The luxury mansion hall was lined with rich oil paintings, including a giant framed artwork of the American flag hanging proudly on the white wall. Victoria turned back around when she realized Clara was not moving toward the front doors. Her eyes burned with deep anger as she stepped closer to the young girl in the red dress. She could not risk a public scene during her annual charity gala, where the city's richest donors were gathering.
Victoria: You are ruining the most important night of my entire year.
Clara: You ruined my entire life when you stole my inheritance.
Victoria: You deserve absolutely nothing from this family or this estate.
Clara: The court will decide what I deserve very soon, Victoria.
Victoria snapped under the pressure of Clara's calm, confident voice. She lost her composure completely and swung her right hand with full force across the room. Her heavy gold rings caught the bright light just before her palm slammed directly into Clara's left cheek. The sharp crack of the strike resonated through the quiet hallway like a gunshot, surprising several guests near the entrance.
Victoria: NOT TODAY!
The impact knocked Clara back a step, her head snapping to the side from the sheer force of the blow. The gold setting of Victoria's ring tore across Clara's skin, leaving a bright red scratch mark down her cheek. Pain radiated across her face, burning hot against her flesh as fresh tears filled her eyes. Clara gasped and put her hand up to touch her cheek, feeling the warm trickle of blood on her fingertips.
Victoria: That is what happens when you disrespect me in my home.
Clara: You really shouldn't have done that, Victoria.
Victoria: I will do whatever it takes to keep you quiet.
Clara: You just made the biggest mistake of your entire life.
Victoria leaned in close, her breath hot against Clara's ear as she sneered with cruel satisfaction. She believed the physical strike had finally broken Clara's spirit and put an end to her questions. But as tears streamed down Clara's face over her fresh cheek scratch, her crying expression began to harden into intense focus. She wiped the tear from her chin with the back of her sleeve and looked directly into Victoria's cold eyes.
Clara: Did you forget that this house has modern security cameras?
Victoria: I control every single camera inside and outside this mansion.
Clara: Not since my investigator accessed the system ten minutes ago.
Victoria: You are bluffing, you have no access to anything here.
Clara raised her smartphone and unlocked the screen with a swift swipe of her thumb. She tapped quickly on the custom video player app her investigator had set up for her earlier that afternoon. A green light flashed at the top of her phone screen, confirming that the feed was live and connected directly to the mansion's central projection equipment in the main ballroom.