Mark stood up slowly, keeping Lily safely behind his tall frame.
He turned his head toward the massive flat-screen monitor mounted high on the wall.
The system was connected directly to the home's advanced security camera setup.
It recorded high-definition audio and video from every single public room 24/7.
Victoria followed his gaze upward, and her confident expression suddenly faltered slightly.
Mark: You forgot one very important detail about this house, Victoria.
Victoria: What are you talking about, Mark?
Mark: I installed full coverage security hardware after my late wife passed away.
Mark: Every inch of this foyer is saved to a cloud server every minute.
Victoria's hands began to shake as she pressed against the soft couch cushions.
Victoria: Mark, there is no need to make a massive dramatic scene out of this.
Victoria: We can handle this privately in our master bedroom right now.
Mark: No, we are going to look at it right here in front of everyone.
Mark grabbed the smart remote from the wooden side table near the entryway.
He pressed three buttons to access the main playback menu on the large display.
The screen flickered for a quick second before displaying the live camera recording.
The time stamp clearly showed ten minutes before Mark had walked through the front door.
The video played clearly, showing Victoria walking alone into the wide empty foyer.
She was holding a dark folder filled with financial documents and estate papers.
She opened the wooden antique chest herself using a small key from her purse.
She removed several legal pages and tucked them quickly inside her gold handbag.
Then she deliberately knocked the box onto the floor to create a loud noise.
When little Lily ran out to check the sound, Victoria started screaming at her.
The entire room fell dead silent as the video feed played out completely.