Lucas: Are you hurt? Talk to me, Clara! Did your stomach hit anything?
Clara: *Gasping violently* I... I don't think so... you caught me... oh God, Lucas, she pushed me!
Lucas: Keep still. Don't try to stand up yet. Just lie right here on my shirt.
Lucas shifted her gently onto his lap, his hands trembling as he checked her arms and legs for any injuries. Down the hallway, the young maid came running down the grand marble staircase, her face pale as a sheet.
Maria: Mr. Lucas! Oh Lord, Mr. Lucas! Is she breathing?!
Lucas: Maria, take off your apron and fold it under her head! Right now!
Maria: Yes, sir! Right away, sir!
Clara: Lucas... the baby... I felt a sharp pain when she grabbed my dress...
Lucas: Listen to my voice, Clara. Look right at me. You're safe now. I am not letting anyone near you again.
Up on the high balcony overlooking the grand atrium, Evelyn Vance walked slowly to the edge of the railing, her gray suit jacket perfectly tailored, her cold eyes staring down at her son cradling the pregnant woman on the floor.
Evelyn: Lucas, stop this ridiculous drama right now. She tripped on her own dress.
Lucas: Shut your mouth, Mother! I saw you push her!
Evelyn: You saw nothing from down there! The girl lost her footing on the tile. Maria, tell him she slipped!
Maria looked up at Evelyn, her hands shaking violently as she tucked the apron under Clara's head.
Maria: I... I saw what happened, Mrs. Vance... you grabbed her chest...
Evelyn: Mind your tongue, Maria! Remember who pays your salary in this house!
Lucas: You don't pay anyone's salary anymore, Evelyn. Maria, dial 911 on my phone right now.
Clara: *Crying softly* Lucas... she said... she said I was lying about the inheritance... she said my baby wasn't a real Vance...
Lucas: She lied to you, Clara. She's been lying to this entire family for six months.
Evelyn: Lucas, do not do this in front of the domestic staff! You are ruining our family name!
Lucas: You ruined this family the day you tried to murder my sister!
A heavy silence fell over the massive atrium. Maria froze with the phone in her hand, her mouth hanging open as she looked from Lucas to the pregnant woman lying in his arms.
Maria: Your... your sister? But Mrs. Vance said she was an imposter trying to scam the estate!
Lucas: Clara is my father's biological daughter. The true primary heir to the Vance Real Estate Trust.
Evelyn: *Voice rising in panic* That is a lie! Thomas never had a daughter with that woman!
Lucas: I ran the DNA test myself three weeks ago, Mother! The results came back yesterday morning!
Clara clutched Lucas's forearm tightly, her chest still heaving as tears spilled over her cheeks onto the white marble floor.
Clara: You... you knew? You knew I was your sister?
Lucas: I knew the moment I saw your mother's handwriting on those old letters, Clara. I've been protecting you from behind the scenes, but I was too late today.
Evelyn: Lucas, step away from her! She's manipulating you just like her gold-digger mother did to your father twenty years ago!
Lucas: My father loved her mother! You were the one who forced him into a fake marriage contract to save your father's failing bank!
Evelyn: How dare you speak to me like that in my own mansion!
Lucas: This isn't your mansion, Evelyn. Check the property deed. It was transferred to Dad's blood heir the moment he passed away!
Evelyn's face drained of color as she gripped the brass balcony railing, her cold composure finally beginning to shatter under the bright daylight.