Victoria: Get your hands off me, you low-life thugs!
Frank: Ma'am, keep moving, or we will hold you for the local police.
Victoria: Call the police! Go ahead! I'll tell them Arthur assaulted me! Look at my hip!
Arthur: Go ahead and tell them, Victoria.
Arthur pointed upward toward the corner of the tall kitchen ceiling, where a small, dark glass dome was mounted quietly near the crown molding.
Arthur: High-definition audio and video security system, installed last month.
Victoria: You... you have cameras in the kitchen?
Arthur: Every common room in this mansion is recorded twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Victoria: That is an invasion of my privacy!
Arthur: It is property security. And right now, it has a crystal-clear recording of you striking Elena, slapping my seven-year-old daughter, and threatening to throw them out on the street.
Victoria stopped struggling against the guards' grip. Her jaw hung open as she stared at the little camera lens.
Arthur: If you try to press charges against me for shoving you, I will hand that raw video file directly to the district attorney.
Victoria: You wouldn't do that to me...
Arthur: Child abuse charges carry serious prison time, Victoria. Do you really want to test my patience today?
Frank: Let's go, ma'am.
Victoria: Arthur, please! I was just stressed! The house management was overwhelming me!
Arthur: Elena does all the house management. You just sit around spending my money.
Victoria: I can change! I'll take anger management classes! I'll apologize to Lily!
Arthur: You will never speak to my daughter again.
The guards turned Victoria around and began escorting her down the wide corridor toward the grand entrance hall, her heels dragging loudly against the marble floor.
Victoria: You'll be lonely forever, Arthur Vance! Nobody will ever love you or your stupid brat!
Arthur: I’d rather be alone for the rest of my life than live another day with a snake like you.
The front doors slammed shut with a heavy, booming thud that echoed through the vast architecture of the mansion. Silence finally returned to the estate.
Arthur took a deep, shaky breath, loosening his silk tie and rubbing his tired eyes. He stood alone in the kitchen for a moment, looking at the spilled juice on the floor and the discarded rag.
Arthur: How could I have been so blind?
He walked out of the kitchen and headed up the marble staircase toward Lily's bedroom. When he pushed the door open softly, he found Elena sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a cool ice pack against Lily's cheek while reading her a bedtime story.
Lily: ...and then the princess saved the little bear?
Elena: That's right, sweetie. The princess was very brave.
Arthur: May I come in?
Lily: Daddy!
Lily sat up immediately, opening her small arms wide. Arthur walked fast across the plush carpet, wrapping his daughter in a tight, protective embrace.
Arthur: I am so sorry, Lily. Daddy is so, so sorry he brought her here.
Lily: Is she gone, Daddy?
Arthur: She is gone forever, sweetheart. Nobody is ever going to hurt you in this house again.
Elena stood up quietly, offering Arthur a gentle, sympathetic smile as she prepared to leave the room.
Elena: I'll leave you two alone, Mr. Vance. I'll go finish clean up the kitchen floor.
Arthur: Elena, wait. Please stay.