Chapter 1: A heart-stopping moment as a woman
Victoria’s eyes darted frantically toward the grand staircase below, where a maid in a neat gray uniform was rushing out from the hallway. Without a second thought, driven by a volatile mix of post-partum psychosis and deep-seated familial malice, Victoria raised her arms and hurled the bundled infant straight over the second-floor railing.
"Watch out!" the maid screamed, lunging forward with desperate velocity.
The white bundle plummeted through the open air of the cavernous foyer. The maid, Elena, scrambled across the polished marble floor, diving forward with outstretched arms just in time. The bundle crashed heavily into her chest, the impact knocking the wind completely out of her lungs. Elena tumbled hard onto her side, crying out in pain, but her arms tightened instinctively around the white blanket, shielding the fragile life inside her embrace.
High above, Victoria peered over the railing, her chest heaving as she muttered under her breath, realizing her lethal attempt had been thwarted. She turned sharply, her designer heels clicking frantically against the marble walkway as she hurried toward the master corridor to escape before the consequences caught up with her.
Down below, Elena slowly rolled onto her knees, clutching the bundle against her chest. She pulled back the folds of the white blanket to reveal a tiny baby girl with wide, dark eyes, blinking in terror. Elena’s face was wet with hot tears, her voice cracking as she wept openly.
"She was going to drop the baby!" Elena sobbed hysterically, rocking the infant back and forth against her uniform. "She dropped the baby from the balcony!"
Before Elena could catch her breath, the heavy mahogany front doors swung violently open. Richard Sterling, a tall, imposing man dressed in a sharp black tuxedo, strode into the foyer. His eyes were wide with shock, his face draining of all color as he took in the horrifying scene before him: the maid kneeling on the floor in tears, clutching a crying infant, and the empty second-floor balcony above.
Richard froze for a fraction of a second, his gaze shifting from Elena to the top of the stairs, where Victoria was attempting to slip away unseen. A dark, terrifying fury washed over Richard’s features. His jaw tightened so hard a muscle twitched in his cheek, his breathing turning ragged and shallow. He looked back down at his wife standing near the top of the stairs, her expression a mix of guilt and defiance.
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"Victoria!" Richard roared, his voice shaking the crystal chandeliers overhead.
Victoria flinched, turning around with a gasp as Richard sprinted up the grand staircase two steps at a time, driven by a terrifying surge of protectiveness and rage.
