Mark: Vanessa! Get back down here!
Maria: Let her go upstairs, Mr. Mark. The gates at the end of the driveway are locked from the main security console in the kitchen.
Mark: Are you sure she can't get out through the side entrance?
Maria: I locked every external deadbolt ten minutes before I came out to the pool with those towels. I knew today was the day she was going to make her move.
Mark looked down at baby Lily, who had finally stopped crying and was falling asleep in his arms, exhausted from the ordeal.
Mark: Why didn't you tell me who you were the day you interviewed for this job, Maria?
Maria: Because Clara warned me that Vanessa had planted listening devices in your old house before you moved here. If I came in as her sister, Vanessa would have scared you into cutting me off.
Mark: Clara knew about Vanessa?
Maria: Clara found out about Vanessa’s financial scams two weeks before she fell ill. She wrote everything down in a private journal that she mailed to my apartment in Chicago.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the driveway outside. Bright red and blue lights began flashing through the sheer white curtains of the living room windows.
Mark: That’s Arthur and the police officers. Stay here with Lily, Maria. I’m going upstairs to get her.
Maria: Be careful, sir. She has a duplicate key to your gun safe in the master bedroom closet.
Mark’s eyes widened. He handed baby Lily gently into Maria’s arms and grabbed the heavy brass fire poker resting beside the fireplace mantel.
He marched up the carpeted stairs, his heart pounding against his ribs with every step. At the end of the long hallway, the master bedroom door was slammed shut and deadbolted from the inside.
Mark pounded his fist heavily against the solid wood frame.
Mark: Open this door right now, Vanessa! The police are standing in our driveway!
Vanessa: Stay away from me, Mark! I’m taking what belongs to me and leaving this house!
Mark: Nothing in this house belongs to you! You forged legal documents and attempted to harm my child!
Vanessa: That baby ruined my life! The day you brought her home from the hospital, all your attention disappeared!
Mark: She’s an innocent child! Step out here and face the consequences like an adult!
From inside the room, the sound of glass breaking shattered the air. Mark backed up two paces, raised his heavy boot, and kicked the lock mechanism with all his weight.
The wooden doorframe splintered with a loud crack, swinging wide open into the master bedroom suite.
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