Richard: Maya, look at me. How long has this been going on? Tell me the truth right now.
Maya: Since... since you went to London on business last month, Dad. She took my car keys, she locked the pantry, and she told me if I complained to you, she’d make sure you cut me out of the trust fund.
Richard: She told you WHAT?!
Victoria: She’s lying, Richard! Look at her, she’s manipulating you! She’s always been jealous that you married me!
Maya: I’m not lying! Check the security cameras, Dad! Check the hallway cameras you installed last year!
Victoria: Those cameras aren't... they aren't working! The system crashed weeks ago!
Richard: The security feed uploads directly to my cloud server twenty-four hours a day, Victoria. Did you honestly think I didn't have remote access from my phone?
Victoria: Richard, sweetie, please... let’s talk about this in the study. We’re a family. We shouldn't fight in front of the child.
Richard: We are NOT a family! You made my grieving daughter clean this house like a servant while I was away making the money you spend on designer bags!
Richard pulled his smartphone from his inner suit jacket pocket. His thumbs flew across the screen, pulling up the encrypted home security archive. He clicked on the timestamp from three days ago. On the crisp high-definition display, Victoria could be seen grabbing Maya by the arm, pushing her toward the laundry room while taking her phone away.
Richard: Look at this video, Victoria! Look at it! You grabbed her! You stole her phone!
Victoria: She was being disrespecting to me! I am the mistress of this estate! I have a right to discipline people in my home!
Richard: You have NO rights in this home! This home was bought under my family trust before I ever signed our prenuptial agreement!
Maya: Dad, she took my tuition money too... she forced me to transfer my allowance to her personal account for 'rent'.
Richard: She did what?! You stole money from my daughter’s inheritance allocation?!
Victoria: It was for household expenses! You don't give me enough budget for the caterers and the charity gala maintenance!
Richard: You drive a hundred-thousand-dollar Mercedes that I paid cash for! I give you thirty thousand dollars a month for personal allowance! And you took five thousand dollars from a struggling mother?!
Victoria: She needed to learn the value of money! You spoil her because her mother died!
Richard’s face went dead cold. The mention of his late wife sent a chilling silence through the sunlit kitchen. He lowered his phone, his eyes narrowing into slits as he looked at Victoria as if seeing a monster for the very first time.
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