Mark cradled the young girl against his chest, feeling how light and thin she was beneath the heavy blue blanket. The child rested her head against his shoulder, her tiny hands clutching the back of his blue shirt as if she were afraid she would fall. Lily stepped closer, reaching out to gently touch the girl's arm.
Lily: See, Daddy? I told you she was nice.
Mark: Sweetheart, how many times did you bring her food?
Lily: Every night when Mommy went upstairs to take her bath. I gave her my bread and apples.
Mark: You are a good girl, Lily. A very good girl.
Mark stood up slowly, keeping the girl held securely in his arms. He turned around to face Victoria, his eyes red from crying, but his expression hardened into a look of sheer hatred.
Mark: You kept a child locked in a closet in my own home, Victoria. How could you be so cruel?
Victoria: I had to, Mark! She showed up at our front door three weeks ago with a letter from your late father's lawyer!
Mark: A letter? What letter?
Victoria: Your father had a secret daughter ten years ago with his former secretary! He kept her hidden in a private boarding school in Austin until he died!
Mark: My father had another child?
Victoria: Yes! And in his final will, he stipulated that fifty percent of the Sterling real estate firm and this entire Dallas estate would go directly to her upon his death!
Mark: So you locked her in a cupboard to keep her from claiming her inheritance?
Victoria: If the probate court finds out she exists, our shares in the company will drop below fifty percent! We would lose control of the board! We would lose our lifestyle!
Girl: I didn't want the house, mister... I just wanted to see my picture.
Mark looked down at the child's hands. She was still holding the small wooden picture frame she had been clutching inside the closet. Inside the glass was a photograph of Mark's father, holding a tiny newborn baby in a hospital room, smiling broadly.
Mark: What's your name, sweetie?
Girl: My name is Ella.
Mark: Ella... you're my sister. You're my little sister.
Victoria: She is a threat to our children's future, Mark! If she files a custody claim through a court-appointed guardian, the state will step in and audit all our family assets!
Mark: I don't care about the company, Victoria! I don't care about the board of directors!
Victoria: You say that now, but how are we going to pay the private school tuition for Lily? How are we going to maintain this mansion?
Mark: We will sell the mansion! We will move into a smaller house! We will do whatever we have to do, but we will not act like monsters!
Victoria: I did this for us! I did this to keep our family together!
Mark: You didn't do this for us, Victoria. You did this because you are terrified of losing your country club status and your expensive clothes!
Mark walked past Victoria, carrying Ella down the wide hallway toward the brightly lit kitchen. Lily followed closely behind, holding onto the hem of her father's shirt. Victoria stood alone near the open closet door, her hands shaking as the magnitude of her actions began to settle around her like a dark cloud.
Mark: Lily, go get a glass of water and some fresh orange juice for Ella.
Lily: Okay, Daddy! I'll get the big glass!
Mark: Ella, I am going to set you down on this chair, okay? You're safe now. Nobody is ever going to put you in that dark room again.
Ella: Promise?
Mark: I promise on my life.