The morning light streamed through the towering arched windows of the Sterling estate.
Mark adjusted his jacket as he stepped out of his black SUV parked in the driveway.
He had spent three restless nights at a downtown hotel after a bitter argument with Victoria.
She was his late brother's wife who had managed to stay in the family home.
Mark walked up the wide stone steps while holding his breath in heavy silence.
He placed his key into the front door lock and turned it very slowly.
The heavy oak door swung open without making a single sound on the carpet.
Inside the grand foyer, the air felt cold and strangely tense.
Mark heard raised voices coming from the formal living room down the hallway.
He stepped quietly across the polished hardwood floor to hear what was happening.
Victoria: Stop crying this instant or I will lock this door!
Victoria stood over the small playpen in her shimmering gold silk pajamas.
Her face was twisted with anger as she shoved the wooden rail roughly.
The sudden movement jostled the tiny crib, making the small infant wail loudly.
Little Leo reached his small hands up into the air in deep distress.
Elena: Please ma'am, he is just a helpless baby who needs his bottle!
The maid stood near the grand piano with her hands pressed against her mouth.
She looked completely terrified as Victoria turned around with a sharp look.
Victoria: I do not care what he needs right now!
Victoria picked up a heavy silver baby rattle from the small side table.
She tossed it clear across the room where it smashed against the marble fireplace.
The loud crash made the maid gasp in complete shock and horror.
Mark felt a wave of cold fury rush straight through his entire chest.
He pushed the double doors wide open and stepped directly into the room.
Mark: Get away from my nephew right now!
Victoria spun around quickly, her silk pajamas rustling against the velvet sofa cushions.
Her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms tightly across her chest.
Victoria: You have no right to barge into my house like this!
Mark ignored her entirely and rushed straight over to the wooden playpen.
He scooped little Leo gently into his arms and held him tight against his chest.
The baby's crying slowly softened into small hitches as Mark patted his back.
Mark: You will never lay a hand near this child ever again.
Victoria: That child does not belong in this family line!
Elena: Sir, she has been treating him like this since yesterday morning.
Victoria glared at the maid with eyes full of pure dark rage.
Victoria: You are fired as of this exact second, Elena!
Mark: She works for the estate trust, not for you, Victoria.
Mark looked down at the infant whose eyes were swollen from crying.
He could not believe how cruel his brother's widow had become over money.
The trust fund left by his brother was meant solely for Leo's future.
Victoria had tried every legal trick to gain control of those fund accounts.
Victoria: My late husband made a terrible mistake in his final will!
Mark: My brother knew exactly what kind of person you really were.
Victoria took two steps toward Mark with her fists clenched very tightly.
Victoria: Don't let a dead man's lies fool you into playing hero!
Mark held the infant securely with his left arm while standing tall.
He pointed a firm finger right into Victoria's angry face.
Mark: Shut up, you coldhearted monster!
Victoria gasped sharply at his words and backed up against the piano keys.
A sour musical note rang out through the large room as she hit them.
Mark: Did you really think nobody was watching what happened in here?
Victoria blinked fast as her face suddenly lost all its bright red color.
Mark turned his eyes upward toward the high corner of the tall ceiling.
A sleek black dome camera sat mounted directly above the grand piano fixture.
Its small indicator light was glowing a bright and steady shade of green.
Victoria looked up at the lens and swallowed hard in sudden panic.