Richard: Get her out of my sight right now.
Victoria: You'll regret this, Richard! My father will pull every single investment from your firm by tomorrow morning!
Richard: Tell him to do his worst. My lawyers will have a restraining order filed before the courthouse opens.
The security guards firmly took Victoria by her arms, ignoring her sharp screams as they pulled her toward the grand oak entrance doors. The guests began whispering furiously among themselves, moving out of the way as the disgraced bride was dragged down the front marble steps into the driveway.
Lily: Daddy... is she gone?
Richard: Yes, sweetie. She's gone. She's never coming back near you again.
Richard held Lily close, carrying her upstairs to her quiet nursery room away from the commotion. He sat on the rocking chair, carefully wiping away the remaining icing with a warm cloth while her small body stopped trembling.
Lily: She said I was bad, Daddy. She said I wasn't allowed to have cake.
Richard: You are not bad, Lily. You are the best thing in my life. She was wrong, completely wrong.
Lily: She hurt me before when you were at work.
Richard froze, his hand stopping mid-motion as he looked into his daughter's tearful eyes. His pulse quickened, a cold sense of dread washing over him.
Richard: What did you say, baby? What happened when I was at work?
Lily: She pinched my arms when I wouldn't eat the vegetables. She said if I told you, she would send my toys away.
Richard: She pinched you?
Lily: She took my teddy bear and hid it in the attic because I cried.
Richard closed his eyes, squeezing them shut as guilt tore through his chest. He had noticed small bruises on Lily's arms over the last month, but Victoria had always claimed the girl was clumsy on the playground. He had believed her, blind to the snake living under his own roof.
Richard: I am so sorry, Lily. Daddy should have protected you better. I promise you, no one will ever hurt you again.
Lily: Are we still having a party?
Richard: We don't need a big fancy party. We just need each other.
He reached for his smartphone on the nightstand and dialed his primary family lawyer, his voice steady and cold as steel.
Richard: Arthur, it's Richard. I need you to file a police report immediately for child endangerment and battery against Victoria. And pull up the security footage from the house