Inside the white marble bathroom, thick smoke drifted toward the high ceiling as the smell of singed hair filled the room. Lily wept hysterically, clutching her head as Evelyn held the hot straightener close to the child's scalp.
Evelyn: Keep crying, Lily. Nobody in this house listens to a little girl anyway.
Lily: You're a monster! I want my mommy!
Evelyn: Your mommy is gone, and soon your father will hand over the trust fund to me!
Before Evelyn could press the hot iron again, the bathroom door latch gave way under a heavy blow. Elena, wearing her grey housemaid uniform, burst into the room.
She didn't hesitate for a single second. Seeing the smoke and the glowing iron near the child's head, Elena lunged across the marble floor.
Elena: Get your hands off her!
Evelyn: What do you think you're doing, you servant?!
Elena grabbed Lily by the waist, pulling the weeping child safely behind her back. Evelyn raised the hot straightener, swinging the metal barrel toward Elena's face.
Evelyn: Get out of my bathroom right now!
Elena: Don't touch her again!
Elena executed a lightning-fast, full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree roundhouse spin across the wet tile floor. Her right boot drove with thunderous force directly into Evelyn's chest.
The heavy impact knocked the breath straight out of Evelyn's lungs. She let out a sharp scream as her body flew backward through the air, crashing over the porcelain rim and splashing hard into the deep garden bathtub filled with warm water.
Steam hissed as the hot hair iron hit the water, short-circuiting with a loud pop. Evelyn sat drenched in the tub, her silk robe soaked, gasping for air as her expensive hair styling collapsed around her face.
Elena: Are you okay, Lily? Talk to me, sweetie.
Lily: My hair... it burned my head, Elena!
Elena: I've got you now, baby. You're safe with me.
Evelyn: You crazy maid! I will have you arrested and thrown in prison for this!
Elena: You can try, Evelyn. But you won't like what happens next.
The heavy double doors swung wide open with a clattering thud against the white walls. Richard stepped into the bathroom, flanked by Police Officer Davis in a blue uniform.
Officer Davis held a sleek digital tablet in his hand, its screen displaying a live, high-definition recording from the hidden security camera mounted in the ceiling archway.
Evelyn splashed frantically in the tub, pointing a trembling, wet finger toward Elena.
Evelyn: Richard! Thank God you're here! I've got her! She attacked me!
Richard: Shut your mouth, Evelyn.
Evelyn: She kicked me into the bathtub! She's out of her mind!
Richard: I saw everything on the security feed, Evelyn.
Officer Davis: The camera in the ceiling recorded the entire incident from the moment you turned the straightener on, ma'am.
Evelyn froze in the water, her eyes shifting toward the small dark lens mounted near the background wall where the American flag hung.
Lily broke away from Elena and ran straight toward Richard, burying her face into his suit jacket as her body shook with heavy sobs.
Lily: Daddy... Daddy!
Richard: I'm here, Lily. I'm right here. Let me see your head.
Lily: Daddy... she killed mommy!