Victoria: I had a feeling you wouldn't go away quietly. Poor people always think they can play hero.
Elena: Stand back, Victoria! I'm downloading the feed! The whole world is going to see what you did to that innocent baby!
Victoria: Do you really think anyone will see that file? Do you know who owns this house? Who owns the police department in this town?
Victoria stepped into the room, her designer shoes tapping loudly on the concrete floor. She raised the heavy brass object in her hand.
Elena: You're insane! She's a child! She never did anything to you!
Victoria: She exists! That's what she did! That baby stands between me and eighty million dollars!
Elena: Marcus loved you! He trusted you!
Victoria: Marcus is a weak, foolish man who cares more about his dead sister's memory than his own wife! I spent three years playing the perfect spouse, waiting for my payout!
The computer monitor beeped. The progress bar hit 100%. Download Complete.
Elena: It's done.
Elena snatched the USB drive out of the port and held it tight in her fist.
Victoria: Give that to me!
Victoria lunged forward, swinging the brass paperweight toward Elena's head. Elena ducked under her arm, slamming her shoulder into Victoria's chest. Victoria stumbled back, crashing into a rack of server equipment with a loud screech of metal.
Victoria: You stupid bitch!
Elena scrambled out of the server room and ran down the dark basement hallway toward the stairs. Behind her, she heard Victoria's frantic footsteps giving chase.
Victoria: Guards! Marcus! Help! She's in the house!
Elena reached the top of the basement stairs and burst through the door into the main hallway. The bright lights of the grand foyer blinded her for a moment. Marcus was standing near the fireplace, holding baby Sophia in his arms, while two security officers stood nearby.
Marcus: What is going on here?! Elena?!
Victoria: Marcus! Shoot her! She broke into the server room! She was trying to destroy the house records!
Victoria ran up behind Elena, panting heavily, her hair disheveled and her torn glove clearly visible on her right hand under the hallway chandeliers.
Elena: Mr. Vance, do not let her touch that child! Look at her right hand! Look at the glove!
Marcus looked down at Victoria's right hand. The black lace was frayed and torn wide open across the back of her wrist, matching the exact tear Elena had mentioned earlier.
Marcus: Victoria... what happened to your hand?
Victoria: I... I snagged it on the door handle when I was running down the stairs earlier! She's lying, Marcus! Call the police!
Elena: I have the full security video right here on this drive, Mr. Vance! Put it into your laptop right now and watch it yourself!
Victoria: Don't look at it! It's a virus! She's trying to hack our accounts!
Marcus: Quiet, Victoria!
Marcus set the baby carefully into her playpen nearby. He stepped toward Elena, his face pale, his eyes filled with a sudden, horrifying doubt.
Marcus: Give me the drive, Elena.
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