David: Mark, look at me. Are you hurt anywhere? Did she touch you?
Mark: My knees hurt, Daddy. The cold metal was biting me.
David: Shh, it's okay. I'm right here. Nobody is ever going to put you in that awful thing again.
Victoria took a step back, smoothing down her designer silk blouse while attempting to regain her composure.
Victoria: David, don't be so dramatic. You're making a scene over basic discipline. Raising a child who isn't yours takes firm boundaries.
David: Firm boundaries? You locked a four-year-old child inside a rusty iron dog crate in the middle of autumn!
Victoria: He was screaming and throwing tantrums inside the house! I had an important Zoom call with my real estate lawyers regarding the estate trust!
David: I don't give a damn about your real estate lawyers or your estate trust!
Mark: Daddy, she said I couldn't have food until you came home.
David: Is that true, Victoria? You starved him too?
Victoria: He was being punished! A child needs to learn respect, especially when he's living under my roof!
David: Your roof? I paid the down payment on this house! My life insurance and my tech job pay the mortgage every single month!
Victoria: Oh, please. Your salary barely covers the property taxes on a place like this. You should be thanking me for managing this household while you hide in your office!
David: You're insane. You are genuinely out of your mind.
Mark: Daddy, don't leave me alone with her again. Please.
David: Never again, buddy. I promise you, never again.
David looked down at his hand. He was still clutching the muddy teddy bear, feeling the sharp edges of the USB drive buried deep inside its belly.
David: Why did Mark bring this bear outside, Victoria? He hasn't touched Sarah's old toys in months.
Victoria: How should I know? It's just a dirty old toy your dead wife left behind. I told you months ago to throw all of Sarah's junk in the trash!
David: Don't you dare talk about Sarah like that.
Victoria: Sarah is gone, David! She died two years ago! I'm your wife now, and I run this family!
David: You're not his mother, and after today, you're not my wife either.
Victoria: What did you just say to me?
David: You heard me. Get out of my way.
Victoria: You can't just kick me out! I have legal rights to this property!
David: We'll see what the police and my family court lawyer have to say about your legal rights when I show them the security video of you locking a toddler in a cage.
Victoria's face turned pale, her confident smile instantly vanishing.
Victoria: Security video? What security video?
David: The camera I installed on the backyard eaves yesterday afternoon. The one you didn't notice.
Victoria: You... you spied on me?
David: Thank God I did. Come on, Mark. Let's go inside.
Mark: Daddy, don't lose Mommy's bear. She told me to keep it safe before she went to the hospital.
David: I won't lose it, son. I promise.
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