Lily tried to back her wheelchair away, but the wall blocked her path completely.
Victoria walked slowly toward the kitchen, her heels clicking loudly on the marble floor.
She opened the large freezer and pulled out a massive glass bowl filled with ice cubes.
The chill from the bowl radiated into the warm room like a sudden winter storm.
Lily shivered slightly, sensing that something terrible was about to happen.
"You think you are so special just because of your family name," Victoria sneered cold-heartedly.
She carried the ice bowl over to where Lily sat defenseless near the large glass partition.
Outside the tall windows, several neighborhood contractors were repairing the adjacent garden fence.
Victoria did not care about the distant witnesses as her bitter resentment overflowed.
She had been seeking access to Mark's vast estate and inheritance through marriage.
However, she saw Lily as the main obstacle preventing her complete control over Mark's life.
Without a second of hesitation, Victoria tipped the glass bowl directly over the young girl.
Freezing ice cubes tumbled down over Lily's head, shoulders, and lap in a heavy shower.
Lily gasped loudly as the extreme cold shocked her delicate skin.
Tears immediately burst from her eyes as she began to shiver violently in her chair.
"Please! I'm so cold!" Lily cried out, her small voice trembling with immense pain.
Victoria leaned down, bringing her face inches away from the frightened child's cheeks.
"Call me mom and beg me, sweetheart!" Victoria demanded in a sharp, malicious whisper.
She wanted absolute submission from the girl to secure her authority in the household.
Despite her fear and physical agony, Lily gripped her armrests and lifted her head proudly.
"You're not my mom!" Lily shouted back with every ounce of courage she possessed.
"My mom would never do this!"
Victoria's face twisted with anger at the girl's defiant refusal to submit.
She grabbed another handful of ice and rubbed it against Lily's red, freezing cheeks.
Outside the window, the workers paused, noticing the alarming commotion inside the living room.
They gasped in shock, pointing frantically as they witnessed the heartless mistreatment unfold.
Victoria ignored the growing crowd outside, fully consumed by her own cruel power struggle.