Victoria's fingers wrapped around a small, cold piece of metal in her pocket.
It was a metallic silver USB flash drive she had carried all morning.
She pulled the pen drive out and held it high in the air.
Her hand shook, but her eyes locked onto Richard with absolute resolve.
Victoria: Don't believe her lies! The surveillance footage is right here!
Evelyn's cruel smirk vanished instantly, replaced by a choked gasp of terror.
The color drained completely from Evelyn's face as she stepped back.
Evelyn: What... what is that useless little thing?
Victoria: It records every angle of this living room twenty-four hours a day.
Richard froze in his tracks, looking down at Victoria on the floor.
He looked from the drive to Evelyn's suddenly pale, panicked expression.
Victoria: Plug it into your phone right now, Richard. Watch what she did.
Richard reached into his jacket and pulled out his administrative tablet device.
He took the silver flash drive from Victoria's hand without saying a word.
Evelyn lunged forward to grab the drive, but Richard raised his arm.
Evelyn: Darling, don't look at that! She probably fake-edited something!
Richard: Be quiet for one moment, Evelyn.
Richard connected the drive to the top port of his portable tablet screen.
The video file loaded automatically on the high-definition display.
The screen showed the living room from the high camera near the flag.
It clearly showed Evelyn walking into the room with the burning iron.
It showed her plugging it in and lowering it directly over the cradle.
It showed Victoria sprinting in to push her away and protect the child.
Richard's face turned pale as the reality of the scene washed over him.
He realized he had just struck the true mother who saved his son.
The silence in the grand mansion living room became terrifyingly heavy.