David: Stay on the line! My wife was just pushed off a second-story balcony inside our home! Send police units and an ambulance immediately!
Dispatcher: Sir, stay calm. Emergency units are being dispatched to your Dallas address right now. Is your wife conscious?
David: Yes, she's conscious, but she's in shock! Get officers here right now before I handle this myself!
David ended the call and placed his smartphone on the marble floor beside him, keeping one arm firmly wrapped around Clara's waist. The sheer shock of the moment made his chest heave, his heart hammering against his ribs as he looked up at the upper balcony once again.
Clara: David... my back hurts... I was so scared!
David: Shh, take deep breaths, honey. You're safe in my arms. I caught you. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you again.
Clara: She walked up behind me... she said the money belonged to her kids... and then she pushed me!
David: I saw her hand on your back as I ran through the door. She isn't going to get away with this.
Up on the balcony, Eleanor clutched her red dress with pale, shaking hands, backing away slowly from the wooden railing. Her plan to make Clara's fall look like an accidental slip had completely collapsed the moment David walked through the entrance.
Eleanor: David! Listen to me! It was an accident! She tripped over her own slippers!
David: Shut your mouth, Eleanor! I saw you push her with my own eyes!
Eleanor: I was trying to grab her arm! She was leaning too far over the edge looking at the chandelier!
Clara: You lied! You shoved me with both hands! You told me I had no right to my mother's estate!
Eleanor: You lying little brat! How dare you accuse me of such a horrific thing in front of my son-in-law!
David: Don't you call her a liar! You've been eyeing her inheritance ever since you married her father three years ago!
David carefully slid his arm out from under Clara, easing her down onto the soft foyer rug near the entrance. He stood up slowly, adjusting his black suit jacket as his tall frame cast a long shadow across the marble floor.
David: Stay right there, Clara. I'm going up there.
Clara: David, please be careful! She's out of her mind!
David: She's a coward who attacks people from behind. She doesn't scare me.
David turned toward the grand staircase, taking three steps at a time as his dress shoes struck the marble with heavy, rhythmic thuds. Up on the second landing, Eleanor panicked, looking around for an escape route toward the master bedroom.
Eleanor: Stay away from me, David! I am the mistress of this mansion!
David: You're a criminal, Eleanor! And your time in this house ends today!
Eleanor: You touch me and I'll have my lawyers strip every asset from your company!
David: Your lawyers won't be able to save you from a attempted murder charge!
David reached the top of the stairs, blocking the narrow hallway leading to the guest bedrooms. Eleanor stumbled backward, her red dress rustling as her back hit the hallway wall under the wall-mounted lights.
David: Why did you do it, Eleanor? Was the monthly allowance your husband gave you not enough?
Eleanor: He left fifty percent of the estate directly to Clara in his new will! My children were getting crumbs!
David: Because it was Clara's mother who built the firm! You didn't contribute a single dollar to this family!
Eleanor: I gave him three years of my life! I deserve full control of the trust fund!
David: You deserve a prison cell, and that's exactly where you're going.