The wind howled past the glass balustrade forty feet above the stone pool terrace. Caris swung in empty air, her light blue silk dress fluttering wildly as both of her hands slipped against the coarse hemp rope[cite: 1].
Caris: Somebody help! Please! I can't hold on much longer[cite: 1]!
Clara: I have you, Caris! Hold on tight! Wrap your ankles around the knots[cite: 1]!
Clara dropped hard onto both knees on the polished marble balcony floor, the skin on her palms tearing as the rope burned through her fingers[cite: 1]. Her black-and-white maid uniform was soaked in cold sweat, her breath catching in her throat as the weight pulled her toward the edge[cite: 1].
Evelyn: Let her fall! Let her go right now, Clara[cite: 1]!
Standing right above Clara at the stone railing was Evelyn Sterling, her grandmother's wrinkled hands deliberately pressing down on the frayed cord[cite: 1].
Clara: Never! She is carrying your child! She is carrying the Sterling family heir[cite: 1]!
Evelyn: She is carrying a street orphan's bastard designed to steal our estate trust fund[cite: 1]!
Caris: Daniel! Daniel, look at me! Tell your grandmother to stop[cite: 1]!
Daniel Sterling stepped out through the glass terrace doors wearing a pristine beige polo shirt, his hands casually shoved into the pockets of his designer slacks[cite: 1].
His cold, vacant eyes stared down past the marble ledge at the woman he had wed in secret six months ago[cite: 1].
Daniel: I never wanted this baby[cite: 1].
Clara: Daniel, no! She is your wife! She is your lawful wife under God[cite: 1]!
Daniel: A secret wedding in Mexico is not a binding marriage contract in New York, Clara[cite: 1].
With an arrogant flick of his wrist, Daniel reached down and kicked the wooden anchor peg out of the stone coping[cite: 1].
The rope snapped free, whipping violently through Clara's bleeding palms as Caris let out a bloodcurdling scream, tumbling forty feet through open space before slamming hard into the dark pool waters below[cite: 1].
Clara shrieked in horror, leaning over the rail as foam exploded across the pool terrace, completely unaware that the wet folder tucked inside her apron pocket held the legal power to bankrupt every single person standing on this balcony[cite: 1].