Sarah adjusted her dark blue blazer as she walked through the front door of the mansion.
The sun washed through the big front glass windows, lighting up the entire foyer with bright white light.
She dropped her work bag on the sofa and listened for her ten-month-old baby girl.
It was a quiet afternoon inside the huge family home in the heart of Atlanta.
Her mother-in-law, Victoria, was upstairs wearing a green silk dress that swept along the floor.
Sarah heard a faint baby laugh coming from the top landing near the big open staircase.
She looked up and felt her heart freeze instantly inside her chest.
The wooden safety gate at the top of the stairs stood completely open.
Little Emma was crawling quickly toward the edge of the polished marble steps.
Victoria stood just three feet away on the second-floor balcony, watching without moving her hands.
Sarah screamed out and sprinted across the polished marble floor as fast as she could run.
Her heel caught the edge of the carpet, but she kept moving forward without dropping her speed.
Emma lost her balance and tipped forward over the top step with a soft cry.
Sarah threw her body across the floor, sliding hard onto her knees across the smooth marble surface.
She caught the infant right above the hard floor and pulled her tightly against her chest.
The sudden heavy impact made Sarah gasp for air as tears flooded down her cheeks immediately.
She rocked back and forth on the cool floor, shielding the small baby with her arm.
Sarah: Shh, mommy's here. You're safe now, sweetheart.
The baby pressed her small face into Sarah's shirt and quieted down to a soft whimper.
Sarah looked up at the second-floor balcony with tears burning inside her eyes.
Victoria stood looking down, her hands raised slightly while her eyes shifted around the open hallway.
Her husband Mark burst through the heavy double doors of the house with a frantic look on his face.
He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his wife sitting on the floor with their child.
Mark: What happened? Who did this to our child?
Sarah looked from Mark back up toward the stairs where Victoria was slowly taking a step back.
Victoria: She tumbled down the stairway! It was an accident, I didn't mean to!
Sarah gripped Emma tighter against her shoulder and shook her head in complete disbelief.