Julian lowered his clenched fist slowly, the veins along his forearms pulsing with cold dread.
Julian: Victoria... what did Toby just say to me?
Victoria: He is completely confused, Julian! The boy almost drowned! He had water filling his lungs!
Julian: Did you kick his toy truck into the pool?
Victoria: Of course not! Why would you ask me such a monstrous question? I am his mother!
Maya: You're his stepmother, Mrs. Sterling. And you weren't anywhere near the ground when he fell.
Victoria spun around on her high heels, her manicured fingers curling into claws.
Victoria: Shut your mouth! How dare an hourly cleaner speak to me like that in front of my husband?
Maya: Because I was the one who had to dive to the bottom of the pool to keep him alive!
Julian: Maya, stand up right now. Look me in the eye and speak.
Maya pushed herself up from the wet stone steps, her knees trembling under her heavy soaked pants.
Maya: I was folding linen inside the pool cabana, Mr. Sterling. I heard a loud splash and then Toby gasping for air.
Julian: And where was my wife?
Maya: She was standing on the second-story bedroom balcony. She was holding a wine glass and looking straight down.
Victoria: That is an absolute lie! I was right down here by the lounge chairs relaxing!
Julian: Were you, Victoria?
Julian looked down at his wife's feet. Her designer leather sandals were bone dry on the flagstones.
The hem of her beige silk dress did not have a single drop of pool water on it.
Julian: You told me on the phone that you jumped into the water to wrestle Toby away from Maya.
Victoria: I... I didn't jump completely in! I leaned over the stone edge! I tried to reach him with my hands!
Julian: If you were right beside the coping stones, why didn't you pull him out before his head went under?
Victoria: Because this girl rushed across the grass and blocked me! She was screaming like a madwoman!
Maya: I was in the laundry building fifty yards away! When I ran out, Toby was already sinking under the surface!
Victoria: Julian, call the police chief right now! Why are you standing here arguing with the help?
Julian: Toby, come here to Daddy.
Julian knelt down on the wet stone, pulling the shivering toddler into his arms and wrapping his suit jacket around him.
Julian: Look at me, buddy. Did Maya push you?
Toby: No, Daddy. Maya had her shoes on when she jumped into the deep water. She swam down and held me up.
Julian: And what did Victoria do?
Toby: I told Mommy I couldn't reach my red truck. She told me I was a big boy and had to reach it myself.
Victoria's hand flew up to her diamond necklace, her eyes shifting toward the courtyard gates.
Victoria: He is four years old, Julian! Children say nonsensical things when they undergo severe shock!
Julian: Toby does not invent stories like that. Never once in his life.
Victoria: So you trust the babbling of a toddler and a twenty-year-old maid over your lawful wedded wife?
Maya: Check the optical dome on the roofline, Mr. Sterling.
Victoria went rigid, her jaw locking as she glanced toward the dark eaves of the mansion.
Victoria: That camera has been dead since the storm blew the breaker panel last week, Maya. Don't bluster.
Julian: Actually, Victoria... the security company rewired that entire corner yesterday morning.
Victoria took a step back, her heel catching on a stone seam.
Victoria: Even if they did, the network was lagging all morning!
Julian: We will see for ourselves. Marcus! Are you at the console?
The garden intercom crackled instantly, the deep voice of the security chief echoing across the patio.
Marcus: Yes, Mr. Sterling. I have all outdoor camera feeds loaded and buffered.
Julian: Lock the front gates immediately. Nobody leaves this estate until I see the playback.