The quiet hum of the hospital monitoring equipment filled the private room at St. Jude's Medical Center.
Maya lay in the white hospital bed, a warm blanket draped over her shoulders, holding an ultrasound image in her hands.
Ethan: Look at her little hands in the picture, Maya. She's resting so peacefully.
Maya: The doctor said it was a miracle she wasn't harmed when we fell.
Ethan: It wasn't a miracle. It was because I grabbed you before you hit the bottom steps.
Maya: You leaped off the second-floor railing without even thinking, Ethan. You could have been killed!
Ethan: I would jump off a cliff ten times over to keep you and our baby girl safe.
The door to the hospital room opened softly, and Ethan's chief legal counsel, Marcus Vance, walked in carrying a leather binder.
Marcus: Good evening, Ethan, Mrs. Sterling. I came as soon as I heard the news from the precinct.
Ethan: What's the situation with Victoria's court arraignment, Marcus?
Marcus: The district attorney reviewed the video evidence from your mansion. The charges are rock-solid.
Maya: Did the judge grant her request for bail?
Marcus: Absolutely not. Given her offshore financial accounts and foreign citizenship, she was deemed a severe flight risk.
Ethan: What about the stolen trust fund money she transferred out of the country?
Marcus: The federal authorities have already frozen her accounts in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands under emergency fraud warrants.
Maya: Will the trust fund be restored to Ethan's family estate?
Marcus: Every single penny, Mrs. Sterling. In fact, because of her felony conviction, her prenuptial agreement is completely voided.
Ethan: Meaning she gets nothing from my father's estate?
Marcus: She won't receive a dime. She forfeits all rights to the mansion, the family investments, and the monthly allowance.
Maya: That mansion carries so much dark memory now, Ethan. I don't know if I ever want to walk inside again.
Ethan: We aren't going back there, Maya. I'm putting the mansion on the market tomorrow morning.
Maya: Are you sure, Ethan? Your father spent years building that house.
Ethan: My father would want us to raise our daughter in a home filled with love, not toxic greed and painful memories.
Marcus: I can handle the private real estate listing quietly, Ethan. Buyers are already interested in that neighborhood.
Ethan: Do it, Marcus. Sell the house and transfer all the proceeds into a new trust fund for my daughter.
Maya: Thank you, Marcus. For everything you've done for us today.
Marcus: It was my honor, Mrs. Sterling. Get some rest. I will handle the district attorney's office from here.
Marcus bowed his head respectfully and exited the room, leaving the husband and wife alone in the warm lamplight.
Ethan: How are you feeling right now, sweetie?
Maya: For the first time in two years, Ethan... I feel like we can finally breathe without fear.