Detective Miller: Mr. Sterling, hand the baby to Officer Davis immediately. We have an ambulance parked at the gate.
Ethan: Is my son going to be alright, Detective? He swallowed pool water!
Detective Miller: The paramedics are trained for infant water aspiration. Hand him over, sir.
Officer Davis stepped forward with a dry wool thermal blanket, gently lifting the coughing baby out of Ethan's arms.
Officer Davis: I've got him, Mr. Sterling. His vitals are stable, but we need to clear his airways at the hospital.
Clara: Please keep his head elevated, Officer. The stroller was upside down under four feet of water.
Victoria: Detective, arrest that maid! She lunged at my stroller and shoved it into the deep end!
Detective Miller didn't even look at Victoria. He reached into his coat and pulled out a rugged digital field monitor.
Detective Miller: We don't need testimony from either of you, Mrs. Vance. We have the wireless feed from the hedge unit.
Victoria: That camera is an illegal invasion of private estate property!
Ethan: Miller, show me the screen.
Ethan stepped beside the detective, looking down at the high-definition video playing on the backlit monitor.
The footage was unmistakable under the bright patio floodlights.
On the screen, Victoria walked slowly to the edge of the pool, looked around the empty yard, and forcefully shoved the stroller into the water with both hands.
Seconds later, Clara came sprinting across the grass, diving headfirst into the dark water without a single second of hesitation.
Ethan: My God...
Ethan's knees nearly buckled on the wet concrete as he watched the screen.
Ethan: You pushed him. You looked straight at my baby and pushed him into eight feet of water.
Victoria: Ethan, listen to me! It was an impulse! The stress of managing this mansion has broken my mind!
Ethan: You told me Clara tried to drown him! You watched me hit an innocent girl who just saved my son's life!
Victoria: I panicked! I was terrified of what you would do to me!
Clara: You were terrified of losing the sixty-million-dollar inheritance, Victoria.
Ethan turned slowly, his eyes locking onto Victoria with a look of pure, unadulterated hatred.
Ethan: You calculated every single move, didn't you?
Victoria: No, Ethan! I love you! I love our family!
Detective Miller: If you loved him, Mrs. Vance, you wouldn't have met with an offshore corporate lawyer in Zurich three days ago.
Victoria's jaw dropped open, every drop of blood draining from her cheeks until she looked like a ghost under the American flag.
Victoria: How... how do you know about Zurich?
Detective Miller: We intercepted your encrypted emails when you accessed the Sterling Trust documents from the estate computer.
Ethan: What trust documents did she access, Detective?
Detective Miller: Your late wife's primary estate trust, Mr. Sterling. The one that leaves ninety percent of the company to Toby.
Ethan stumbled back, his hands trembling as he turned to look at Clara sitting bruised on the wet stone.
Ethan: Clara... my God, Clara... what have I done to you?
Clara: You let a greedy monster poison your mind, Mr. Sterling.
Ethan dropped to his knees on the wet deck beside Clara, his face pale with horror and shame.
Ethan: I hit you... you dove into freezing water to save my flesh and blood, and I struck you across the face.
Clara: Stand up, Mr. Sterling. Apologizing to me won't fix what she planned for your son.
Detective Miller tapped his radio, and two more uniformed officers stepped onto the patio with heavy steel handcuffs.
Detective Miller: Victoria Vance, you are under arrest for attempted first-degree murder, felony child endangerment, and wire fraud.
Victoria: Keep those filthy handcuffs off me! Do you have any idea who my father is?!
Detective Miller: Your father was arrested at his Dallas penthouse twenty minutes ago for corporate embezzlement, ma'am.
Victoria let out a shrill, hysterical shriek that echoed across the dark water as the officers grabbed her diamond-studded arms.