The heavy front doors of the mansion creaked open as two uniformed Dallas police officers rushed into the foyer, followed closely by two paramedics carrying red trauma kits.
Officer Ramirez: Dispatch reported a child injury and domestic dispute at this address. Who called 911?
Mark: I did, Officer. I'm Mark Vance, the owner of this estate.
Officer Ramirez: Sir, where is the injured child?
Mark: She's in the parlor with our housemaid. Please, have your paramedics examine her arm immediately.
Paramedic Lisa dropped to her knees beside Maya in the parlor, gently opening her medical kit.
Paramedic Lisa: Hi sweetheart, my name is Lisa. Can you show me where it hurts?
Maya: Right here on my arm... It stings really bad.
Paramedic Lisa: Oh boy, that's a second-degree burn mark. The skin is already starting to blister.
Officer Ramirez: How did this happen, Mr. Vance?
Mark: My wife, Chloe Vance, held a lit butane lighter against my daughter's arm to threaten her.
Chloe: That is an absolute lie, Officer! Don't listen to him!
Chloe marched down the grand staircase in her beige silk robe, tears streaming down her face in a frantic attempt to look like the victim.
Chloe: Officer, my husband is having a psychotic breakdown! He attacked me in the bathroom!
Chloe: Look at my arm! He shoved me onto the marble floor because I confronted him about his drinking problem!
Officer Ramirez: Ma'am, please stay where you are and lower your voice.
Chloe: The maid and his daughter are lying because he paid them to fabricate a story against me!
Chloe: I was taking a bath when the little girl came in and started playing with a lighter from my purse!
Chloe: I tried to save her, and she accidentally got burned during the struggle!
Officer Ramirez: Is that true, Miss?
Sarah: Absolutely not, Officer! I was standing in the doorway!
Sarah: Mrs. Vance grabbed Maya by her hair, pulled out her gold lighter, and held the flame directly against her forearm!
Sarah: She told Maya that if she didn't get her father to grant her trustee access to the trust fund, she would burn her again!
Chloe: She's making it up! She's a low-paid servant trying to extort money from our family!
Mark: Officer Ramirez, you don't need to guess who is telling the truth.
Officer Ramirez: Why is that, Mr. Vance?
Mark: Because I have full camera footage of the entire incident from the bathroom security system.
Mark pulled out his smartphone, tapped the security application, and held the screen right in front of Officer Ramirez.
The video played clearly on the screen. It showed Chloe grabbing Maya's small arm, pulling out the lighter, clicking the flame, and holding it steady against the child's skin while Maya screamed in agony.
It also showed Sarah running in to intervene, and Chloe shouting threats before dropping the lighter as Mark slammed through the doors.
Officer Ramirez: Well, that settles that.
Chloe: Wait! That video is edited! It's a deepfake! He manipulated it with software!
Officer Ramirez: Ma'am, turn around and place your hands behind your back.
Chloe: You can't arrest me! Do you know who my father is?! I have rights!
Officer Ramirez: You have the right to remain silent, Mrs. Vance. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Metal handcuffs clicked tightly around Chloe's wrists as she began to scream and kick frantically in the center of the foyer.
Chloe: Mark! Tell them to stop! You can't let them take me to jail in a bathrobe!
Mark: You should have thought about that before you put a flame to my daughter's skin.
The officers pulled Chloe toward the front doors as she shrieked obscenities, leaving Mark to wrap his arms tightly around Maya in the center of the quiet estate.