Victoria: Give that back to me! That’s my personal property!
Richard: Personal property? Why were you carrying an active recording device while dragging my son?
Victoria: It’s nothing! It’s just an old dictaphone for my shopping lists!
Nora: She’s lying, Mr. Vance! She’s been talking into it all morning whenever you weren't in the room!
Victoria: Shut your mouth, Nora! You're fired! Get out of my house!
Richard: She doesn't take orders from a criminal. Nora, stay right where you are.
Richard pressed the small play button on the side of the sleek black device, holding it up near his ear as the speaker buzzed to life.
Recorder Voice: "Once the kid is out of the picture, the whole trust fund reverts to Richard... and if Richard suffers an unexpected accident, the entire Vance estate comes straight to me..."
The words echoed clearly off the marble walls, making the air in the grand foyer freeze instantly.
Richard: You planned to get rid of my son... and then me?
Victoria: That... that’s not my voice! Someone modified that audio!
Richard: It is your voice, Victoria. You spoke those words into this microphone!
Victoria: Richard, listen to me! I love you! I was just stressed about the prenup!
Richard: You married me for my money, and now you were setting up a trap to kill my child for his inheritance!
Victoria: No! It’s a setup! The maid put that in my coat!
Nora: I didn't touch your coat, Mrs. Vance. You dropped it right when you grabbed Toby by his arm!
Richard: Nora has been protecting my family while you were plotting to destroy it!
Victoria: You’re taking the word of a poor servant over your own wife?!
Richard: This servant has more honor in her little finger than you have in your entire body!
Richard stepped forward, his eyes burning with intense coldness as he towered over her on the steps.
Richard: Where is the rest of the poison you bought last week?
Victoria: Poison?! What are you talking about?! You've gone insane!
Richard: Don't play dumb with me! I checked the medicine cabinet in the master bathroom this morning. The bottle of digitalis is missing!
Victoria: I don't know anything about digitalis!
Richard: You were putting it in Toby’s milk, weren't you?! That’s why he’s been sick for the last three days!
Nora: Oh my God... Mr. Vance, the doctor said Toby had a sudden stomach bug, but he wouldn't stop throwing up after breakfast!
Richard: She was poisoning my son in small doses so it would look like a natural illness!
Victoria: You can't prove any of this! You have no proof!
Richard: The recording in my hand is all the proof the police need.
Victoria: Richard, please! Don't call the cops! Think of our reputation in the city!
Richard: The only thing I care about is making sure you rot in a cell for the rest of your life.
He pulled his cell phone from his coat pocket, tapping the screen with rapid, precise thumb movements.
Richard: Police department? I need emergency units at the Vance mansion immediately. I have a captive who just attempted murder on my toddler.
Victoria: No! Stop! Let me get my coat!
Victoria tried to dash past him toward the front doors, but Richard grabbed her silk sleeve and yanked her back onto the landing.
Richard: You’re not going anywhere.
Victoria: Let go of me, you brute! Nora, help me!
Nora: You hurt a defenseless baby. I wouldn't lift a finger to save you.
Toby: Daddy... is the bad lady leaving?
Richard: Yes, Toby. The bad lady is going away forever.
Victoria sobbed, sinking down onto the cold step as the low wail of distant police sirens began to echo down the long, gated drive.