Mark: "You aren't a Sterling, Evelyn. You're a monster."
Evelyn: "Be careful how you speak to me, Mark. Your father is still in a coma at Dallas General. I am still his legal power of attorney!"
Mark: "Not for long."
Evelyn: "What does that mean?"
Mark reached into his dark trousers, pulling out his smartphone with one hand while keeping his other arm clamped tightly around Lily[cite: 1]. He pressed a quick speed-dial button on the screen and put the call on speakerphone.
Detective Carter: "Detective Carter, Dallas PD. Mark, did you find her?"
Mark: "I found her, Carter. She's in my arms. She's alive."[cite: 1]
Detective Carter: "Thank God. Is the suspect still on the scene?"
Mark: "She's standing right in front of me at the stone well near the west garden. She taped my daughter's mouth and lowered her into the forty-foot shaft."[cite: 1]
Evelyn: "That's a lie! Detective, don't listen to him! My stepson is having a mental breakdown!"
Detective Carter: "We're pulling through the main estate gates right now, Mark. Hold your ground."
The call disconnected. Evelyn's face went completely pale, her rich burgundy dress suddenly looking absurd against the backdrop of the dusty well[cite: 1].
Evelyn: "Mark... please. Think about what this will do to the family reputation! The media will destroy us!"
Mark: "You didn't care about the family reputation when you tried to suffocate a baby."[cite: 1]
Evelyn: "I'll leave! I'll sign over my spousal allowance! I'll move to Europe and you'll never have to see me again!"
Mark: "You aren't going to Europe, Evelyn. You're going to a state penitentiary."
Evelyn: "You have no proof! It's your word against mine! No judge in Texas is going to convict a pillar of the community based on the ramblings of a traumatized toddler!"
Mark: "Look up at the roof of the gazebo, Evelyn."
Evelyn slowly turned her head, her eyes landing on a small, dark cylinder mounted beneath the wooden rafters of the garden structure twenty feet away[cite: 1]. A tiny red LED light blinked steadily in the shade[cite: 1].
Mark: "I installed 4K thermal motion cameras around the perimeter after my father fell ill last month. It records directly to an off-site cloud server in downtown Dallas."[cite: 1]
Evelyn: "No... no, those were just motion lights..."
Mark: "It caught everything. It caught you dragging Lily out of the kitchen. It caught you wrapping the tape around her jaw. And it caught you turning that crank handle with a smile on your face."[cite: 1]
Evelyn gasped, backing up until her waist slammed against the stone wall of the well[cite: 1]. Her hands scrambled behind her for balance, slipping on the damp moss near the edge[cite: 1].
Lily: "Daddy... I want to go inside. It's hot."
Mark: "We're going inside in just a minute, baby girl. Let Daddy finish this."
The sound of spinning tires and gravel crunching echoed across the front driveway as three Dallas Police Department patrol vehicles rounded the corner of the mansion, their red and blue lights flashing brightly against the white walls[cite: 1].