Mark adjusted his tie as he pulled his truck up to the massive iron gates.
He looked back at seven-year-old Lily sitting quietly in the back seat.
She held her small plush bear tightly against her pink sweater.
Mark smiled in the rear view mirror to ease her obvious nervous tension.
His father had passed away two weeks ago after a long battle with illness.
The family lawyer called Mark earlier that morning regarding the final estate reading.
Mark had not stepped inside his father's Dallas mansion for nearly five years.
He left after his father married Eleanor, a cold woman obsessed with money.
Eleanor never accepted Mark or his mother's memory inside that grand house.
She treated the entire household staff like they were beneath her standing.
Mark parked the vehicle on the sweeping circular driveway near the main entrance.
He walked around to open the car door for his young daughter.
Lily reached up and held her father's hand as they walked up the steps.
The large front doors opened before Mark could even ring the brass bell.
A butler gave them a sad smile and stepped aside to let them enter.
The high ceilings and marble floors felt cold and empty to Mark.
Eleanor stood at the top of the grand staircase wearing a expensive suit.
Her sharp eyes narrowed the second she saw Mark and Lily in the foyer.
She held a pearl necklace tightly between her long thin fingers.
Mark felt a familiar knot of tension form deep inside his stomach.
He walked toward the center of the hall, holding Lily close to his side.
The family attorney waited inside the quiet formal library down the main hallway.
Mark knew this visit would change everything about their future forever.