Elena walked quickly toward the kitchen with her heart beating fast.
She needed a safe place to hide the digital recording file.
The kitchen was quiet because the morning staff was working outside.
She pulled out her phone and backed up the audio file online.
Within seconds, a copy of the recording was saved safely on the cloud.
She let out a long breath of relief and leaned against the counter.
Suddenly, the heavy double doors of the kitchen swung wide open.
Evelyn walked in with an icy smile on her pale face.
She pulled out a thick envelope from her silk jacket pocket.
Evelyn: Let us be sensible about this, Elena.
Elena: Money will not buy my silence today.
Evelyn: There is ten thousand dollars inside this envelope.
Evelyn: Take it, pack your bags, and leave before noon.
Elena looked at the cash envelope with absolute disgust.
She pushed Evelyn's hand away with firm strength.
Elena: Keep your money, Evelyn.
Elena: Marcus trusted you with his son and his home.
Evelyn: Marcus is weak and too blinded by grief to notice anything.
Evelyn: In a few months, I will own half this estate!
Elena: Is that what this was always about?
Evelyn: Of course it was about the money and power!
Evelyn did not realize that Elena's phone was still recording.
Every word of her wicked plan was being captured clearly.
Evelyn stepped closer and pointed a sharp finger at Elena's face.
Evelyn: If you try to tell Marcus, I will ruin you.
Evelyn: I will tell him you stole valuable jewelry from the safe.
Elena: He knows my character, and he knows I am honest.
Evelyn: Let us see who he believes when the police arrive.
Evelyn turned on her heel and marched up the grand staircase.
Elena felt a chill run down her spine at the harsh threat.
She knew Evelyn was capable of planting false evidence against her.
She had to act quickly before Evelyn could stage a fake theft.
Elena walked toward the main study where the security camera controls rested.
The door to the study was usually locked during the daytime.
However, today the key was left right inside the brass lock.
Elena slipped into the room and closed the door behind her.
She walked up to the large mahogany desk near the window.
On the computer screen, live feeds showed every hallway in the house.
Elena began searching through the saved video logs from past weeks.
What she discovered on the screen made her gasp out loud.
Video clips showed Evelyn going through private bank documents inside the desk.
Another clip showed her taking cash directly from the wall safe.
She had been stealing from Marcus for several months straight.
Elena quickly inserted a flash drive to copy all the security video clips.
The progress bar loaded slowly as the heavy files transferred over.
Every second felt like an hour inside the quiet study room.
Outside the door, heavy footsteps suddenly began to approach.
Elena held her breath and prayed the download would finish in time.
The door handle began to turn slowly from the outside hallway.
Elena grabbed the flash drive just as the lock clicked open.