Victoria: You... you broke my ribs! I am calling the police!
Carter: Go ahead and call them, Victoria. Tell the officers why there are red handprints on two seven-year-old girls.
Lily: Daddy, my face hurts so much...
Carter turned away from the gasping woman on the floor and dropped back down to his knees beside his daughters. He wrapped his suit jacket around both of them, pulling them tight against his chest.
Carter: Shh, Daddy's here. Nobody will ever touch you again. I promise you.
Mia: She locked our bedroom door yesterday, Daddy. She wouldn't let us eat dinner until we cleaned the west wing bathrooms.
Carter: Yesterday? You've been in these uniforms since yesterday?!
Lily: Yes... She said if we told you when you got home, she would send us to a boarding school in Alaska.
Carter's jaw clenched so hard his teeth throbbed. He looked over his shoulder at Victoria, who was struggling to push herself up onto her elbows against the kitchen island.
Carter: You kept my children locked up and starving in their own home?
Victoria: They... they needed to be disciplined, Carter! You spoil them because your late wife died!
Carter: Do not speak my late wife's name with those filthy lips!
Victoria: I am the mistress of this estate now! I have a signed prenuptial agreement!
Carter: That agreement isn't worth the paper it's printed on, Victoria.
The heavy double doors of the kitchen opened, and Mr. Henderson, the chief estate butler, walked in with a silver tray. He froze in horror, his eyes darting from Victoria on the floor to the young girls in oversized maid uniforms.
Henderson: Mr. Sterling! Dear Lord... what happened in here?
Carter: Henderson, why are my daughters wearing maid uniforms?
Henderson: Sir... Miss Victoria told the entire staff yesterday morning that you had ordered a new household discipline program. She said if any of us intervened, we would be fired immediately and blacklisted from the agency!
Victoria: Henderson, keep your mouth shut if you want to keep your job!
Carter: Henderson works for the Sterling Trust, Victoria. Not for you.
Henderson: I have the security footage saved on my personal phone, Mr. Sterling. I recorded Miss Victoria forcing the young ladies into those clothes yesterday at eight AM.
Victoria's face turned completely white. She swallowed hard, her eyes darting toward the hallway door.
Victoria: Henderson... you traitor!
Carter: Hand me your phone, Henderson. And call the city police chief directly on my private line.
Henderson: Right away, Mr. Sterling.
Henderson pulled a sleek smartphone from his jacket, handing it to Carter before hurrying toward the hallway landline. Carter tapped the video file on the screen. The footage played in high definition, showing Victoria yelling at the crying girls, tossing the white maid dresses at their feet, and slapping Mia when she refused to put them on.
Carter: You beat my daughter yesterday morning too.
Victoria: Carter... please... listen to me! I lost my temper!
Carter: You didn't lose your temper, Victoria. You executed a calculated campaign of abuse against two motherless children.