Captain David Vance walked down the polished hallway of his childhood mansion.
The white marble floors reflected the bright afternoon sunlight coming through the high windows.
He had spent two long years serving his country overseas in the military.
Every night away from home, he thought about his sweet wife Elena.
He expected her to run into his arms the second he stepped through the front door.
Instead, the large quiet house felt completely empty and strange.
He noticed that the heavy wooden door to the master bedroom was locked tight from the outside.
David: Elena, are you in there?
There was no answer at first, only the soft sound of faint crying from inside.
David reached for his keys and unlocked the brass deadbolt with a loud click.
He opened the door slowly and stepped into the sunlit bedroom.
Elena was sitting on the edge of the large bed, shivering despite the warmth.
Her face was pale, and her eyes were red from hours of crying.
David: Elena... Look at me.
She gasped in surprise and looked up, clutching a thin white blanket around her shoulders.
Elena: David! Oh God, you are really home.
David dropped his heavy duffel bag onto the floor and rushed to her side.
He knelt on the cold floor right beside the bed.
David: Who did this to you?
Elena: I thought you were never coming back to save me.
David gently wrapped his warm hands around her trembling fingers.
David: Tell me what happened in this house while I was away.
Elena: They took my phone and locked me in this room for three days.
David felt a surge of deep anger burning inside his chest.
Elena: Your stepmother Victoria and her family lawyer Ricardo came here yesterday.
David: What did they want from you?
Elena pointed with a shaking hand toward the nightstand.
Legal papers with official red seals were scattered across the wooden table.
Elena: They forced me to sign away the family trust fund and the house deed.
David looked at the legal papers in complete shock.
David: That trust fund belonged to my late father and was meant for us.
Elena: Ricardo threatened to destroy my family business if I did not sign.
A shadow fell across the bedroom doorway as two people walked closer.
Victoria Vance stood there in an expensive black dress with a glittering pearl necklace.
Beside her stood Ricardo, her sharp lawyer, dressed in a dark blue suit.
Victoria: Welcome home, David.
David: What have you done to my wife, Victoria?
Victoria smiled coldly and crossed her arms across her chest.
Victoria: I simply took back what belongs to this family's estate.
Ricardo: If you touch those documents or interfere, Captain, you will regret coming back alive.
David stood up slowly, tall and proud in his dress uniform pants and white shirt.
He stood directly in front of the American flag hanging on his bedroom wall.
David: You declared war on the wrong man.