David dropped his black leather briefcase onto the floor near the entrance coat rack.
He looked at Sarah on her knees surrounded by legal papers and glass fragments.
Victoria rushed down the stairs while sobbing into her expensive lace handkerchief.
Victoria: David, thank goodness you arrived home early from the office!
Sarah: Mr. Miller, please let me explain what just took place!
Victoria: She threw your late wife's precious heirlooms over the railing on purpose!
David looked down at the paper files marked with the official family trust seal.
His face turned pale as he recognized his daughter's inheritance papers.
David: Sarah, why are Clara's custody and trust documents on the floor?
Sarah: Mrs. Miller grabbed the box from my hands while I was organizing the cabinet.
Victoria: That is a complete lie from a careless maid who wants to cover her tracks!
Victoria held her arm as if she had been shoved during a fight.
David walked past Victoria and knelt beside Sarah on the polished marble floor.
He picked up a page that had a coffee stain near the lower edge.
David: This document guarantees Clara's estate fund until she turns twenty-one years old.
Victoria: She was trying to destroy it because she knows I am your wife now!
Sarah shook her head while wiping tears off her flushed cheeks.
Sarah: I have cared for Clara since she was three weeks old, sir.
Sarah: I would never do anything to harm her future or her mother's memory.
David looked closely at the lock mechanism on the velvet box.
The steel latch had been forced open from the side rather than snapped from a fall.
He remembered that Victoria had asked about the family trust fund just last night.
She had complained that too much wealth was set aside for baby Clara.
Victoria wanted David to change his will and make her the main beneficiary.
David stood up slowly and adjusted the cuffs of his dark jacket.
David: Victoria, where were you standing when the box went over the railing?
Victoria: I was standing far away near the linen closet when she snapped!
Sarah reached into her uniform pocket and pulled out a small key chain.
Sarah: You gave me the safe key this morning, Mr. Miller.
Sarah: Mrs. Miller demanded I open the safe while you were away at work.
Victoria's eyes narrowed as she glared down at the young nanny.
Victoria: Do not listen to this girl who is lying to save her job!
David looked at his wife's sharp golden fingernails and cold expression.
He began to realize that something was very wrong with Victoria's story.