Carter: Repeat what you just said to me, Victoria.
Victoria: I said your spoiled little brats are thieves, Carter. I caught them sneaking around my master dressing room ten minutes ago.
Mia: That's a lie, Daddy! She called us into her room and told us we didn't belong in this mansion anymore!
Lily: She said our real mother was dead and that we had to work as maids if we wanted to stay in the house!
Victoria: Keep quiet, you little rats!
Carter: Do not speak to my daughters like that in my presence!
Victoria smoothed down the front of her red silk dress, taking a slow step toward Carter with her chin held high.
Victoria: Carter, look at reason. You've been shielding these children from reality. I am going to be your wife next month, and I will not allow two undisciplined children to ruin our social standing.
Carter: You put maid uniforms on my biological heirs?
Victoria: They need to learn humility! They broke a three-thousand-dollar crystal vase near the foyer!
Lily: We didn't break anything, Daddy! She knocked it over herself and blamed us!
Victoria: See? They're liars on top of being thieves!
Carter: What did they allegedly steal from you, Victoria?
Victoria: My mother's heirloom diamond brooch! The five-hundred-thousand-dollar pin!
Mia: We didn't take your pin! You hid it in your own purse!
Victoria raised her hand threateningly, stepping toward Mia with her eyes flashing in anger.
Victoria: Shut your mouth before I slap you again!
Before Victoria's arm could move an inch, Carter closed the distance between them. Overcome with pure rage, he raised his palm and forcefully slapped Victoria straight across the face.
The heavy impact crack echoed off the hard white walls like a gunshot. Victoria gasped loudly, her head snapping sideways as her manicured hand flew to her burning cheek.
Victoria: Carter! You... you hit me?!
Carter: You don't know the half of it.
Without taking a single breath, Carter executed a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree roundhouse spin on the marble tile. His right leg whipped through the air with military precision, driving a crushing kick directly into Victoria's stomach.
A painful female groan ripped from Victoria's throat as the thunderous blow knocked the wind clean out of her lungs. Her eyes rolled back in shock as her feet left the ground.
She flew backward three feet through the air, crashing heavily onto the bright white marble floor beside the kitchen island.
Victoria: Argh! My stomach... oh God!
Victoria curled into a ball on the cold tiles, clutching her abdomen in utter agony while gasping desperately for air. Her red silk dress lay crumpled around her legs, her manicured nails digging into the hard floor.
Carter stepped over her gasping frame, towering over her like a dark shadow. He pointed his finger down at her face, his voice ringing through the luxury kitchen with furious, loud authority.
Carter: Don't you ever put your hands on them again! Get out of my house!