Sarah: I am not packing anything, Mark! If you want me out, you'll have to pay me a cash settlement first!
Mark: Settlement?! You will not get a single penny from me or my family estate!
Sarah: Check our prenuptial agreement, Mark! If you terminate this marriage within the first year without proof of felony conduct, you owe me two hundred thousand dollars!
Mark: You think keeping a child locked in a room isn't felony conduct?!
Sarah: You have no proof! There are no marks on her skin, and there are no cameras in this hallway!
Mark: Do you really think I'm that stupid, Sarah?
Sarah: What is that supposed to mean?!
Mark: Look directly above the door frame in the hallway.
Sarah turned her head slowly, her eyes tracking up toward the white wooden trim above the dark room door. Nestled inside a tiny smoke detector casing was a small red light blinking silently every few seconds.
Sarah: Is that... a nanny cam?!
Mark: I installed full smart home security cameras four weeks ago when Lily started looking pale and tired every evening after I got home from work.
Sarah: You... you were spying on me?!
Mark: I trusted my instincts as a father. Every single minute of you locking her in that room, turning the brass key, and ignoring her cries has been recorded directly to a secure cloud server.
Sarah: Mark... please... let's talk about this rationally! I was overwhelmed with household duties!
Mark: Rationally?! You just told me I had no proof two seconds ago!
Sarah: I was stressed, Mark! Stepparenting is extremely difficult! I didn't know how to handle her!
Mark: If you couldn't handle being a stepmother, you should have talked to me like an adult, not tortured my child!
Sarah: It wasn't torture! I just needed peace and quiet to manage the house!
Mark: You wanted her out of the way so you could spend my money and live like a queen while I worked fourteen-hour days!
Lily: Daddy, is Sarah going away now?
Mark: Yes, Lily. Sarah is leaving, and she is never coming back.
Sarah: Mark, if you upload those video files to the police, my entire teaching career will be completely ruined!
Mark: You're a substitute teacher?! Oh God... you work around children every day?!
Sarah: Please, Mark! I'm begging you! Don't destroy my life over a lapse in judgment!
Mark: A lapse in judgment is forgetting to buy milk, Sarah! What you did to my daughter is systemic cruelty!
Sarah: I will sign a full waiver of the prenuptial agreement! I will leave right now and never ask for alimony or divorce settlement funds!
Mark: You're right, you won't ask for a settlement. Because you'll be too busy talking to a criminal defense attorney.
Mark pulled his smartphone out of his pocket, tapped the screen three times, and raised the speaker to his ear while holding Lily firmly against his side.