Arthur wrapped a warm towel around Leo's shivering shoulders.
The young man coughed up pool water while trying to catch his breath.
Victoria rushed to Arthur's side and placed a comforting hand on his arm.
She squeezed her eyes shut and forced real tears to roll down her cheeks.
Victoria: I saw her push the chair while cleaning the patio!
Elena: You pushed him yourself because you want his inheritance!
Arthur: Stop yelling right now, both of you!
Arthur turned his head toward the brave house maid with heavy suspicion.
He had trusted Elena for years, but Victoria was his legal wife.
Victoria stepped forward with a loud gasp of fake horror.
Victoria: She has been careless all week long, my love!
Victoria: She probably bumped the chair and panicked when it fell!
Elena: That is not true at all, Mr. Montgomery!
Elena: I was carrying iced tea from the kitchen when she shoved him!
Arthur looked down at the broken glass and spilled tea on the tiles.
The evidence seemed to support Elena's story about walking from the kitchen.
However, Victoria quickly moved to cover her tracks with more clever lies.
Victoria: She dropped that tray after she realized what she had done!
Victoria: Fire her right now before she hurts someone else in this family!
Leo raised his shaking hand to speak up for his loyal caregiver.
His throat was too sore from the chlorine water to utter clear words.
He made soft sounds while pointing his finger directly at Victoria's face.
Victoria acted like she was trying to soothe the confused young man.
Victoria: Poor Leo is in shock and does not know what happened.
Arthur: We need to take him inside and call our doctor immediately.
Arthur lifted his son carefully into a dry spare chair from the house.
He glared back at Elena with a look of broken trust and anger.
Arthur: Go to your room and change out of those wet clothes.
Arthur: We will handle this serious matter with the police very soon.
Elena stood up with dripping clothes and heavy tears in her eyes.
She felt completely helpless against the powerful stepmother's lies.
She knew that if she got fired, Leo would be left unprotected.
Victoria smiled sneeringly behind Arthur's back as they walked away.
She thought her cruel plan to frame the housekeeper had worked perfectly.
Elena wiped her face and turned toward the mansion's white exterior wall.
High up near the green bushes mounted on the wall sat a camera.
A tiny red light was slowly blinking on the plastic security device.
Elena felt a sudden rush of hope spark inside her pounding heart.