Lily: Daddy, don't let her take me! Don't let her touch me again!
David: Shh, baby girl, I've got you. I've got you. Nobody is ever going to hurt you again.
I held Lily close to my suit jacket, feeling her tiny body shaking uncontrollably against my chest. Her warm tears soaked through my shirt as I looked down at her small arms, horrified by the fresh red marks and bruises lining her delicate skin.
David: Look at what you did to her, Victoria! Look at her skin! What kind of monster puts a leash on a toddler?!
Victoria: You're overreacting, David. It was just a harmless training tool. She wouldn't stop running near the glass doors.
David: She has bruises all over her arms! She's three years old!
Victoria: Children get scrapes when they throw tantrums on marble. She brought this on herself by throwing a fit.
David: She didn't bring anything on herself! You abused her!
Victoria stood on the polished white floor, adjusting her sleeveless black dress. For a brief second, the cold mask on her face cracked, and her eyes welled up with tears. She took a step forward, putting her hands together in a desperate gesture.
Victoria: David, please... listen to me. I was just trying to keep her safe while you were at the office.
David: Safe?! You put a collar on my daughter and dragged her across the floor like an animal!
Victoria: I'm here... you're safe now, both of you. Please, don't look at me like that.
David: Do not step any closer to us, Victoria. I swear to God, if you take one more step, I will destroy you.
Victoria: David, I love you! I love this family! I was just trying to raise her to be disciplined for the family name!
David: You don't love anyone! You're a sick, twisted woman who manipulated your way into my life!
I pulled out my cell phone with a shaking hand, pressing the emergency override code for our home security network. The wall-mounted smart security tablet near the archway immediately lit up with a soft chime, showing live surveillance footage of the hallway in high definition.
Victoria: David... what are you doing with the security tablet?
David: I'm checking the cloud backups from the past week.
Victoria: The hallway cameras are turned off! I disabled them three days ago for privacy!
David: You disabled the local feed, Victoria. But my private estate security team keeps an encrypted cloud server running twenty-four hours a day.
Victoria: What... what are you saying?
David: I'm saying every single second of what you did to my daughter was recorded in 4K resolution.
Victoria's face turned ghost-white as she stared at the glowing blue light on the wall monitor. The screen beeped as the automated system completed its diagnostic scan, highlighting three separate video files titled 'Discipline Event - Hallway North'.
David: Every tear. Every scrape. Every time you pulled that chain. It's all right here on this screen.
Victoria: David, wait! Delete those files! We can talk about this! We can go to counseling!
David: It's too late for talking, Victoria. The police are already on their way.