The afternoon heat outside the Dallas estate was suffocating, but inside the air-conditioned foyer of the Sterling mansion, the cold marble floor was as slick as ice. Clara adjusted her white apron as she dusted the grand staircase handrails, trying to keep her head down while the family argued upstairs. Over the past three months working as a live-in maid, she had learned to stay invisible whenever Evelyn was in one of her foul moods. Evelyn, a blonde socialite in a vibrant orange dress, had made it her personal mission to push everyone out of the household ever since old Arthur Sterling passed away.
Evelyn: Stop squirming, you little brat! You are ruining my dress!
Clara looked up from the base of the stairs, her heart stopping instantly. Standing near the white balustrades of the second-floor balcony, right in front of the massive American flag hanging on the wood-paneled wall, Evelyn held toddler Maya high above the floor. Maya, dressed in her little black-and-white outfit, was kicking her legs and sobbing hysterically. Her tiny shoes dangled fifty feet over the hard marble entryway.
Clara: Miss Evelyn! Please, bring her back inside the railing! She's slipping!
Evelyn: Mind your own business, maid! This child doesn't belong in this family, and neither do you!
Clara: Please! Hold on to her!
Evelyn: Oops!
A high-pitched gasp echoed through the cavernous foyer as Evelyn let her hands drop. Maya fell from the second story, her tiny body tumbling through the open air toward the white marble tiles. Clara didn't think, didn't hesitate, and didn't care about her own safety. She sprinted across the grand foyer with explosive speed, diving forward across the slippery floor with her arms stretched toward the ceiling.
Clara: I've got you!
The impact knocked the breath straight from Clara's lungs as she caught the baby mid-air, slamming hard onto her knees against the stone tiles. She wrapped her arms around Maya, shielding the toddler's head with her chest as they skidded across the floor. Tears streamed down Clara's cheeks as she held the terrified child close to her beating heart, checking every inch of her little hands and feet.
Clara: You're safe... You're safe, sweetie... I've got you...
Evelyn: Well, look at that. You actually caught her.
Clara looked up, her body trembling with rage and adrenaline as Evelyn casually walked down the grand staircase, tapping her fingernails against the wooden railing without a single trace of remorse. But before Clara could speak, the massive double front doors of the mansion burst open with a deafening thud, and a man in a sharp beige suit charged into the room.