Mark rushed across the foyer with wide eyes and a pale face.
His tie was slightly loosened from a long day at his law office downtown.
Mark: What is happening here?
Clara looked up from the floor, her eyes brimming with hurt and rage.
Clara: Your mother just tried to corner me while I was holding Henry!
Mark turned toward his mother with disbelief written all over his face.
He had spent years trying to mediate the quiet war between his mother and wife.
He always hoped that time would heal his mother's irrational bitterness.
But seeing his wife kneeling on the floor holding their crying baby broke something inside him.
Mark: Mother, tell me you didn't do this!
Evelyn: She is lying to you, Mark! She wants to take our home!
Mark stepped toward the staircase, his voice rising in anger.
He grabbed the stair railing, his knuckles turning completely white.
Mark: I have tried to be patient with you for years!
Evelyn: You are letting this woman blind you to your own bloodline!
Mark confronted his mother furiously, shouting at her to back away immediately.
In the heated argument, he pushed past her on the narrow steps.
Evelyn lost her balance slightly and fell back onto the stair runner.
She sat hard on the step, clutching her cheek in dramatic horror.
The room fell into an eerie, ringing silence for several long seconds.
Evelyn stared at her son with wide, terrified eyes from her seated position.
Mark stood on the steps, breathing heavily as he realized how far things had escalated.
Clara remained on the marble floor, her heart racing as she reached for her fallen bag.
She knew that shouting would not settle this painful family feud.
Only hard evidence and legal reality could finally put an end to Evelyn's tyranny.