Mom
Alice was your father’s assistant.
Mom
And then she became his mistress.
Sara’s dad makes a strange, guttural sound.
He moves his arms, causing his chains to clank.
Then he keels over sideways on the cement floor.
Sara
No, he’s unconscious but he’s breathing.
Mom
I guess we have no choice now.
Sara calls 911 and tells them to send an ambulance immediately.
Mom
Now it will all come out.
Mom
And we’ll be destitute.
Sara
Mom, you’re confusing me.
Sara
And you’re scaring me too.
Mom
We’ll be paupers, Sara.
Sara
Mom, I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Sara
We’re both able-bodied people who can work.
Sara
So we’ll never be paupers.
Sara
But first, tell me about Alice.
Sara
She did this to Dad?
Sara
She must be a monster.
Mom
A monster with curves who wears very tight clothes.
Sara
You said she was his assistant?
Mom
Yes, in the early days.
Mom
You wouldn’t remember her.
Mom
Back then your father had a very dark secret…
Mom
He started embezzling money from his company.
Mom
Yes, he did it for years.
Mom
Right up until the time that I reported him dead.
Sara
I don’t understand. Start at the beginning –
Sara
You knew about the embezzlement? And you just let him do it?
Mom
I suspected it, but I didn’t really know it.
Mom
And by the time I did, it was too late.
Mom
Besides, the money bought us such nice things.
Mom
Cars, clothes, vacations.
Mom
Your private school tuition.
Mom
Our new bigger house.
Sara
But I wanted to go to public school!
Sara
And I wanted to stay in THIS house!
Mom
Honey, please. There’s no going back and changing the past.
Mom
At least that’s what I told myself two years ago, when I found out about everything.
Mom
The embezzling, the affair – it had been going on for almost 20 years before that.
Mom
But there’s been one good thing about him.
Mom
He’s been a good father to you.
Mom
He loves you, Sara. We have to remember that’s why he did it.
Sara
I know, Mom. I know.
Sara
He always made me feel loved.
Sara
He always sang that lullaby he wrote for me, even when I was older.
Sara
And I know it’s dumb, but I always liked it. It made me feel loved.
Mom
You were – you are. His love for you is real, Sara.
Mom
It’s just the rest of his life that is a fraud.
Sara
Oh, Mom. I can’t bear it!
Sara
For all he’s done…he didn’t deserve…
She looks over at the blind man in chains, lying unconscious on the floor.
Sara
Mom, why would Alice do THIS to him?
Mom
I’m not exactly sure. But it has to be her. She’s evil.
Mom
The day after your father disappeared, I got a phone call from her.
Mom
She said, “If you know what’s best for and your daughter, tell the authorities your husband drowned.”
Mom
Then she said, “He’s moving away with me and we don’t want anything to do with your family.”
Sara
I knew he didn’t really drown!
Sara
I KNEW it, deep in my bones.
Mom
Sara, she said she would tell the police all about your father’s crimes.
Mom
But worst of all, she said she would come after you and kill you if I said anything.
Mom
But I would have told police if I had known THIS would happen.
Sara
But why would she do this to him if she was running away with him?
Mom
Maybe he met someone else. A newer version.
Mom
She’s getting old, after all.
Mom
Maybe she thought if she couldn’t have him, no one could.
Sara
Ugh, that’s terrible!
Mom
Sara, can you forgive me?
Sara
If you had just told the police in the first place, this would never have happened.
Mom
I was so afraid she would do something to you.
Mom
I mean…look what she’s capable of!
Sara kneels over her blind father and strokes his hair.
It’s the lullaby Sara knows so well.
Sara
Oh Dad, you’re going to be okay.
Sara
The ambulance is coming.
Suddenly Sara sees something on the floor.
Sara
Look! His phone just fell out of his pocket!
Sara
Maybe it will help us track down Alice.
Just as she picks up the phone, they hear the front door bang open.
Sara
We’re down in the basement!
Two paramedics rush downstairs with a stretcher.
They look at the man on the floor in shock.
Mom
We think a woman named Alice Smith did this.
Paramedic
They told us a man was unconscious at this address.
Paramedic
We didn’t know a crime was involved.
Paramedic
We’ll need to call the police.
Sara
Please, just make sure he’s okay first!
The two paramedics administer fluids to Sarah’s dad.
Then, using sterilized tools, they remove the wire that has been holding his lips shut.
They bandage his bleeding lips with gauze and carefully place him on the stretcher.
Paramedic
I’m calling the police.
Paramedic
You need to stay here and talk to them.
He dials 911 and explains what has happened.
Paramedic
What do you mean they can’t come right now?
Paramedic
This needs to be first priority.
Sara’s dad grunts and lifts his head. Then he speaks hoarsely.
Then he passes out again.
Paramedic
Apparently there’s been a big shooting at the mall, and the entire police force is there.
Paramedic
Keep calling and demand that they send someone here as soon as possible.
Paramedic
Because whoever did this is sick and needs to be caught. Immediately.
Sara
And then we’ll come the hospital.
Sara
Do you think he’ll be okay?
Paramedic
Well, he’s going to be blind for the rest of his life, but it looks like he’ll probably recover.
Paramedic
He’s lucky, considering what was done to him.
The paramedics leave with Sara’s dad.
After they leave, Sara digs out her charger and plugs in her dad’s phone.
Mom
What are you doing, Sara?
Sara
I’m going to see if I can find Alice’s number in his contacts.
Sara
I’m not going to let her get away with this!
Mom
Don’t call her! Then she’ll know.
Sara
I won’t, but at least let me find her number.
Sara
I’ll give it to the police when they get here.
As Sara goes through her father’s contact list, the phone starts ringing.
The name on the screen says: Alice.
