Mark grabbed Victoria's wrist with a firm grip as her hands fumbled inside her small gold purse.
Her face had turned completely white while she pulled out a small brass key with trembling fingers.
Mark snapped the key from her palm and inserted it straight into the solid padlock frame.
The iron lock clicked open instantly and fell to the stone floor with a heavy metallic clang.
Mark yanked the wooden door wide open to reveal the small dark space inside the structure.
A woman crumpled onto the doorway ledge while clutching a torn jacket around her cold shoulders.
Lily fell to her knees on the grass and wrapped her small arms around the weak woman's waist.
Lily: Mom, we thought you moved far away three months ago!
Sarah: I never left you, my sweet baby girl.
Sarah raised her thin hands and stroked Lily's red hair with deep affection and heavy tears.
Mark knelt down on the grass next to his ex-wife with utter shock in his dark eyes.
Mark: Sarah, what in the world happened to you in this place?
Sarah: She locked me inside when I came to drop off Lily's birthday gift.
Sarah pointed a shaking finger straight at Victoria who stepped back toward the main lawn path.
Victoria: She is lying to you, Mark!
Victoria: She must have broken into the shed herself to stage this entire terrible scene!
Mark: Victoria, you had the brass key inside your own locked purse just now!
Victoria: I found that key on the kitchen counter earlier this morning!
Mark stood up slowly and pulled his daughter gently behind his back to protect her frame.
Sarah tried to stand up on her weak legs but collapsed against Mark's arm for balance support.
She had been held inside the windowless shed structure without food or water for over two days.
Mark looked at his wealthy wife with a sense of sudden cold realization taking over his mind.
Three months prior Sarah had vanished right before the final signing of their divorce property agreement.
Victoria had claimed that Sarah accepted a cash payout and left the state without saying goodbye.
Mark had trusted Victoria's word back then because they were planning their upcoming mansion wedding.
Now the horrifying truth was unraveling right on the back lawn of his grand residential estate.
Mark: You told the court that Sarah abandoned her custody rights to Lily entirely.
Victoria: She wanted to leave back then, Mark!
Sarah: I never signed any custody papers or left the state, Mark.
Sarah: Victoria took my phone and locked me in her private guest cabin up north first.
Mark: We are calling the police to this address right now.