Victoria: Ah!
Victoria stumbled backward against the wooden balcony railing at the base of the stairs, her hands flying to her face as she clutched her red, stinging cheek in utter shock.
Victoria: You hit me?! Arthur, you hit me in front of the help?!
Arthur: You monster! You put your hands on my child?!
Victoria: I didn't! She's making it up! Arthur, listen to reason—
Arthur grabbed her by the shoulder and slapped her repeatedly across the face in furious rage, the sharp impacts cutting off her excuses as she cried out in pain.
Arthur: Shut up! Shut your mouth!
Victoria: Stop! Arthur, please! Stop!
Arthur: Get out of my house!
Arthur pointed violently toward the open front entrance, his entire body trembling with rage as Elena held the sobbing toddler tightly in the background, keeping her face shielded.
Victoria: You can't throw me out! I am your wife! This estate is half mine under our marriage contract!
Arthur: You think a marriage contract protects a murderer?! You tried to throw my daughter off a twenty-foot balcony!
Victoria: You have no proof! It's your precious little maid's word against mine! No court in this country will convict me based on the testimony of a house servant!
Elena: She's right, Mr. Vance... she made sure nobody else was in the hallway. She thought I was in the kitchen.
Victoria: See?! You have nothing! You strike me again, Arthur, and I will call my divorce lawyer and take every single asset you own! The mansion, the stocks, the family trust—everything!
Arthur stared at her, his breathing heavy as he slowly lowered his arm. A cold, bitter smile crossed his face as he reached into his suit jacket.
Arthur: You really think I'm an idiot, don't you, Victoria?
Victoria: What are you doing?
Arthur pulled out a sleek black smartphone and unlocked the screen, tapping the glass a few times before holding it up toward her face.
Arthur: Do you know why I came back through those doors so suddenly today?
Victoria: You... you said you forgot your briefcase...
Arthur: I didn't forget anything. I got a motion notification on my phone the second you walked onto the second-floor balcony with Lily.
Victoria stared at the screen, her eyes widening in sheer horror as the bright display showed a high-definition video playing in real time.
Arthur: I installed 4K security cameras inside the molding last month after I caught you screaming at Lily in the nursery. Look at the screen, Victoria. Look at it!
Victoria: No... no, turn that off!
Arthur: The camera caught every second. It caught you dragging her by her arm. It caught you saying she was taking your trust fund. And it caught you lifting her over the marble railing and dropping her into the air!
Elena gasped from the floor, looking up at Arthur with tears of relief in her eyes.
Elena: You have it on video?
Arthur: Every single frame, Elena. And it caught you diving across the marble to catch my baby before she hit the ground. You saved my daughter's life today.
Victoria fell to her knees on the cold marble floor, her polished facade completely shattering as she began to panic, reaching out to grab Arthur's pants leg.
Victoria: Arthur, please! I was sick! I wasn't thinking straight! The stress of the wedding and the prenup... I lost my mind for a second!
Arthur: Don't touch me!
Arthur kicked his leg free, stepping back from her in absolute disgust as she wept on the stone floor.
Arthur: You didn't lose your mind. You showed me exactly who you are. A cold-blooded killer who wanted a child out of the way for money.