Victor lifted his young wife gently into his arms and held her tightly.
He felt her warm face, but she did not answer his trembling voice.
Tears welled up instantly in his eyes as panic gripped his mind.
He wiped a lock of hair away from her pale forehead.
Victor: Celia! Celia, wake up! Please God, no!
His loud cry echoed off the high walls of the silent mansion.
Celia remained completely quiet and motionless in his tight embrace.
Victor looked down at her hands and saw the scattered white pearls on the floor.
Up on the balcony, Victoria leaned over the thick white railing.
She put on a fake expression of deep terror and shock.
She pointed her trembling finger toward the bottom of the long staircase.
Victoria: Victor, it was a horrifying accident!
Victor looked up slowly with tears falling down his red cheeks.
Victoria: Her high heel caught on the edge of the step and she fell!
Victoria wiped her own dry eyes as if she was crying uncontrollably.
Victoria: I tried to grab her dress, but she was too fast!
Victor stared at his stepmother with confusion and rising fear.
He wanted to believe that his wife had simply tripped by mistake.
However, something about Victoria's voice sounded fake and rushed.
Victor looked back down at the marble floor near Celia's head.
He noticed the clean cut on the silk string of the pearl necklace.
The pearls had not snapped from a sudden pull or a fall.
The thread was cut straight through with a sharp metal tool.
A few feet away, something shiny caught the bright sunlight.
The metal wire cutters lay resting right near the bottom stair step.
Victoria had dropped them accidentally when she pulled her hands back in a hurry.
Victor stared at the tool for a long, silent moment in realization.
His grief suddenly turned into intense anger inside his chest.
He realized that his stepmother had lied to him from the very start.
Victor set Celia down carefully on the soft rug near the sofa.
He stood up slowly and adjusted his midnight-black suit jacket.
His hands shook with anger as he clutched his fists tightly at his side.
He glared directly up at Victoria with dark, cold eyes.
Victor: You cut her necklace... you shoved my wife!
Victoria stepped back slightly as her face turned pale with real fear.
Victoria: What are you saying, Victor? I loved that sweet girl!
Victor: Stop lying to me! The truth is right here on the ground!