Back at the Dallas mansion, Victoria was inside her master bedroom, rapidly throwing designer dresses, jewelry boxes, and stacks of cash into two large leather suitcases. Her hands were shaking slightly. She had heard the news from her lawyer that Mark had been at the hospital all night, and she knew it was only a matter of time before people started asking difficult questions about the staircase incident. She planned to catch a private flight to South America before the sun went down.
Suddenly, the heavy front door of the mansion burst open downstairs. The sound of firm, heavy boots echoed across the marble foyer floor. Victoria froze, her heart pounding in her chest. She snapped her suitcases shut, grabbed her purse, and hurried out onto the second-floor hallway leading toward the staircase.
As she reached the top landing under the American flag display, she looked down and saw Mark standing in the center of the foyer. Flanking him were four uniformed Dallas police officers and two plainclothes detectives. Beside them stood David, holding a black laptop case.
Victoria: Mark! What is the meaning of this circus inside my home?!
Mark: This is not your home anymore, Victoria! Step down those stairs right now!
Victoria: How dare you bring police officers into this house! Officers, this man is harassing me! His wife had a clumsy fall last night and now he is blaming me for his own domestic problems!
Detective Harris, a tall man with a stern face and grey mustache, stepped forward toward the bottom of the stairs, pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt.
Detective Harris: Mrs. Victoria Montgomery, we are here with a warrant for your arrest. You are being placed under arrest for attempted murder, felony assault, and grand financial fraud.
Victoria: Attempted murder?! That is completely absurd! You have no proof of anything! It was a simple accident!
Mark pointed up at the ceiling corner near the framed flag artwork.
Mark: Look at the camera up there, Victoria! The high-definition camera you forgot my father installed last year! We watched the entire video! We saw you grab Clara's shoulder and push her down the steps!
Victoria's face drained of all color. Her mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. She took a step back toward her bedroom, but two police officers who had quietly walked up the back staircase suddenly stepped into the hallway behind her, blocking her exit path.
Detective Harris: We also have the forged trust fund documents recovered from your desk, Mrs. Montgomery. Your divorce lawyer is currently being questioned by federal agents downtown as we speak.
Victoria: No... you cannot do this to me! I am Arthur Montgomery's widow! Everything in this estate belongs to me!
Mark: You never cared about my father, and you never cared about this family! All you cared about was money and power! But you failed, Victoria! Clara and our baby are both alive and safe!
The two officers behind Victoria grabbed her arms firmly, pulling them behind her back. Victoria struggled against them, kicking her feet and screaming in rage as the steel handcuffs clicked tightly around her wrists.
Victoria: Get your filthy hands off me! Mark, tell them to let me go! I raised you after your father brought me here!
Mark: You did not raise me, Victoria. You just lived off my father's hard work while plotting to ruin us. You will spend the rest of your life behind bars thinking about what you did.
The officers led Victoria down the grand marble staircase—the exact same steps where Clara had fallen the night before. As she passed Mark at the bottom, she glared at him with pure venom, but Mark did not back away. He looked at her with complete calm, watching as the police marched her out the front doors and pushed her into the back of a black patrol car.