FABLE

Uncovering the Paper Trail

The Broken Vow at the Altar

Mark: Hold my hand tight, Lily. We're getting in the cab now.

Lily: Daddy, where are we going? Do we have a home?

Mark: We're going to a hotel tonight. Tomorrow, we get our lives back.

Lily: Is Mommy really in heaven?

Mark: Yes, baby... she's watching over us. I'm so sorry I wasn't there...

Lily: Mommy told me not to be mad at you. She said you were working hard to send medicine.

Mark: She knew? Even when the money stopped?

Lily: She said someone bad was tricking us, but that you loved us forever.

Mark: God, Sarah... I'm so sorry...

The yellow cab pulled away from the grand Dallas country club, leaving behind ruined flower arrangements and stunned high-society guests. Inside the backseat, Mark pulled out his personal phone and dialed a number he hadn't called in years.

Attorney Vance: Mark? Isn't this your wedding hour?

Mark: David, I need your help. As a defense attorney and my old college roommate, I need you right now.

Attorney Vance: What happened? You sound like you're choking back tears.

Mark: Clara and her father... they forged foreclosure documents on Sarah's house. They stole my wire transfers meant for her treatments.

Attorney Vance: What?! Sarah? Is she okay?

Mark: Sarah died four days ago, David. They starved her out of her home while I thought she was in hospice care in Houston.

Attorney Vance: Oh my God. Mark, that's grand larceny, wire fraud, and criminal negligence resulting in death!

Mark: I have all the transaction receipts from my end. But I need you to pull the property records for Sarah's cottage in Austin.

Attorney Vance: I'm opening my laptop right now. Give me five minutes.

Lily: Daddy, look... baby Mia is sleeping.

Mark: She looks just like your mother did, Lily.

Lily: Mommy left a letter for you in my shoe. I hid it so the bad lady wouldn't steal it.

Mark: A letter?

Lily: Here... it's a little crumpled.

Mark: "My dearest Mark... if Lily is giving you this, it means my battle is over..."

Mark: "Do not blame yourself. A woman named Clara came to my room two months ago..."

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