RICHARD: "Did the employee strike you first?"
VICTORIA: "No."
RICHARD: "Did she threaten you?"
VICTORIA: "No."
RICHARD: "Did she insult you?"
VICTORIA: "Not exactly."
RICHARD: "Then what are you asking me to do?"
VICTORIA: "I want you to call the company. You know people in the industry. You can explain that this has been blown out of proportion."
RICHARD: "I will not call anyone to make the evidence disappear."
VICTORIA: "I did not ask you to make anything disappear. I asked you to help me."
RICHARD: "Helping you does not mean protecting you from the consequences of your own actions."
VICTORIA: "So you are going to let them ruin my reputation?"
RICHARD: "I do not know what will happen next. I know that you struck someone who was doing her job. If you want my advice, you should stop trying to control the story and start thinking about how to take responsibility."
Victoria stared at him in disbelief.
VICTORIA: "You are my father."
RICHARD: "Yes. That is why I am telling you the truth."
VICTORIA: "You always say that, but you never understand what it is like to be me. People are constantly judging me. They assume I am spoiled, that everything comes easily to me, that I have never worked for anything."
RICHARD: "Then you should be especially careful not to give them evidence that confirms their assumptions."
The words struck harder than Victoria expected. She looked away, blinking rapidly, and for a moment she seemed close to tears. But the feeling quickly turned into anger again.
VICTORIA: "I cannot believe you are doing this."
RICHARD: "I am not doing anything to you. You made a decision, and now there is a record of it."
VICTORIA: "You could at least call the manager and ask him to be reasonable."
RICHARD: "I will not pressure an employee or a manager because you are unhappy with the result of your own behavior."
VICTORIA: "You are choosing strangers over your own daughter."
RICHARD: "I am choosing not to tell you that you were right when you were wrong."
Victoria left the study and slammed the door behind her. Richard remained at his desk, looking down at the documents he had been reviewing. He was disappointed, but not surprised. He had seen his daughter treat staff, drivers, and service workers as though their time and dignity mattered less than hers. Each time, someone had intervened before the behavior had serious consequences. Someone had paid for the inconvenience, made a quiet apology, or arranged a replacement service.
He had often wondered what would happen when no one stepped in to smooth things over.
Now he knew.
That evening, Richard contacted the company's general counsel, not to demand that the incident be suppressed, but to ask what the appropriate procedure would be if a family member were involved in a dispute at one of the company's partner locations. He explained that Victoria had admitted striking an employee and that security footage existed. He made it clear that he did not want anyone to pressure the boutique or its staff.
The counsel advised him to avoid contacting the store directly while the incident was being reviewed and to allow the normal process to proceed. Richard agreed.
He then sent Victoria a short message asking her not to contact the boutique staff or attempt to influence the witnesses. She read it and did not reply.
For the next two days, Victoria remained convinced that the matter would eventually disappear. She assumed the store would prefer to protect its commercial relationships rather than pursue a complaint. She assumed the witnesses would lose interest. She assumed that her family's reputation would make everyone cautious.
But the boutique's internal review continued.
David submitted the incident report, including the reservation record, the preserved footage, and the written statements. The regional office reviewed the documents and confirmed that the store had followed the required procedures. HR contacted Natalie privately to check on her well-being and ask whether she needed support or adjustments to her duties.
NATALIE: "I appreciate the call. I am managing, although I still feel unsettled when I think about it."
HR REPRESENTATIVE: "That is understandable. We want you to know that the company takes physical aggression toward employees seriously. You are not expected to return to normal duties before you feel ready."
NATALIE: "I do want to continue working. I just want to know that if something like this happens again, I will be supported."