Clara backed into the corner of the landing, screaming frantically as Officer Vance grabbed her wrists and pulled them behind her back. The sharp, metallic click of the handcuffs echoed through the high-ceilinged room.
Clara: OW! YOU'RE HURTING MY WRISTS! MARCUS, TELL HIM HE'S HURTING ME!
Arthur: My name is Arthur, you pathological liar! You don't even know who you're talking to anymore!
Clara: Arthur! Please! Think about my family! Think about what my father will say!
Arthur: Your father helped you set up those offshore accounts in Switzerland! My legal team is filing conspiracy charges against him by five o'clock today!
Clara: YOU CAN'T TOUCH MY FATHER! HE'S A SENIOR PARTNER AT THE LAW FIRM!
Arthur: He was a senior partner until the board read my attorney's injunction this morning!
The paramedics carefully lifted Elena onto a orange neck collar and gently moved her onto the transport gurney.
Paramedic: Sir, her vital signs are stable, but we need to transport her to Palm Beach Memorial immediately to run CT scans on her spine and shoulder.
Arthur: I'm coming with you in the ambulance. Let me grab her purse.
Officer Hayes: Mr. Sterling, before you leave, can you give us access to the security camera control box in your office?
Arthur: Absolutely. Follow me into the study right now. The feed is backed up on a cloud server password on my main desktop monitor.
Clara: Officer Hayes, listen to me! That video footage is private property! You need a signed search warrant to view household security files!
Officer Hayes: As the sole owner of the property, Mr. Sterling can grant us voluntary consent to review any camera footage inside his home, ma'am.
Clara: IT WAS AN INVASION OF MY PRIVACY! I AM HIS LEGAL WIFE!
Officer Vance: You have the right to remain silent, ma'am. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. I suggest you start exercising that right.
Officer Vance escorted the sobbing, disheveled woman down the grand staircase, her blue silk dress trailing along the marble steps where Elena's blood had splattered only minutes before.
Inside the study, Arthur booted up the security monitor, tapping his fingers against the keyboard with intense focus. Officer Hayes leaned over his shoulder, watching the screen as the video file loaded.
Arthur: Here it is. Timestamp 11:42 AM.
On the high-definition monitor, the video clearly showed Clara stepping forward, her face twisted in rage, as her hands forcefully shoved Elena's chest, sending the young woman flying backward down the stairs.
Officer Hayes: That is clear, undisputed aggravated battery and attempted murder, Mr. Sterling. This video is all the district attorney will need to deny bail.
Arthur: Make sure she stays behind bars, Officer. She is an absolute menace to my family.
Officer Hayes: She won't be stepping foot inside this mansion ever again, sir. I guarantee it.
Arthur grabbed his coat, gave a quick nod to the officer, and ran out through the front doors to join his daughter inside the waiting ambulance.