Later that afternoon, the house was silent except for the heavy rain outside.
Leo crept quietly down the upper hallway toward his father's private study.
The heavy oak door was slightly open, showing a stripe of warm yellow light.
He leaned closer to the gap and held his breath to listen carefully.
Victoria was sitting at the massive mahogany desk with a stack of papers.
She was speaking into her cell phone in a low and tense voice.
Victoria: The legal estate documents are right here on his desk.
Lawyer: Are you sure Richard has not signed the final trust fund transfer yet?
Victoria: He left the papers behind when he rushed off to the airport yesterday.
Lawyer: If he signs them, the entire estate goes to the boy automatically.
Victoria: I am not going to let a eight-year-old child inherit thirty million dollars!
Leo's heart hammered against his ribs as he listened behind the door frame.
Victoria: I need you to draft the replacement paperwork immediately.
Lawyer: Changing a legal will without his consent is illegal, Victoria.
Victoria: Just prepare the documents and bring them to the house tonight!
She slammed the phone down on the desk with a heavy wooden thud.
Leo gasped softly and pulled his hand back from the door frame.
The wood creaked loudly under his small foot as he stepped backward.
Victoria snapped her head toward the doorway with a sharp glare.
Victoria: Who is out there listening?!
She stood up quickly from the leather chair and rushed to the open door.
Leo ran as fast as his small legs could carry him down the hallway.
Victoria: Come back here right now, you little spy!
Leo hid behind a large antique cabinet in the upper gallery corridor.
His breath came in short and panicked gasps against his trembling hands.
He saw Victoria's sharp silhouette walk past his hiding spot towards the stairs.
Victoria: You cannot run away from me in my own home!
Clara stepped out from the linen closet with a basket of folded towels.
Clara: Is there something wrong, Mrs. Victoria?
Victoria: That boy was eavesdropping on my private phone calls!
Clara: He is just a frightened child missing his father, ma'am.
Victoria: He is an ungrateful brat who needs to be put in his place!
Clara set down the heavy basket on a nearby decorative side table.
Clara: Please calm down before Mr. Richard calls to check on the home.
Victoria: Do not tell me what to do in this house!
She shoved past Clara and marched toward the top of the grand staircase.
Leo came out from behind the cabinet with tears streaming down his face.
Leo: You are trying to steal my mother's home from us!
Victoria spun around at the top of the marble landing with fury.
Victoria: You don't know anything about how the real world works!
Leo: I heard you talking on the phone about the thirty million dollars!
Victoria's face turned pale, and her eyes filled with cold hatred.