Out of nowhere, a strong hand reached out through the air and grabbed Victoria's wrist tightly in mid-flight. Mark Vance stepped into the hall, his dark tuxedo sharp and his face pale with sudden shock. He had walked away from the catering managers to check on his son, only to witness his wife raising her hand against the defenseless boy. His grip on her wrist was firm, holding her arm completely still before she could reach the child's face.
Mark: Did you really hit him, Victoria? Tell me right now!
Victoria: Mark! You scared me! You are hurting my wrist, let go of me this instant!
Mark: I asked you a simple question, Victoria! Were you actually going to strike my son in front of my eyes?
Victoria pulled her hand back nervously as soon as Mark loosened his grip, trying to smooth down her designer dress with trembling fingers. Her eyes darted around the hall, searching for a quick excuse to salvage her reputation before her husband lost his composure completely. She forced a panicked look onto her face, shaking her head from side to side while trying to squeeze out fake tears of deep innocence.
Victoria: No, of course not! He is lying, Mark! He fell down near the garden stairs earlier!
Leo: That is not true! You pinched me and cut me with your sharp ring because I spilled juice!
Victoria: See how he disrespects me? The maid has been putting strange thoughts into his head for weeks!
Mark looked down at his young son, seeing the fresh red cut on the boy's small arm for the first time. The sight cut deeper than any failed business deal or financial loss ever could. He remembered how his late wife had loved Leo with all her heart, promising on her deathbed that he would protect their child from any harm in this world. Mark felt a surge of hot anger rising in his chest as he realized how blind he had been to the subtle changes in his son's behavior over the past year.
Mark: Evelyn, has this been going on whenever I travel for work?
Evelyn: Mr. Vance, I have tried to speak up, but Mrs. Vance threatened to fire me and take my reference letter away if I said a single word to you.
Victoria: She is a liar! She wants money from our estate! You cannot trust a maid over your own wife!
Mark ignored Victoria's screeching voice and turned his head toward the tall ceiling where small black security camera domes were mounted in the corners of the grand hallway. When they had remodeled the mansion last year after their marriage, Mark had ordered an upgraded commercial security system installed throughout the entire property, including the private living quarters, to ensure full property coverage. He had almost forgotten about the high-definition recording system because he rarely needed to check the cloud storage logs.
Mark: We are checking the CCTV cameras right now. Every single angle is recorded on the server.
Victoria: What? No, Mark, you don't need to do that! It's just a family misunderstanding!
Mark: If you did nothing wrong, then you have absolutely nothing to fear from the footage, right?
Victoria's entire body froze in sheer horror as her eyes widened with overwhelming panic. The color drained from her face instantly, leaving her looking completely pale against her expensive gold jewelry. She knew very well what those silent cameras had captured over the last six months in the quiet hallways when Mark was out of state on long business trips.