Richard: "Clara, get away from those children right now!"
Clara: "Mr. Sterling, please! You have to listen to me!"
Victoria: "Richard, don't listen to a single word she says! I saw her with my own eyes! She grabbed the handle and shoved the stroller!"
Clara: "That is a lie! I was at the bottom of the stairs cleaning the baseboards!"
Richard stepped between Clara and the stairs, his chest heaving as he gritted his teeth. His hands shook as he looked down at the twin infants crying softly in Clara's arms.
Richard: "You were hired to clean this house, Clara, not to touch my children! How could you be so careless?!"
Clara: "I didn't push them, sir! I ran when I heard the wheels rolling!"
Victoria: "She's trying to cover her tracks, Richard! She hates me, and she wanted to hurt this family!"
Richard: "If anything happened to my girls, I swear to God I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life in prison!"
Clara cradled the two babies tighter against her chest, her grey uniform stained with her own tears. She looked up at Richard with wide, desperate eyes.
Clara: "Look at them, Mr. Sterling! Check their arms! Check their heads! They aren't hurt because I caught them before the stroller smashed into the pillar!"
Victoria: "She's lying! She's making up stories because she knows she's caught!"
Richard: "Hand me the babies, Clara. Right now."
Clara: "Please, sir, just check the stroller... the brake wasn't even set..."
Victoria: "Because you turned it off before you pushed it!"
Richard reached down and took the twins from Clara's arms, holding them close against his chest as his eyes burned with anger. He looked down at the maid kneeling on the marble floor.
Richard: "Get up. Get your things and get out of my house before I call the Dallas police department."
Clara: "Mr. Sterling, please! You know how much I care about these babies!"
Victoria: "You heard him! Leave! You're fired!"
Lily: "DADDY, I SAW EVERYTHING."
The entire foyer went completely still[cite: 1]. Richard turned his head slowly toward the hallway. His ten-year-old daughter, Lily, stepped into the light of the grand foyer[cite: 1]. She wore a simple blue dress, and her small hands held a black smartphone out in front of her.
Richard: "Lily? What are you doing out here? Go back to your room."
Lily: "No, Daddy. You need to look at this."
Victoria: "Lily, sweetie, go upstairs. The adults are talking right now."
Lily: "I was recording my dance video for school near the balcony, Daddy. My camera was running the whole time."
Lily walked forward, her shoes clicking softly on the white marble floor. She turned the screen of the phone directly toward her father. Richard bent down, his eyes scanning the live video playback on the small display. On the screen, Victoria stood at the top of the grand wooden staircase, wearing her bright burgundy dress[cite: 1]. Her face was cold and calm as her hand deliberately pushed the blue stroller over the edge of the top step[cite: 1].
Richard: "What... what is this?"
Lily: "Victoria pushed the stroller, Daddy. Clara didn't do anything."
Richard stared at the phone screen in total disbelief, his blood running cold as the clip replayed over and over. He looked up from the screen and turned his gaze directly toward Victoria. His face contorted into pure rage.
Richard: "You... you pushed my children down the stairs?!"