Richard drove his child straight to his attorney's office in the city center district.
He sat inside the quiet room while his lawyer reviewed the legal court documents.
Lawyer: This incident changes the balance of your entire divorce settlement fight.
Richard: I do not care about the money or the estate property anymore.
Richard: I only want to protect my young daughter from any future danger.
The attorney pulled up the estate security camera records on his desk computer screen.
Lawyer: Let us look closely at the video footage from the hallway cameras.
Richard leaned forward to watch the digital screen with a serious expression of focus.
The video showed Elena walking the child toward the upper floor balcony railing area.
She looked directly toward the front entrance doors just before the child slipped down.
Richard: Look at her hands right before I walked through the door.
Lawyer: She was watching the clock on the wall very carefully that afternoon.
Richard: She expected me to arrive five minutes later than I actually did.
The attorney paused the video playback on a clear frame of Elena's face.
Lawyer: She was setting up a scene to claim you abandoned the house duty.
Richard: She wanted to make me look negligent in front of the judge.
Lawyer: But her plan went completely wrong when you arrived earlier than expected.
Richard felt a cold chill run down his spine as the realization hit him.
His wife was willing to risk their child's safety for legal financial leverage.
Richard: We need to file an emergency custody order with the judge today.
Lawyer: I will draft the official court motion papers right this very minute.
Richard: She will never have the chance to harm our daughter again.
The lawyer nodded firmly and began typing rapidly on his desktop key computer board.
Richard held his sleeping child tightly as he waited for the legal papers.