“It is breakfast,” I answered quietly.

Nobody laughed, and the tension in the room became suffocating.

Valeria sat down next to me, while the police officers remained standing in a firm line.

Marcus opened his briefcase on the table, and Hector did not dare to look at his boss.

Mrs. Joyce clutched her pearls tightly as she started to panic.

“Jasper, tell these people to get out of our house right now!” she demanded.

Jasper pushed his chair back violently, his face turning red with rage.

“Everyone out of my house!” he roared. “Now!”

One of the police officers stepped forward and placed a hand on his belt.

“Mr. Kane, please sit down and remain calm,” the officer ordered.

For the first time in years, nobody obeyed Jasper’s commands.

I placed a digital tablet in the center of the table and pressed the play button.

His own voice filled the dining room, clear and cruel.

“Tomorrow I want a decent breakfast waiting for me, with no sour faces and no drama.”

Then, the sound of the sickening slap echoed through the room.

Mrs. Joyce opened her mouth in shock, but she could not find the words to defend him.

Then, his own voice was heard again, condemning him.

“A wife who does not understand small instructions surely does not understand big ones.”

Jasper lunged toward the tablet to destroy it, but a police officer grabbed his wrist firmly.

I looked at him without looking down, my posture confident and unshaken.

“You chose the wrong woman to humiliate, Jasper,” I said firmly.

The worst part for him was that he had no idea what was in that folder.

Jasper stood frozen by the table, his own recorded voice still hanging in the stagnant air.

He finally exploded, desperate to save his own skin.

“Do you think a few recordings are going to destroy me?” he yelled.

“No,” I replied, staring him down. “The recordings are for the physical assaults, but the rest of this is for your fraud.”