Mark rushed across the large room and dropped down onto his knees beside Sarah and Emma.
He placed a warm, trembling hand over the baby's small back to check for any injuries.
Emma was completely unharmed because Sarah had caught her right before she struck the hard floor.
Mark stood up fast, his face red with sudden anger as he turned toward the staircase landing.
Mark: How could the gate be open, Victoria?
Victoria: The lock must have been loose, Mark!
Sarah: That lock was brand new, and you were standing right next to her!
Victoria: I stepped out of my room and saw her reaching for the top step!
Sarah: You did not reach out to grab her at all!
Victoria took a step backward and lost her footing on her long silk dress, tumbling back onto the floor.
She stayed down on the carpet, gasping dramatically while pressing a hand against her forehead.
Mark pointed an angry finger up at his stepmother as his voice boomed through the high ceiling.
Mark: Do not lie to me in my own house!
Victoria: I am the one who helps care for this family, Mark!
Sarah: You have been trying to push me out since the day we got married!
Victoria: That is an awful thing to say to a woman who gave you a home!
Mark took a deep breath, trying to calm his shaking hands as he looked down at Sarah.
He reached out and helped Sarah stand up from the white marble floor of the foyer.
Sarah wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her sleeve while keeping Emma secure in her arm.
She knew that words would not be enough to prove what really took place standard on the balcony.
She needed actual proof to show her husband that his stepmother was acting out of deep malice.
Sarah: Mark, come with me to the home office right now.
Victoria: There is nothing in that office for you to see, Sarah!
Mark: Stay right there, Victoria.
Mark walked with Sarah toward the private office situated just off the main living room area.
Victoria pushed herself up from the carpet, her face pale as she followed them at a distance.
The truth was waiting behind the wooden door of the house control room.