Inside the quiet home office, Mark stood behind the oak desk, his arms wrapped around his shivering son wrapped in a dry yellow towel. Hannah tapped the screen of her tablet, pulling up the recorded video feed from the patio camera.
Mark: Play it, Hannah.
On the high-definition screen, the video showed Toby standing near the pool edge. Eleanor approached him from behind, her right hand reaching out and giving his lower back a clear, deliberate shove into the water.
Mark: God in heaven... she really pushed him.
Hannah: Keep watching, Mark. Watch what happens three minutes before I ran out.
The video rewound slightly. On the screen, Eleanor was seen pulling her phone out of her robe pocket, dialing a number, and putting it on speakerphone while standing near the pool table.
Audio from Video - Eleanor: Is the probate transfer ready for my signature, Arthur?
Audio from Video - Arthur: Yes, Mrs. Sterling. But remember, the trust agreement states that if Mark's legal heir passes away or is proven medically incapacitated before his eighth birthday, the full sixty-million-dollar principal reverts directly back to you.
Audio from Video - Eleanor: Excellent. The boy turns eight next month. We need this taken care of before then.
Mark felt all the blood drain out of his face, his body going stiff as a board as he stared at the tablet screen.
Mark: She... she didn't just push him to teach him a lesson...
Hannah: She wanted him incapacitated or dead before his eighth birthday so she could take the sixty-million-dollar trust fund your father left him.
Mark: Arthur... that's my family's senior estate lawyer. He was in on this with her!
Hannah: She was planning this for months, Mark. She knew Toby couldn't swim well. She waited for a day when she thought I was running errands in town.
Toby: Daddy... is Grandma Eleanor going to hurt us again?
Mark dropped to his knees in front of his son, taking Toby's small hands into his own trembling palms, tears filling his eyes.
Mark: No, buddy. Never again. I swear to you on my life, no one is ever going to hurt you in this house again.
Hannah: Mark, we need to call the police right now. This isn't just family drama anymore. This is attempted murder for an inheritance.
Mark: Call Detective Vance at the Dallas Police Department. Tell him I have federal financial fraud and attempted murder evidence ready for his desk.
Hannah: What about Eleanor? She's probably trying to drive off right now.
Mark: The front security gate is locked from my phone. She isn't leaving this driveway until the police arrive in handcuffs.