Richard sat in his quiet home office, staring at a stack of unpaid bills and business documents.
He ran a successful security company in town, but his personal life was complicated.
Two years ago, he married Victoria, hoping to give his young daughter Lily a loving mother.
Lily was only seven years old and possessed a soft, gentle spirit.
However, the relationship between Victoria and Lily had grown tense over the past few months.
Victoria came from money and cared deeply about social status and keeping up appearances.
She often complained that Lily was too noisy or did not show enough respect.
Richard always tried to keep the peace between them whenever arguments broke out.
He thought they were just having normal growing pains as a blended family.
He wanted so badly for his family unit to work out peacefully.
Suddenly, a loud scream echoed from the main entryway downstairs.
Richard dropped his pen immediately onto the hard wooden desk.
He recognized Lily's panicked voice screaming for help.
His heart raced wildly as he jumped out of his leather chair.
He raced across the polished hallway toward the grand staircase.
The mansion foyer was bright, featuring light marble floors and grand white pillars.
A large American flag hung proudly on the main wall near the entrance.
When Richard reached the balcony, he stopped dead in his tracks.
Victoria was wearing a bright velvet red gown for their planned evening charity gala.
She was standing over young Lily with a dark and furious expression on her face.
Lily was crying on the cold floor, holding her head tightly with both hands.
Victoria shouted at the little girl without showing any mercy or kindness.
Richard felt a wave of horror rush through his entire body.
He realized that the peace in his home was completely fake.
He began down the stairs, desperate to reach his frightened daughter.