Elena adjusted the collar of her grey maid uniform and smoothed down her apron.
She had worked for the Sterling family for over three years in their grand mansion.
The house was huge, featuring massive marble floors, soaring ceilings, and a grand double staircase.
Richard Sterling was a wealthy businessman who loved his newborn son more than anything.
His first wife had passed away a year ago, leaving him heartbroken and alone with the infant.
Six months later, Richard married Victoria, a younger woman who loved expensive jewels and rich clothes.
Victoria wore a stunning beige off-shoulder gown today, walking through the halls like she owned everything.
Elena noticed how Victoria always looked at baby Leo with cold and distant eyes.
Whenever Richard was home, Victoria acted like a sweet and loving stepmother to the child.
She held the baby gently and spoke in a soft voice when her husband was present.
But the moment Richard stepped out for work, her warm smile turned into a bitter sneer.
Elena kept her head down and continued polishing the polished wooden handrails of the grand staircase.
She had a bad feeling in her chest about Victoria that she could not explain to anyone.
The estate was worth millions, including a massive life insurance policy and a vast family inheritance.
Elena knew that baby Leo was the primary heir to the entire Sterling trust fund estate.
If anything happened to the baby, the whole fortune would pass directly to Victoria in a divorce or tragedy.
Elena squeezed her cleaning rag tightly as she heard footsteps approaching from the upstairs hallway.
Victoria was carrying the small bundle swaddled in a soft blue blanket near the second-floor balcony railing.
The balcony overlooked the massive double-height living room with hard marble tiles far down below.
Elena stopped polishing and looked up through the iron banisters with a rising sense of dread.
Victoria was walking very close to the edge of the second-floor banister, looking around nervously.
She did not see Elena standing quietly in the shadow of the tall curtains near the lower archway.
The infant began to cry softly, his small sounds echoing off the high ceilings of the quiet mansion.
Victoria leaned over the wide railing, holding the swaddled baby out over the dangerous drop.
Elena felt her heart freeze inside her chest as she realized what was about to happen.
There was no accident in Victoria's deliberate movements as her hands slowly opened up above the drop.