The white marble tiles in the entrance hall felt freezing beneath the cold glare of the chandelier.
Victoria stood over the polished floor in her red velvet gown, holding six-month-old Toby by his swaddling cloth.
Her fingers relaxed without hesitation, and the baby plunged straight toward the hard stone floor.
Victoria: Oops. My grip just slipped.
A muffled thud echoed off the vaulted ceiling as Toby hit the marble, shrieking in sheer terror.
From the doorway of the nursery pantry, Sarah dropped her stack of cotton towels and lunged across the foyer.
Sarah: No! Dear God, no!
Sarah slid across the stone on her knees, scooping the crying infant into her chest to inspect his head.
Sarah: Hold on, Toby. Nana has you. Breathe, little angel, just breathe!
Victoria leaned back against the mahogany console, folding her bare arms with a vicious grin.
Victoria: Who do you think he'll believe? His future wife or a cheap nanny?
Sarah: You dropped an infant onto solid rock on purpose! You belong in a cell!
Victoria: I am the future mistress of this estate, Sarah. You are a hired hand on an hourly wage.
The heavy mahogany entrance doors swung open with a booming crash that shook the walls.
William Sterling rushed inside in his dark wool overcoat, his leather briefcase crashing onto the tiles.
William: What is that noise?! What happened to my boy?!
Toby looked up through tear-drenched eyelashes, gasping for air as his tiny face turned scarlet.
Sarah: Sir! She opened her hands and dropped him right onto the marble floor!
Victoria: William, darling! The nanny tripped while carrying him down the stairs!
William charged across the floor, his open hand cracking across Victoria's face with a ferocious slap.
William: What the hell is wrong with you!
Victoria crashed onto the stone floor, unaware that William had uncovered the truth about her past.