Mark rushed across the polished floor with wide eyes and a racing, fearful heart.
He immediately dropped to his knees right beside Sarah and his frightened, crying daughter.
Mark: What happened here?! Is Lily hurt?!
Sarah: I saved her, sir! I caught her just in time!
Elena: Mark, it was an accident, I slipped on the top stair!
Sarah: She is lying to you, sir! She deliberately dropped your sweet little girl!
Mark stared at his maid in absolute disbelief as his blood suddenly ran cold.
Mark: What did you just say, Sarah?
Sarah: I saw her with my own eyes, sir! She pushed her right over the railing!
Elena: That is a complete lie! I slipped because of that loud crash down here!
Elena pointed her trembling finger toward the shattered glass vase sitting scattered across the floor.
Sarah quickly shook her head, letting heavy tears fall down her cheeks for dramatic effect.
Sarah: She knocked that vase over herself before carrying the poor child up those dangerous stairs!
Sarah: She wanted to make it look like a tragic disaster so you would blame me!
Elena: Why would you make up such a horrible story about me?!
Mark looked between his weeping wife and the maid who was protectively holding his daughter.
His mind was racing with dark, confused thoughts about the woman he had recently married.
He remembered how Elena had recently asked about the details of his rich life insurance policy.
A sudden wave of intense suspicion began to cloud his usually calm and logical judgment.
Mark: How could you endanger my only child, Elena?
Elena: Mark, please look at me! You know how much I love this little girl!
Sarah: She never wanted to be a stepmother, sir, she only wanted your family fortune!
Elena: Shut your mouth, Sarah! You are twisting everything that happened!
Mark stood up slowly, his tall frame casting a dark shadow over his crying wife.
His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists tightly at his sides in rage.
Mark: I trusted you with my home and my precious child, Elena.
Elena: Please listen to me! Check the security cameras in the hallway right now!
Sarah: The main hall camera has been broken since yesterday morning, ma'am, as you well know!
Elena gasped in utter shock as she realized how completely trapped she truly was.
She looked up at her husband, pleading with her eyes for a single shred of trust.
Mark pointed a stern finger toward the grand front entrance with cold authority.
Mark: Step away from my daughter right now, Elena!