The polished marble floor of the Vance manor reflected the warm sunlight, but the tension on the second-floor indoor balcony was ice cold. Clara smoothed the fabric of her white dotted maternity dress, holding her rounded belly protectively as her mother-in-law stepped closer with an icy glare.
Victoria: You should have taken the check and walked away, Clara. You don't belong in this family, and you certainly don't belong in this house.
Clara: I am Ethan's wife, Victoria. I am carrying his child, and I know what you did with his father's estate trust fund.
Victoria: You know nothing! You are a nobody from nowhere trying to steal what belongs to me!
Maria: Madam Victoria, please calm down! If Mr. Ethan sees us standing near the railing like this, he will ask questions!
Victoria: Shut your mouth, Maria! Hold her arm while I get those legal papers from her bag!
Clara: Get your hands off me! Don't touch me or my baby!
Victoria grabbed Clara's wrists with surprising strength, dragging her right against the low brass railing of the balcony. The terrified maid watched anxiously, wringing her hands in horror as Clara struggled to pull herself backward into the hallway.
Victoria: Give me the flash drive you took from the safe, Clara! Hand it over right now or you won't like what happens next!
Clara: Never! Ethan deserves to know the truth about how you stole his inheritance!
Victoria: Then you leave me no choice!
With a violent shove, Victoria slammed her weight into Clara's shoulders, throwing her back over the railing. Clara screamed in pure horror as her feet left the carpet, her white dress fluttering as she plunged backward into the empty air above the two-story foyer.
Clara: Ethan! Save me!
Her desperate shriek shattered the silence of the luxury estate, ringing through the grand hallway as she fell toward the solid stone below.