Chapter 6 - The Theater of Deception.
Victoria threw her arms around the wheelchair with an Academy Award-winning performance of maternal anguish.
"Where on earth were you, Mother? We were looking everywhere for you!"
Victoria wailed, dabbing at her dry eyes with a pristine silk handkerchief.
The grandmother recoiled from the fake embrace, her entire body shaking with a mixture of fear and absolute disgust.
"Get away from me, you monster," the old woman whispered fiercely, shrinking back against the seat.
"You locked me in the dark!"
Victoria gasped dramatically, pressing a hand to her chest as if deeply wounded by the accusation.
"Oh, the poor soul," Victoria sobbed, looking directly at the officer and the nurse with feigned heartbreak.
"Her dementia has gotten so much worse lately, officer."
Richard stepped in smoothly beside his wife, placing a comforting hand on Victoria's shoulder with practiced grace.
"She constantly wanders into dangerous places and imagines things that never happened," Richard added, his voice dripping with false concern.
"That is why we had to hire professional round-the-clock care in the first place."
The nurse stepped forward, her eyes blazing with righteous fury as she pointed a finger straight at Victoria.
"Don't you dare lie to their faces!"
The nurse shouted, her voice echoing off the high walls of the grand hallway.
"I saw you drag her down there, and I heard you threaten her life!"
"Officer, please remove this unstable woman from my home," Richard requested, turning to the law enforcement official with a calm, authoritative air.
"She was fired this morning for erratic behavior and theft, and now she's having a complete mental breakdown."
The officer looked back and forth between the weeping couple and the enraged nurse, his expression tight with frustration.
He knew deep down that something foul was happening beneath the pristine surface of this household.
However, without hard, undeniable physical evidence of the basement being locked from the outside, his hands were legally tied.
"Ma'am, I have to ask you to step outside," the officer said gently to the nurse, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"We can't make an arrest based solely on conflicting testimonies without a formal investigation."
"You can't just leave her here with them!"
The nurse protested loudly, struggling against the officer's gentle guidance toward the front door.
"They are going to hurt her the second you drive away!"
"We are filing a protective services report right now," the officer assured her quietly, ushering her out onto the porch.
"An independent social worker will be assigned to evaluate this household tomorrow morning."
The heavy oak door slammed shut right in their faces, cutting off the nurse's frantic pleas.
Inside the foyer, the fake tears vanished from Victoria's face in an instant, replaced by a look of cold, calculating triumph.
Victoria leaned down close to the grandmother's ear, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper.
"You think a little police visit is going to save you?"
May you like
Victoria hissed, her eyes narrowing into slits.
"Tonight, you're signing over the rest of the estate shares, or the basement will look like paradise compared to what's coming."
