Victoria lay sprawled against the lower banister post, clutching her bright red, swelling cheek with trembling hands[cite: 1].
Her hair was wild, her blue sequined gown torn at the shoulder seam from the violent impact[cite: 1].
Victoria: Harrison... you hit me?! You struck your legal fiancee in front of a common maid?![cite: 1]
Harrison: You are lucky I didn't throw you off that same balcony, Victoria![cite: 1]
Victoria: It was an accident! Why are you taking the word of a minimum-wage servant over the woman you promised to marry?![cite: 1]
Harrison didn't even look at her[cite: 1]. He dropped to his knees beside Clara, his hands shaking as he gently lifted little Toby into his broad chest[cite: 1].
Harrison: Toby... Daddy is here, my sweet boy. Daddy has you.
The infant nestled against his father's black suit coat, his painful screams gradually calming into weak, shuddering whimpers[cite: 1].
Harrison looked down at Clara, noticing the blood soaking through her torn stockings and the red scrapes across her forearms[cite: 1].
Harrison: Clara... did you slide across this floor to catch him?
Clara: I couldn't let him die, Mr. Sterling. I made a promise to his mother before she passed that I would guard him with my life.
Harrison: You saved my son's life today, Clara. You will never have to scrub another floor as long as you live.
Victoria: Harrison, be reasonable! Look at the boy, he is barely scratched! You are overreacting to a minor household slip!
Harrison stood up slowly, cradling the infant securely in his left arm, his dark eyes fixing on Victoria with icy hatred[cite: 1].
Harrison: A minor slip? You dropped a twelve-pound infant from a twenty-foot curved balcony, Victoria![cite: 1]
Victoria: My hands were slick from lotion! The silk blanket was too slippery!
Clara: That swaddle was rough cotton, Mr. Sterling! She stood over the railing for two minutes shouting insults at me!
Victoria: Shut up, you liar! Harrison, fire her right now! If she stays in this house, I am calling my father's corporate attorneys!
Harrison: Call them, Victoria. In fact, call every defense attorney in New York, because you are going to need all of them today.
Victoria: What are you talking about?! What defense attorneys?!
Harrison reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his black smartphone, tapping the screen twice with his thumb.
Harrison: Chief Vance, bring the security tablet inside immediately.
Victoria's eyes darted toward the open front entrance, her breathing turning shallow as heavy footsteps approached from the driveway.
Chief Vance walked into the foyer wearing his navy security uniform, holding a rugged black tablet displaying four split-screen camera feeds.
Chief Vance: Mr. Sterling, I have the live 4K recording from the second-floor foyer dome camera.
Victoria: That camera is disabled! The technician disconnected it for the wedding renovations last Tuesday!
Harrison: The technician works for me, Victoria. Not you. I ordered the entire second floor wired to a private cloud server three days ago.
Victoria's hands dropped from her bruised face, the color draining from her lips until she looked completely pale[cite: 1].
Victoria: Three days ago...? Why would you wire the balcony?!
Harrison: Because three days ago, the bank notified me that someone tried to transfer ten million dollars out of Toby's trust fund.