Among the crowd stood Daniel Brooks, a former firefighter attending the gala as a guest speaker.
The moment he heard the scream, instinct took over.
He didn't stop to think.
He ran.
His polished shoes pounded across the marble hallway as terrified guests scattered from his path.
Hotel employees shouted for everyone to move aside.
Daniel calculated where Olivia would land.
Every second mattered.
As she crashed through decorative banners suspended above the lobby, her fall slowed just enough.
Daniel lunged forward with everything he had.
He caught her moments before she struck the marble floor.
The impact knocked both of them violently onto the lobby tiles.
Guests gasped.
Silence followed.
Daniel struggled to breathe.
Ignoring his own pain, he immediately checked Olivia's pulse.
She was alive.
Barely.
Then he looked up at the stunned crowd.
His voice shook with urgency.
"Call the police!"