Ten minutes later, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the marble hallway. Victoria came walking down the grand staircase wearing a designer sunglasses frame, carrying a costly leather handbag, and pulling two large rolling suitcases behind her. A high-end limousine was sitting outside the front driveway with its engine idling, waiting to take her to the private airport terminal.
She reached the bottom of the stairs, expecting the foyer to be empty. Instead, she found Mark standing firmly in front of the heavy front doors, blocking the main exit. Sarah stood beside him with her tablet open, and Elena stood by the wall holding the black folder in her hands.
Victoria: Move out of my way, Mark. You told me to leave, so I am leaving. I don’t want to spend another minute in this house with you anyway.
Mark: You are not going anywhere, Victoria.
Victoria: What is this new game? First you throw me out, and now you won't let me leave? You are being ridiculous!
Mark: We found the black folder in your office drawer, Victoria. We know about the wire transfers to Richard.
Victoria stopped dead in her tracks. Her face turned pale, losing all of its confident color. She gripped the handles of her suitcases tightly, her knuckles turning white under her manicured nails.
Victoria: I... I don't know what you are talking about. Richard is family! He needed a short-term business loan!
Sarah: Two million dollars isn't a business loan, Victoria. It's grand larceny. You forged Mark's signature on sixteen separate trust authorization documents over the last eight months.
Victoria: Shut up, you little rat! You don't know anything about our family finances!
Mark: She knows everything because she has the bank records right here! You and Richard were draining my estate, and when you realized Sarah was about to audit those specific files today, you panicked!
Victoria dropped her luggage handles, her fake innocent act dropping completely. She glided toward Mark, her eyes filled with cold bitterness.
Victoria: You deserve it, Mark! You spend all your time working on properties, looking at balance sheets, and ignoring me! I brought status to your life! I gave you access to high-society circles! You owed me that money!
Mark: I gave you a home, a life, and unconditional trust! And you repaid me by forging my name, stealing my wealth, and trying to murder an innocent woman in my foyer!
Victoria: It was my money too! And nobody can prove I pushed her! It's your word against mine, and my father's lawyers will rip your reputation to shreds in court!
Elena: It is not just his word, Mrs. Victoria.
Elena stepped forward, holding up a small silver digital device that had been clipped to her maid apron the entire time.
Elena: Mr. Vance installed high-definition security cameras in the grand foyer three months ago after the home renovation. Every angle of the second-floor balcony and the front hall is recorded on a secure cloud server in full 4K detail.
Victoria stared at the small camera lens mounted near the ceiling chandelier, realizing for the first time that her entire act of pushing Sarah had been captured on video from start to finish.
Victoria: No... that's impossible...
Mark: It's over, Victoria. The video footage clearly shows you grabbing Sarah and intentionally throwing her over the railing. It shows Elena catching her. And it shows you walking away without even checking if she survived.
The sound of loud police sirens suddenly filled the air outside the mansion. Red and blue emergency lights flashed through the large glass windows, reflecting off the white marble walls. Mark had called the county sheriff's department while Victoria was packing her clothes upstairs.