The pointed heel of a champagne satin pump struck Maya directly in her ribs, forcing a sharp cry from her throat as she curled over her daughter on the marble floor.
Maya: Please, stop! Don't hurt my baby!
Ashley: Know your place in this house, you pathetic charity case!
Three-year-old Lily sobbed hysterically, her small arms wrapping around Maya’s neck as tears soaked into Maya’s simple blue cotton dress.
Lily: Mommy, my tummy hurts! Tell the mean lady to stop kicking us!
Ashley: Oh, shut that screaming brat up before I have the guards throw both of you out into the street!
Ashley stood tall in a shimmering silk champagne mini dress, her blonde hair perfectly styled and her lips curled in pure malice.
She shifted her weight, deliberately stepping the sharp stiletto heel of her shoe directly onto Lily's plush stuffed white rabbit toy on the marble floor.
Ashley: Oops, my bad! Cheap trash belongs under my feet anyway.
Maya: Give that back to her! It’s the last thing her grandmother bought her before she passed away!
Ashley: I don't give a damn about your dead relatives, Maya. You're leaving this mansion today.
Maya reached out her trembling, bruised hand to rescue the crushed stuffed animal, but Ashley kicked it across the hallway.
Ashley reached into her designer gold clutch and pulled out a thick legal document inside an open manila envelope, tossing it down onto the stone.
Ashley: Sign these divorce papers right now! Sign them, and maybe I'll let you take your clothes!
The heavy front doors of the grand foyer flew open with a deafening bang that shook the glass sconces on the wall.
Julian Sterling charged across the room in a tailored dark blue suit, his eyes burning with lethal fury beneath the giant American flag hanging from the mezzanine.
Without breaking stride, he lunged forward and delivered a thunderous slap across Ashley’s cheek, sending the blonde woman stumbling back into the decorative marble console.
Julian: Get your hands off my family!
Ashley: Julian! How dare you hit me for this maid!
Julian dropped to his knees, shielding Maya and little Lily with his muscular frame as he snatched the fallen papers from the floor.
Maya: Look what she tried to force me to sign... Look at the pages, Julian...
Julian tore the top sheet open, his eyes widening in complete shock and disgust as his hands began to shake with sudden fury.
Julian: This isn't a divorce... it's a confession!
Ashley stared at him in total horror, her jaw dropping open as the realization of her mistake froze the blood in her veins.
Ashley: No... that's impossible!
Julian rose slowly to his feet, clutching the signed paperwork that was about to destroy Ashley’s entire life forever.