open wall safe.
Mark felt a strange chill go down his back as he listened.
Evelyn never left her private wall safe unlocked for any reason.
She kept all family legal documents and expensive jewelry locked inside it.
Mark: What was grandmother doing when you walked into the room?
Lily: She was putting papers into a big brown paper folder.
Lily: Then she dropped the silver locket on the red carpet.
Lily: I picked it up to give it back to her, Daddy.
Lily: But when I opened it, I saw mommy smiling inside.
Mark: Did she yell at you right after that happened?
Lily: Yes, she grabbed my arm and called me bad names.
Lily: She said I was trying to steal her expensive things.
Mark squeezed his hands into tight fists by his sides.
He knew his mother had held a grudge against his late wife Sarah.
Sarah had come from a poor family across town years ago.
Evelyn had tried everything to stop Mark from marrying Sarah back then.
When Sarah passed away two years ago, Evelyn tried to control everything.
Mark looked toward the ceiling, thinking about the papers in the safe.
Mark: Did you see what was written on those brown papers, Lily?
Lily: No, but there was a gold seal on the top page.
Lily: Grandmother looked very angry when she saw me looking at them.
Mark remembered that his late father's estate trust was being reviewed soon.
The family trust was worth millions of dollars in Dallas real estate.
Evelyn had been managing the funds since Mark's father passed away.
Mark had never questioned his mother about the financial papers before today.
Mark: I want you to stay in your bedroom and play, sweetie.
Lily: Are you going to talk to grandmother again, Daddy?
Mark: Yes, I need to find out the truth right now.
Lily: Please don't let her take mommy's locket away forever.
Mark: I promise I will bring that locket back to you.
Mark walked Lily up to her room and locked the door safely.
He turned around and marched straight toward Evelyn's private library room.