Mark sat at his desk in his downtown office and looked at the heavy gold watch on his wrist.
The afternoon sun was beaming through the tall glass windows of the financial building.
His phone began to vibrate softly against the polished dark wood of his executive desk.
He picked up the phone immediately when he saw the caller ID on the screen.
It was a call from the family attorney regarding his late wife's substantial estate.
Mark: Hello Arthur, did you finish reviewing the trust fund documents?
Arthur: Yes Mark, but we have a major problem with the accounts.
Mark: What kind of problem are you talking about?
Arthur: Someone tried to transfer funds out of the children's inheritance account yesterday.
Mark felt a strange chill run down his back as he leaned forward in his leather chair.
Mark: That account requires my personal signature and a secondary security password.
Arthur: The request was submitted online using your home computer network.
Mark gripped the edge of his desk as his heart rate began to speed up slightly.
Mark: Only Evelyn has access to the home computer while I am at work.
Arthur: I suggest you check your personal bank statements immediately, Mark.
Mark ended the call and quickly opened his personal banking portal on his laptop computer screen.
He noticed several unauthorized pending charges from high-end jewelry stores located downtown.
His stomach dropped as he remembered how quiet his two children had been lately.
Little Leo and Maya had become unusually distant over the past three weeks.
Whenever Evelyn entered the room, the children would instantly stop talking and look down at the floor.
Mark had assumed they were still adjusting to having a stepmother in the house.
He now realized that he had ignored the quiet warning signs for far too long.
He closed his laptop, grabbed his car keys, and hurried out of his private corner office.
He rushed past his secretary without saying a word about where he was heading.
He took the express elevator directly down to the private basement parking garage.
His hands were trembling slightly as he unlocked his silver sports utility vehicle.
He started the engine and drove quickly toward the quiet suburban residential neighborhood.
The drive across town felt longer than it ever had in his entire life.
He kept thinking about the look of fear in his daughter's brown eyes from that morning.
Maya had begged him not to go to work during breakfast at the dining room table.
He had simply kissed her forehead and promised to bring her back a sweet treat after work.
Regret washed over him as he accelerated down the wide highway lane.
He pulled off the main highway and entered the grand gated entrance of his neighborhood.
The neighborhood street was lined with oak trees and large two-story luxury homes.
He parked his car along the curb a few houses down from his own driveway.
He did not want Evelyn to hear his engine coming up the circular paved driveway.
He walked quickly up the manicured front lawn toward the grand entrance doors of his mansion.
He took a deep breath as he reached into his pocket for his house keys.
He placed the key softly into the front door lock and turned it without making a sound.
The front door unlocked silently, revealing the quiet marble floor of the grand entrance hallway.
He stepped inside the foyer and closed the heavy front door behind him with great care.
A sudden shouting voice echoed from the top of the grand marble staircase above him.
He stopped in his tracks and listened closely to the sharp tone echoing down the hall.