The air inside the Dallas estate was thick with the scent of fresh white roses and quiet tension.
Victoria: Mind your own business, Clara! You don't belong in this hall!
Clara: I was just cleaning the baseboards, ma'am. I didn't mean to intrude.
Victoria: Look at you, pathetic. Holding that infant like you own the place!
Victoria stepped forward, her heels clicking sharp and heavy against the white marble. Her gold gown shimmered under the chandeliers, a stark contrast to Clara’s faded gray maid uniform.
Clara: Please, Miss Victoria. The baby is sleeping. I'll go back to the kitchen.
Victoria: You won't go anywhere until I say so!
Without warning, Victoria raised her palm and delivered a brutal, cracking slap across Clara’s face.
Clara: Ah! My face... why did you do that?!
Victoria: Because you look at me like you know something. Move out of my way!
Victoria shoved Clara back with full force. Clara stumbled, clutching the small infant tight against her chest as they both crashed down onto the hard floor. Her hip slammed into the wood paneling near the grand staircase.
Clara: Ouch! The baby... oh God, lily, are you okay?
The heavy hollow impact against the wall echoed through the quiet foyer. A loose piece of trim rattled, unlatching a small concealed panel in the wainscoting that had been painted over for decades.
Victoria: Stay away from that wall! Get up and get out!
Clara: Wait... what is this? There's something inside here...
Victoria: Don't you dare touch that! Touch it and I'll have you arrested for theft!
Ethan: What the hell is going on out here?!
Ethan came sprinting down the grand staircase, his tuxedo jacket half-unbuttoned, his face pale with sudden fury.
Ethan: Let go of my daughter, Victoria! Get your hands off her!
Victoria: Ethan, she was sneaking around! She was trying to break into the wall!
Ethan: Shut up! I saw you push her! I saw you hit her!
Ethan dropped to his knees, his hands trembling as he lifted Clara and the crying baby off the cold floor.
Clara: Mr. Ethan... the wall... when I fell, it popped open...
Ethan looked at the small dark cavity in the wall, then looked back at Victoria, his eye twitching with overwhelming rage.
Ethan: You locked my flesh and blood out of her own home... and you hid my mother's trust fund behind this wall!
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