Mark: Evelyn... is this true?
Evelyn: Mark, she’s a seven-year-old child! Clara probably coached her to say that while you were outside!
Clara: I haven't been alone with Lily for more than two minutes, Evelyn. The hair clippers belong to the groom’s suite—you brought them in here yourself!
Evelyn: You're lying!
Clara: Check the table. Look at the note resting under the ring you just threw down, Mark.
Mark reached toward the bedside table, his hand trembling slightly. He picked up his platinum engagement ring, and beneath it lay a folded sheet of legal paper. It was an official court document stamped by a notary public.
Mark: What is this? This is a petition for sole custody of Lily... and a claim against our father's trust fund?
Clara: Read the name at the top, Mark. Read who filed it this morning.
Mark: Evelyn... you filed for emergency custody of Lily today at 8:00 AM?
Evelyn: It—it was a precaution! You were about to marry this woman without a prenuptial agreement! You were giving away our family’s real estate holdings and the family estate to a stranger!
Mark: My trust fund has nothing to do with you! Father left the business to me and Lily!
Evelyn: Father was sick when he signed that will! He wasn't in his right mind!
Clara: So you wanted to make Mark look like an unfit parent, didn't you? You wanted him to lose his temper, cause a scene, and break up the wedding so you could claim he was mentally unstable!
Evelyn: Keep your mouth shut, Clara! You don't know anything about this family!
Clara: I know you offered me fifty thousand dollars last night to pack my bags and leave town. I have the audio recording right here on my phone.
Clara tapped her phone screen. A clear, crisp recording of Evelyn’s voice filled the room, detailing a plan to destroy Mark’s reputation and secure the family inheritance through legal claims of domestic instability. Mark listened, his face growing paler with every word, realization sinking in like lead.
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