The morning of the wedding arrived with bright, clear sunshine filling every corner of the massive estate with warmth and light. White marble floors sparkled under the large glass windows, and American flags hung neatly along the long hallway entrance near the double doors. Catering staff moved quickly through the kitchen, carrying silver trays filled with expensive food for the two hundred rich guests arriving soon. Mark put on his white tuxedo jacket in front of the tall mirror, feeling a mix of hope and strange worry. He straightened his black bow tie and adjusted his silver cufflinks, thinking about his late wife and his sweet daughter upstairs. He wanted this day to mark a new, happy chapter for their entire family after so many years of sorrow and grief. But when he walked down the long hall to find Chloe, her bedroom door was wide open and completely empty inside.
Mark: Chloe? Where are you, sweetheart? It is time to get ready.
Mark: Has anyone seen my daughter this morning in the hall?
Housekeeper: I saw her walking toward the main hallway earlier, sir.
Mark walked quickly down the gleaming marble hallway, his dress shoes making sharp clicking sounds against the hard floor surface. He checked the side rooms, the library, and the large sunroom, but Chloe was nowhere to be seen among the workers. A strange feeling of worry started to build deep in his stomach as he moved toward the main entrance under the flag. He heard a soft, quiet sobbing sound coming from behind a large indoor plant near the bottom of the grand staircase. Mark knelt down on the cold floor immediately, pushing aside green leaves to see his small daughter sitting on the ground. Tears were running down Chloe's face, staining her light pink dress, and her small shoulders shook with heavy, sad sobs. She held a small piece of paper tightly in her trembling right hand, crushing the edges between her fingers.
Mark: Sweetheart, why are you crying on the floor like this?
Chloe: She said after the wedding, I cannot stay here anymore...
Mark: What are you talking about? Who said that to you?
Chloe: Vanessa gave me this paper before she put her dress on.
Mark reached out his large hands and gently held his daughter's wet face, feeling her skin cold and shaking under his touch. He took the crumpled handwritten note from her small hands and carefully opened it under the bright daylight filling the hall. As his eyes scanned the sharp handwriting, his heart stopped for a second before filling with pure, dark anger and shock. The letter clearly stated that Chloe would be sent away to a strict boarding school in another state immediately after the wedding. It said Mark would be too busy with his new wife to deal with a child, and Chloe was not allowed back. Vanessa had even signed up for early enrollment using a fake signature, planning to move Chloe out the very next morning.
Mark: She wrote this to you today behind my back?
Chloe: She said if I tell you, you will be very angry at me.
Mark: I am not angry at you, Chloe. Never at you.
Mark took a deep, sharp breath as low, burning rage spread through his entire body like a sudden wildfire in summer. He looked at the paper again, verifying the cold words written with terrible intent against an innocent eight-year-old child. His sweet daughter had been carrying this terrifying fear all morning, believing her father was going to abandon her for a new wife. Mark pulled Chloe into a tight embrace, resting his chin on top of her head while staring at the American flag. He realized that every kind smile Vanessa had shown over the past year was nothing but a fake act to secure his wealth. Vanessa wanted Mark's money and his grand mansion, but she wanted his real child completely out of the picture forever.
Mark: Look at me, Chloe. You are my daughter, and I love you.
Chloe: Are you going to send me away to that school?
Mark: Over my dead body. No one touches my family.