Richard carried Mia down the silent carpeted hallway while holding Leo's small hand in his firm grip. The quiet mansion felt different now, full of hidden shadows and danger. He needed to secure his children before doing anything else.
Richard: Leo, I need you to stay in my study with your sister. Lock the door from the inside.
Leo: Are you going to check the camera room, Daddy?
Richard: Yes, buddy. Nobody gets into this study except me. Do you understand?
Leo: I'll protect Mia. I won't open the door for anyone.
Richard: Good man. I'll be back in five minutes.
Richard strode down the long corridor, his expensive suit shoes clicking loudly on the oak floorboards. He opened the heavy security door under the grand staircase and sat down at the master terminal. His fingers flew across the keyboard, bringing up the high-definition feeds for the third-floor East Wing balcony.
Richard: Let me see the nine o'clock recording...
He clicked the timestamp for 9:15 AM. The screen flickered, but instead of the clear camera feed, a bright blue box appeared across the display showing file error missing.
Richard: What? How is that camera offline?
He pulled up the system log immediately. Someone had manually deleted the ten-minute window between 9:10 AM and 9:20 AM from the central server inside the house.
Richard: You made a mistake, Victoria. You didn't clear the backup cloud.
Richard plugged his personal administrator key into the terminal. His father had insisted on installing a dual-mirror security network when the mansion was built, ensuring that local deletions were saved on a remote server accessible only by the primary trustee.
Richard: Let's see what you tried so hard to erase...
The screen loaded a second buffer. The video playback showed the bright daylight shining on the balcony. At 9:12 AM, a figure dressed in a black silk robe walked onto the terrace, dragging a heavy patio chair across the floor.
Richard: There you are...
On the video, Victoria carefully placed the chair against the stone wall. She looked over the railing, then walked back into the hall. Moments later, little Mia wandered onto the balcony in her beige dress. Victoria pointed over the railing, whispering something to the child.
Richard: You evil monster...
The video showed Mia stepping onto the chair to look over the stone ledge. Victoria reached out with both hands, grabbed the little girl's feet, and tipped her over the railing. Mia's hands frantically grabbed the outer ledge as the chair slipped backward.
Richard: She didn't just push her... she threw her over!
On the screen, Victoria pushed the chair back into the hallway, leaving the child dangling in horror. But before Victoria could run away, Leo bolted out of the hallway doors, diving across the balcony floor to grab his sister's hands.
Richard: Leo saved her life by seconds...
Richard watched as Victoria retreated into the guest wing hallway, hiding around the corner until Richard arrived on the scene.
Richard: You wanted the family trust fund, Victoria. You wanted the entire sixty-million-dollar estate.
He saved the raw video file onto an encrypted flash drive and pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing his corporate lawyer and the chief of police.
Richard: Captain Vance speaking. I need an emergency response team at the Vance estate immediately.
Police Officer: What is the emergency, Mr. Vance?
Richard: An attempted murder on my five-year-old daughter. I have full video footage of the suspect.
Police Officer: Officers are dispatched. Hold your position, sir.
Richard pulled the flash drive from the computer, his knuckles white with rage as he headed back toward the grand hall.