The bright Texas sun streamed through the arched windows of the Dallas estate, casting golden light over the pristine marble hallway below the second-floor balcony. Clara adjusted the silver tray in her hands, her maid's uniform crisp and spotless as she made her morning rounds. From the grand staircase, soft laughter echoed through the high-ceilinged mansion, but there was a sharp, underlying tension in the air that made her stomach turn.
Victoria: Look down there, sweetie. Look at how far away everything looks from up here!
On the upper balcony, Victoria stood in a glittering golden sequined gown, her long blonde hair falling over her shoulders. She held seven-month-old Leo high in the air, right over the wrought-iron railing near the framed American flag.
Clara: Mrs. Sterling, please! Step back from the railing! You're holding him too close to the edge!
Victoria: Mind your own business, Clara! I'm just showing my stepson his future empire!
Leo whimpered, his small hands kicking in the air as Victoria's grip loosened near the open ledge.
Clara: Mrs. Sterling, no! Bring him down right now!
Victoria: Oh, don't be so dramatic. He's perfectly safe in my hands.
Victoria gave a cruel, cold smile, and in one swift, terrifying second, her fingers opened. The infant slipped through the air, plunging toward the hard marble foyer two stories below.
Clara: NO!
Clara dropped her tray, the metal clattering across the floor as she threw her body forward in a frantic dive. She slid across the polished marble, opening her arms wide just a split second before the child hit the floor. The heavy impact knocked the breath from her lungs, but she squeezed the crying baby securely against her chest, absorbing the entire fall with her own body.
Clara: I've got you! I've got you, baby! Oh God, you're safe!
Victoria stood at the railing above, her face turning pale with absolute shock as Clara cradled the weeping infant on the ground.
Clara: She deliberately dropped the baby! She dropped him on purpose!
Before Victoria could move, the grand double doors of the mansion swung wide open, and Brandon rushed inside.