Julian stopped dead in his tracks, staring across the wide white hall at the terrible scene unfolding before his eyes.
His heart beat wildly inside his chest as heavy panic rushed through his veins like a ice-cold winter wave.
Julian: What is going on here?!
Julian shouted, his voice echoing off the high crystal chandelier and polished marble walls with fierce authority.
Vanessa snapped her head around in shock, her dark eyes widening as she realized Julian had returned unexpectedly early.
In a split second, she dropped down onto her knees beside Margarethe, pretending to help her off the cold floor.
Vanessa: Honey! She fell on her own and you're trying to frame me!
Vanessa cried out in a fake frantic voice, throwing her hands in the air and putting on a fake terrified mask.
Margarethe: No... Julian, no! She pushed me! She was going to hurt our baby girl!
Margarethe sobbed from the floor, her hands trembling violently as she held her lower stomach in deep physical distress.
Julian rushed forward across the grand hall, his shoes clicking fast against the smooth marble as he approached them.
He dropped to his knees next to Margarethe, wrapping a strong arm around her trembling shoulders to protect her body.
Julian: Are you okay, sweetie? Can you breathe? Talk to me!
Margarethe: My belly hurts so much, Julian... she raised her shoe to hit me!
Vanessa: She is lying, Julian! She lost her balance on her high heels and tripped over her own feet!
Julian raised his head slowly, his shock turning into a dark, furious glare that locked onto Vanessa's pale face.
Julian: Margarethe does not wear high heels, Vanessa. She is wearing flat rubber slippers today.
Vanessa froze on the floor, her fake tears stopping instantly as her lips turned dry with sudden quiet horror.
Vanessa: Well... she slipped on the slippery floor polish! I was just reaching down to lift her up!
Julian: I stood right at that front door and watched you raise your heel over my wife's head.
Vanessa: You saw it wrong! The sun glare from the large front windows blinded your eyes, Julian!
Julian slowly tilted his head upward, looking straight up toward the grand ceiling balcony high above the main hall.
Framed right beside the upper wooden railing sat a small, sleek black dome camera with a tiny red blinking light.
Julian: Let's see what the camera says, Vanessa.
Vanessa looked up at the ceiling balcony, her face instantly draining of all color as horror finally set in deep.
Vanessa: That camera... that camera was disconnected three months ago during the house renovation!
Julian: I reconnected every single camera on the estate yesterday morning and synced them directly to my mobile phone.
Vanessa gasped as her whole body began to shake with intense fear, realizing her entire evil game was over.