Vanessa loosened her fingers completely as the sweet baby slid over the high metal edge.
The young boy fell toward the second-floor stairs near the landing platform below.
Elena did not hesitate or think about her own safety for even one brief moment.
She threw her body forward across the slippery marble surface like a brave rescue athlete.
Her knees slammed hard against the stone floor, sending a sharp shock up her legs.
She reached out both of her arms as far as she possibly could stretch them.
Her hands caught the soft blue blanket just inches above the hard stone stair tread.
She pulled the crying baby tight against her chest and rolled over onto her back.
The hard impact made her lose her breath, but the baby was completely unhurt.
Leo screamed in fright, but his little head rested safely against Elena's grey uniform shirt.
Up on the upper balcony, Vanessa let out an exaggerated scream of fake terror.
Vanessa: No! No! Oh my goodness, the baby!
Vanessa clasped both hands over her face and gasped loudly to sound like a victim.
She pretended to cry and looked down at the scene with quick calculated eyes.
She wanted any nearby staff members to think that Elena had dropped the young boy.
Vanessa: You clumsy girl! Look at what you almost did to my poor baby!
Elena: You dropped him on purpose, you monster!
Vanessa: Who do you think my wealthy husband is going to believe, Elena?
Elena: He will see the truth when he looks into your cold eyes!
Vanessa: A poor servant's word means nothing in this high-class household!
Right at that intense moment, the double glass entrance doors slammed open with force.
Julian Sterling walked into the grand foyer holding his leather business briefcase.
He had forgotten his main contract papers and had turned his luxury car around quickly.
He stood frozen in the doorway as the loud crying filled the large open room.
He saw his young maid kneeling on the hard floor holding his crying son.
He saw his new wife standing on the high balcony with a dramatic hand on her chest.
Julian: What on earth happened in here while I was gone?
Vanessa: Oh, Julian, darling! Thank goodness you came back so quickly!
Vanessa: This terrible maid dropped our precious baby off the high stairs landing!
Vanessa: She was careless while carrying him down to the main kitchen area!
Elena looked up at her wealthy employer with tears streaming down her pale cheeks.
She held the trembling baby close and shook her head with total honesty.
Elena: She is lying, Mr. Sterling! She held him over the high balcony railing!
Elena: She dropped him on purpose, and I had to dive to catch him!
Julian looked back and forth between the two women with a dark look on his face.
The heavy silence in the grand foyer felt like an electric storm ready to burst.