Daniel: What did you just say to me, Victoria? You stood there and watched a four-year-old child drown in three feet of water!
Victoria: Daniel, please! It was an accident! She reached for her necklace and lost her balance!
Daniel: Don't lie to my face! I watched you put both hands on her shoulders and push her!
Sophie: Daddy... she threw mommy's necklace in the deep end... she pushed me...
Daniel: Shh, Sophie, quiet now. Daddy has you. You're safe.
Daniel carried Sophie over to a sun lounger, wrapping the white towel tighter around her wet shoulders. His hands trembled with anger as he checked her breathing. She was coughing up pool water, shivering violently in the warm Texas breeze.
Victoria: Daniel, listen to reason! That child shouldn't even be on this property! Her mother lied to you about everything!
Daniel: My late sister loved this child more than anything in the world! Elena gave Sophie to me on her deathbed!
Victoria: Elena was using you, Daniel! She brought that child here to claim a piece of your father's estate!
Daniel: Elena didn't care about my father's money! She was running away from people who wanted to hurt her!
Victoria: People like who? She was paranoid! She filled your head with ridiculous stories about missing wills and trust funds!
Daniel stood up from the lounger, keeping his body placed directly between Victoria and the little girl. He pointed a shaking finger at his wife, his voice dark and heavy.
Daniel: I knew you hated Elena, Victoria. But I never thought you would hurt an innocent child to get what you want.
Victoria: I didn't hurt her! She's fine! You pulled her out in two seconds!
Daniel: Because I was running as fast as I could across the grass! If I had been ten seconds slower, she would be dead!
Victoria: You're exaggerating! You always take Elena's side over mine!
Daniel: Elena is dead, Victoria! She passed away three weeks ago in a hospital bed! Who else is going to protect her daughter if I don't?
Victoria: What about our future, Daniel? What about our marriage? You brought a orphan into our luxury mansion without even asking me!
Daniel: This is my family home! My father built this Dallas estate, and my sister had every right to seek shelter here!
Victoria: Your father left this house to YOU, not to Elena, and certainly not to her secret child!
Daniel: Is that what this is about? The deed to the house? You're terrified that Sophie's existence changes the inheritance split?
Victoria's face flushed red, her eyes darting toward the wet stone patio where the silver necklace had dropped into the water earlier.
Victoria: I am your wife! I spent five years building our status in this city! I won't let a four-year-old ruin my standing!
Daniel: Your standing means nothing to me anymore, Victoria. Pack your bags. I want you off my property by tonight.
Victoria: You can't kick me out! We are legally married! Half of everything in this house belongs to me!
Daniel: We signed a prenuptial agreement before we stood at the altar, Victoria. And if you think I'm going to let an attempted murderer stay under my roof, you are out of your mind.
Victoria: Attempted murder? You have no proof! It's your word against mine!
Daniel: Look up at the pergola, Victoria.
Victoria turned her head slowly, her dark blue dress rustling against the stone floor. Mounted directly under the roof beam of the pergola was a small, black dome camera, its red recording light blinking silently in the sunlight.