The flashing red lights lit up the quiet Dallas hospital hallway wall.
Mark sat nervously on a hard plastic chair outside the trauma room.
His hands were stained with dirt and he stared at the floor.
Victoria paced back and forth near the hallway water fountain anxiously.
She wore her green satin dress, though it was now badly wrinkled.
Victoria: We need to hire our divorce lawyer and legal defense team.
Mark: Is that all you care about right now, mother?
Victoria: I am thinking about our family safety and future reputation!
Mark: A innocent pregnant woman is fighting for her life in there!
The heavy doors swung open and a tired doctor walked toward them.
Mark stood up fast, his heart pounding hard inside his chest.
Mark: Doctor, how is she? Is the baby going to make it?
Doctor: She suffered a mild concussion and a bruised hip bone.
Mark: What about the baby? Please tell me the baby lives!
Doctor: The baby is stable, but we must monitor her closely tonight.
Mark wiped a tear from his cheek and let out a sigh.
Victoria stepped forward, clutching her expensive pearl necklace tightly in hand.
Victoria: Can she go home now? We can pay for private care.
Doctor: Absolutely not, ma'am, she needs full rest in the clinic.
The doctor walked away to check on other urgent medical charts.
Mark turned toward his mother with a stern look on his face.
Mark: I am going in there to speak with Sarah alone now.
Victoria: Do not let her talk you into giving her any money.
Mark ignored her remark and opened the private room door softly.
Sarah lay on the hospital bed, an IV line in her hand.
She looked small and fragile under the white cotton hospital blanket.
She turned her head slowly as Mark approached her bedside gently.
Sarah: Is my baby really okay, Mark?
Mark: The doctor said the baby is safe and strong, Sarah.
Sarah let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes in relief.
Sarah: Thank God, that is all I cared about through everything.
Mark: Why did you come to our house today, Sarah?
Sarah pointed weakly toward her purse sitting on the side table.
Sarah: The legal envelope is inside, please read the top paper.
Mark reached into the purse and pulled out the smooth white paper.
He read the official court document stamp at the top of page.
His eyes widened as he scanned the lines of typed black text.
The document was a certified biological paternity test result from years ago.
It proved beyond any doubt that Sarah was Richard true biological child.
It also showed that Victoria had known about Sarah for ten years.
Victoria had been paying monthly hush money to keep Sarah mother quiet.
Mark gasped as he realized the depth of his mother evil lie.
Mark: She knew about you all along and kept it secret.
Sarah: She wanted to make sure I never met my real father.
Mark: My mother did this just to keep all the inheritance money.
Sarah reached out and touched Mark sleeve with soft gentle fingers.
Sarah: I never wanted his money, I just wanted a family connection.
Mark looked at the innocent woman lying in the pale hospital bed.
He felt a deep sense of shame for what his mother did.
He made a firm decision right then to set things right.