The crystal chandelier in the high entrance hall shook as cold drops splashed across the polished marble floor.
Seven-month-old Toby sat buckled in his high chair, his tiny hands shaking as he gasped for air in his wet diaper.
Victoria stood over him in a shimmering royal blue satin gown, tipping a heavy glass pitcher until sharp cubes of ice spilled straight down.
Victoria: Cry louder! You don't belong here!
Victoria: You think your dead mother left you a permanent spot in this family?
Victoria: You are nothing but an obstacle in my way.
Toby let out a high, choked scream as the freezing water soaked into his chest.
Across the tiled corridor, Clara dropped her polishing cloth and sprinted in her light grey uniform and white apron.
Clara: Touch him again and I'll destroy you!
Clara slammed both hands into Victoria's shoulder, shoving the woman hard enough to send her sliding across the slick stone.
The glass pitcher crashed against the marble baseboard, shattering into jagged shards and splashing icy water everywhere.
Clara scooped Toby into her arms, wrapping her apron around his shivering body beneath the massive American flag hanging from the second-floor gallery.
The heavy wooden front double doors slammed open with a booming crash that echoed off the high ceiling.
Ethan Sterling rushed into the hall in a dark navy blue suit, his briefcase hitting the floor as his eyes locked onto the chaos.
Ethan: What is going on here?!
Clara: Sir! She poured ice water over your baby!
Victoria: She's lying, Ethan!
Ethan took three furious strides across the room, his eyes wild with terror and rage.
Ethan: You dared to harm my child?!
His right hand whipped through the air, cracking across Victoria's face with a deafening slap that sent her tumbling back to the floor.
Victoria: Ah! No, please!
Ethan stood over her, his finger trembling with pure fury as his jaw worked.
Ethan: Get out of my house before I have you arrested!
Victoria lay clutching her burning cheek on the wet stone, totally unaware that the locked legal folder in Ethan's coat held a secret that would destroy her by nightfall.