The summer afternoon was unusually quiet at the grand estate in suburban Atlanta.
Elena sat near the outdoor pool, holding the delicate silver locket her late mother had given her.
Victoria: You should not be playing with such valuable things, child.
Victoria stepped onto the stone patio wearing an elegant dark blue silk dress.
Elena: My mother said I should keep this close forever.
Victoria glared down at the young girl with cold disdain in her eyes.
Victoria: Your mother is gone, and I manage this household now.
She reached down and snatched the silver chain directly from Elena's hands.
Elena: Please give it back to me!
Victoria turned toward the water and casually tossed the locket into the deep pool.
The silver metal sank quickly to the tiled bottom of the clear pool.
Victoria: If you want it so badly, go ask someone else to get it.
Elena began to cry as she watched her prized possession disappear beneath the surface.
Victoria sat down on a lounge chair and picked up her iced tea.
She smiled coldly as if nothing improper had taken place at all.
Heavy footsteps echoed across the stone tiles from the open patio doors.
Mark hurried outside after hearing the emotional disturbance from his home office upstairs.
Mark: What is going on out here right now?
He looked at his weeping daughter and then at Victoria resting comfortably nearby.
Victoria: Nothing serious is happening, Mark.
Elena: She threw mommy's locket into the deep water!
Mark's face darkened as he realized what had transpired on the patio.