Toby: "FATHER, SHE PUSHED ME DOWN THE STAIRS!"
Richard stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes darting from his sobbing son on the marble floor up to his new wife on the staircase. His face twisted instantly into an expression of blinding, intense rage. Victoria's malicious smile melted away, replaced by sudden, terror-filled shock as she threw her hand up toward her mouth.
Victoria: "Richard! That's a complete lie! The boy tripped on his own shoelaces!"
Toby: "I didn't trip! She shoved me because I wouldn't leave!"
Hannah: "Mr. Vance, I saw her hand make contact with his back! She shoved him with full force!"
Victoria: "Shut up, you useless maid! You have no right to speak to my husband!"
Richard: "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT AND NEVER RETURN!"
Victoria: "Richard, darling, listen to me! I would never hurt your son!"
Victoria clutched her face and flinched backward in terror as Richard marched toward the stairs, his boots clicking hard against the stone. The two private security officers immediately stepped up to block the base of the staircase, their posture firm and unyielding.
Richard: "Security, hold her right there. Nobody leaves this foyer."
Security Officer: "Yes, Mr. Vance."
Victoria: "Richard! Are you seriously taking the word of a lying child and a cheap servant over your own wife?!"
Richard: "Toby has never lied to me in his entire life, Victoria. But you have done nothing but manipulate this household since the day we married."
Richard dropped to his knees beside Hannah and Toby, gently lifting the boy into his arms. Toby buried his face into his father's suit jacket, his small frame shaking with heavy sobs.
Richard: "Toby, look at me. Are you okay, son?"
Toby: "My wrist hurts, Dad. She said she was going to send me away to boarding school so she could have the mansion."
Hannah: "She has been threatening him for weeks, sir. Every time you left for the downtown office, she told Toby he didn't belong here."
Richard: "Is this true, Victoria?"
Victoria: "He is a spoiled brat who needs discipline! He disrespects me in my own home!"
Richard: "This is NOT your home! This house belongs to my son's trust fund, left to him by his late mother!"
Victoria stood on the stairs, her green sequin dress catching the bright afternoon light, but her hands were shaking wildly. She clutched her pearl necklace, her eyes darting toward the heavy double entrance doors as if searching for an escape route.
Victoria: "I am your lawful wife! You can't just throw me out on the street!"
Richard: "Watch me."
Richard carefully handed Toby over to Hannah, standing up to his full height as he pulled a black smartphone from his inner pocket. Victoria gasped, clutching her face as she backed up another step against the banister.
Victoria: "Who... who are you calling?"
Richard: "I'm calling the police and my head of security to pull the high-definition footage from the staircase camera."
Victoria's eyes bulged with pure horror. All the remaining color drained from her face as she realized the true nightmare she had walked into.