Mark carried little Leo inside the grand air-conditioned living room while holding the baby very close to him.
Victoria followed quickly behind them while dabbing fake tears from her painted cheeks with a paper tissue.
Elena stood shivering on the expensive hardwood floor near the tall front entrance doors of the mansion.
Water dripped steadily from her navy uniform onto the polished floor while she waited for Mark to speak.
Mark: Explain to me how the stroller ended up inside the deep pool.
Victoria: The maid was clumsy and bumped into the handles while walking past!
Elena: I was standing near the patio door when she shoved it hard!
Victoria: Mark, you know she has always been jealous of my place in this home.
Mark walked over to his large wooden desk and grabbed his small black smartphone with cold heavy fingers.
He opened the security application to view the live video feeds from the outer backyard security cameras.
Elena stepped closer to the desk so she could see the glowing glass screen of the mobile phone.
The screen showed a dark blank box with an error message flashing red letters across the dark glass.
Mark: The backyard cameras have been completely offline since early this afternoon.
Victoria: See, she knows the cameras were off and is lying to save her job!
Elena: Someone must have turned the power switch off on purpose before walking outside!
Victoria folded her arms neatly across her expensive green dress with a smug little smile on her face.
Mark looked back and forth between his weeping wife and the dripping maid standing on his floor.
He felt completely torn between the words of his new bride and his long-time trusted family worker.
Mark: I cannot prove anything tonight without the camera footage working properly.
Victoria: Fire her immediately before she puts our sweet baby in danger again!
Elena: Please do not trust this dangerous woman with your innocent young child!
Mark: Elena, you need to pack your personal belongings and leave my home tonight.
Elena felt her heart break into a thousand small pieces as she heard the painful command from Mark.
She had cared for little Leo like her own child ever since his biological mother passed away last year.
She turned around slowly and walked down the long hallway toward her small staff bedroom near the back.
Her wet shoes made a squeaking sound on the floor as she walked away from the warm living room.
She knew that leaving little Leo alone with Victoria was the most dangerous outcome of all tonight.
She opened her closet door and pulled out an old brown suitcase to pack her humble personal clothes.
As she reached into her uniform pocket, her fingers touched a small silver object she had forgotten about.
It was her personal digital voice recorder that she always used for taking work notes every single day.
The red light on the side of the small silver recorder was still blinking softly in the dark room.