Victoria’s face went completely pale, the color draining from her lips as she stared down at her husband. Her hand gripped the wooden banister so hard that her knuckles turned white. Arthur did not blink, his jaw clenched as tight as iron while he held his crying baby daughter close.
Victoria: What... what nanny cam? You said you never got around to installing the upper hallway units!
Arthur: I installed three hidden smoke-detector cameras last Tuesday after the family trust documents went missing from my home office desk. Did you really think I wouldn't secure my own mansion?
Elena: Thank God... thank God there’s a recording!
Victoria: Arthur, listen to me... you’re letting anger cloud your judgment. You’re making wild assumptions because of a chaotic moment!
Arthur: We are going to my office right now. Elena, follow me and hold Lily. If what my daughter said is true, God help you, Victoria.
Victoria: No! You don't need to check any cameras! Why are you treating me like a criminal in my own home?!
Arthur: Because my baby girl almost lost her life two minutes ago! Move out of my way!
Arthur shoved past Victoria on the stairs, carrying Lily up toward his private study at the end of the second-floor hallway. Elena hurried right behind them, keeping a safe distance from Victoria, who stood frozen on the step, her mind racing as she realized the walls were closing in on her.
Victoria: Arthur, wait! Let’s just talk about this privately in our bedroom! We don't need the maid in our business!
Arthur: Sit down on that sofa and don't move a single muscle, Victoria!
They entered the large, wood-paneled office. Arthur pulled his smartphone from his inner jacket pocket and opened the security monitoring app connected to his private cloud storage. His thumb hovered over the live footage playback for the foyer camera angle.
Elena: Here, Mr. Vance, let me hold sweet Lily while you look at the video.
Arthur: Thank you, Elena. Take her. Sweetheart, go with Elena for a second. Daddy needs to see something.
Arthur handed his daughter over to Elena, who sat on the leather armchair, softly rocking the baby to quiet her remaining tears. Victoria stood in the doorway of the study, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed, trying desperately to maintain a posture of defiance.
Victoria: You’re being paranoid, Arthur. You’re going to look like an idiot when you see it was just an accident caused by your house maid.
Arthur: Shut up and let me watch.
Arthur tapped the screen, rewinding the footage by five minutes. The high-definition video loaded instantly, showing the top of the grand staircase from a clear, overhead angle. The audio was crisp and unedited.
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