Vanessa rushed down the white marble steps with her hands placed over her heart.
She pretended to look completely terrified, but her eyes remained cold and sharp.
"Oh my God, Richard! My hands slipped, I didn't mean to!" she shouted loudly.
Richard looked up from the floor, his eyes narrowing as he watched her approach.
He saw through her dramatic act in a single, painful second of realization.
He remembered seeing her hands deliberately push the child over the tall metal railing.
Lily continued to weep hysterically against his chest, clutching his tan blazer tightly.
Vanessa reached the bottom step and stepped closer toward the kneeling father and child.
"Hand her to me, I'll take her upstairs right now!" Vanessa demanded quickly.
Richard stood up slowly, holding Lily securely in his strong, protective arms.
His face contorted into deep, explosive anger as he faced his calculating wife.
"Stay away from her! You did that on purpose!" Richard yelled with powerful force.
Vanessa stepped back slightly, her polished facade beginning to crack under his intense glare.
"Richard, you are being ridiculous! Why would I ever do such a thing?" she argued.
"I saw your face, Vanessa! You didn't slip at all!" he answered firmly.
"It was a tragic accident! She was moving around too much!" she insisted angrily.
Richard took a firm step forward, shielding his crying daughter behind his solid frame.
"Don't you ever come near my child again!" he shouted with immense authority.
Vanessa put her hands on her hips, attempting to assert dominance over the tense situation.
"This is my house too! You cannot talk to me like that!" she snapped back.
"You have crossed a line that can never be fixed," Richard said coldly.
Vanessa scoffed, backing away toward the grand staircase as her cheeks flushed bright red.
"You are crazy, Richard! No court will ever take your side without proof!" she yelled.
She turned on her expensive heels and hurried back up the stairs in anger.
Richard held Lily close, feeling the young child calm down slowly in his arms.
He knew he needed to protect his family from whatever Vanessa was planning next.
He walked toward his quiet study, intending to lock the massive wooden doors securely.
He needed answers about why his wife would commit such an awful act.
The trust that once held their home together was completely broken into pieces now.