Victoria: See?! I told you, Carter! Look at that!
Elena: I didn't take it! I swear! Somebody put that in my bag!
Victoria: Oh, give me a break! Who else would put a three-hundred-thousand-dollar necklace in your cheap handbag?
Elena: Mr. Sterling, you know me! I send my salary to my mother's hospital bills! I would never steal from this family!
Victoria: You stole it because you're desperate! You thought you could sell it and run away!
Elena wept hysterically, shaking her head in complete desperation on the cold floor.
Elena: Please, Mr. Sterling! Look at me! I've been honest with you since the day you hired me!
Carter: Victoria, where did you leave the necklace this morning?
Victoria: Right on my velvet tray in the master bedroom, Carter! I went to take a phone call, and when I came back, it was gone!
Elena: I wasn't even in the master bedroom when you took your call, Mrs. Sterling! I was downstairs in the laundry room!
Victoria: She's lying! The butler saw her upstairs!
Carter: Did Arthur see her in your room, Victoria?
Victoria: Yes! He told me he saw her sneaking near the door!
Elena: Arthur was at the front gate receiving the grocery delivery, Mr. Sterling! Ask him yourself!
Victoria's eyes flashed with anger as she stepped closer to Elena, her dark dress rustling against the marble.
Victoria: How dare you call me a liar in front of my fiancé? Carter, call the police right now and have this thief dragged out of our home!
Carter: Hold on a second, Victoria.
Victoria: Hold on? Carter, the stolen necklace is sitting right there in her bag! What more proof do you need?
Carter: Elena's bag was sitting right here in the open hallway all morning.
Victoria: Because she was too careless to hide it properly!
Carter: Or because someone put it there while she was away from her cart.
Victoria's hands tightened around her designer purse. She forced a bitter laugh, stepping up to Carter's side.
Victoria: Are you seriously taking the word of a housemaid over your own fiancée? I am going to be your wife next month!
Carter: I'm not taking anyone's word yet, Victoria. I'm looking at the facts.
Elena: Mr. Sterling, check the security cameras! The hallway camera points directly at this spot!
Victoria's expression stiffened for a fraction of a second before she quickly put on a smug smile.
Victoria: Oh, please! That camera has been out of service for two weeks! The electrician told us yesterday!
Carter: The electrician fixed the network feed this morning at seven AM, Victoria.
Carter turned his head toward the wall, looking directly at the small dome camera mounted near the ceiling archway.
Carter: Harrison! Bring the security tablet out here right now!
Victoria's breath hitched in her throat as the head security guard stepped into the hallway, carrying a sleek black digital tablet in his hands.