Victoria: "Marcus, wait! You don't need to check the security camera right now! We need to get Toby inside first!"
Marcus: "Toby is warm in my arms, Victoria. Standing out here for two minutes while I pull up the video feed isn't going to hurt him."
Elena: "Thank you, Mr. Vance! Thank God for those cameras!"
Victoria: "Marcus, this is absurd! You're treating me like a suspect in my own backyard!"
Marcus: "If you have nothing to hide, Victoria, then you shouldn't be sweating in a seventy-degree weather."
Marcus pulled his smartphone from his pocket with his free hand. His thumb quickly tapped the screen, unlocking the home automation app that controlled the estate security cameras. An electronic beep echoed quietly as the video stream buffered on the screen.
Victoria: "Marcus, listen to me... maybe... maybe the stroller wheel was already loose! Maybe I accidentally bumped into it while walking past!"
Marcus: "You just said you were bringing me iced tea from inside. Now you're saying you bumped into the stroller?"
Victoria: "I... I got confused! I was traumatized by seeing the baby in the pool!"
Elena: "Look at the video, Mr. Vance. Please just press play on the twelve-ten PM timestamp."
Marcus pressed play on the recorded video file. The 4K screen displayed a crystal-clear wide angle of the poolside area from three minutes prior. On the screen, Elena was seen standing ten feet away with her back turned, carefully wiping down the glass outdoor dining table.
Marcus: "There's Elena cleaning the table..."
Victoria: "Marcus, please, don't do this..."
On the screen, Victoria stepped out from behind the white pillars of the patio, wearing her bright green sequin dress. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Elena wasn't looking, then walked directly up to the baby stroller parked on the gentle incline.
Marcus: "You walked straight up to Toby's stroller..."
Victoria: "I was going to check on him!"
The video clearly showed Victoria reaching down, violently disengaging the wheel brake with her foot, and giving the handles a deliberate, hard shove toward the swimming pool. The stroller accelerated down the slope and plunged headfirst into the deep water.
Marcus: "You... you pushed my six-month-old son into the pool!"
Victoria: "No! The video is glitched! That's an AI edit!"
Marcus: "AN AI EDIT?! On my closed-circuit local server?!"
Marcus's face twisted into an expression of extreme, gritting rage. The video continued to play, showing Elena turning around at the sound of the splash, immediately dropping her cleaning towel, and leaping into the pool without a second of hesitation to save the baby.
Marcus: "Elena didn't hesitate for one second. She jumped right in while you stood on the patio and watched!"
Victoria: "Marcus, I panicked! I don't know how to swim!"
Elena: "You took swimming lessons every Tuesday morning at the Dallas Country Club, Mrs. Victoria!"
Marcus: "YOU CAN SWIM PERFECTLY WELL!"
Victoria spun around on her high heels, turning to flee toward the open glass doors of the luxury mansion. But before she could take three steps across the green lawn, two security guards in black uniforms blocked the doorway, their arms folded tightly across their chests.