Victoria stood near the grand staircase, watching the driveway until Mark's car disappeared from view.
She turned around slowly and fixed her cold gaze on the little girl sitting at the table.
Victoria: Go up to your room, Lily.
Lily: Can I finish my drawing first?
Victoria: I said go to your room right now.
Lily quietly got down from her chair and held her stuffed teddy bear tightly against her chest.
She walked up the wide marble stairs, keeping her steps as quiet as possible.
Victoria followed behind her, carrying the thick legal folder into Mark's private study.
The mansion was silent except for the soft ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway.
Victoria sat down at Mark's executive desk and began opening the heavy wooden drawers.
She was searching for the original land deeds and life insurance policies belonging to the estate.
For months, Victoria had been planning to shift the family assets into her personal trust fund.
She knew that if Mark signed the updated agreements, she would gain full control over the wealth.
While searching through the bottom drawer, she found a locked metal box hidden beneath old tax files.
Victoria: Where is the key to this box?
She muttered the words under her breath while rummaging through the desk compartments.
Meanwhile, Lily stood quietly near the hallway doorway, watching her stepmother through the crack.
Lily knew that her late mother had placed special letters inside that very box years ago.
Her mother had left those letters as a gift for Lily's eighteenth birthday.
Lily: That box belongs to my mommy.
Victoria jumped in surprise and spun around toward the doorway.
Her face flushed with sudden irritation as she saw the little girl standing there.
Victoria: You should not be sneaking around like a spy, Lily.
Lily: You are not allowed to open my mommy's things.
Victoria: This entire house belongs to me and your father now.
Victoria: I have every right to inspect everything in this room.
Lily: Daddy told me never to let anyone touch that box.
Victoria stood up from the leather chair and stepped toward the hallway balcony railing.
She picked up the locked box along with several loose financial documents from the desk.
Victoria: Your father does not need to be burdened by past memories anymore.
Lily: Please put it back, Victoria!
Victoria: Mind your own business, little girl!
Lily ran forward and grabbed the edge of the leather folder to stop her stepmother.
Victoria pulled back sharply, causing several important legal papers to scatter across the floor.
Anger flushed across Victoria's face as she looked down at the mess on the white marble floor.
Victoria: Look at what you made me do!
Lily: You are taking Daddy's papers!
Victoria: Get out of my life!
Victoria shouted the words in a sudden burst of temper that echoed off the high ceilings.
She reached out and snatched Lily's favorite stuffed teddy bear right out of her small hands.
Victoria held the toy precariously over the edge of the high upper balcony railing.
Lily: No! Don't throw him!
Lily reached frantically over the wooden edge, desperate to save her precious keepsake.