The following afternoon was quiet inside the sprawling hallways of the private mansion.
Ethan had departed early in the morning to attend an urgent business conference downtown.
Vanessa wandered around the velvet living room wearing a bright sparkly blue cocktail dress.
She poured herself a glass of expensive juice and paced back and forth restlessly.
In the nearby nursery, little Leo began to cry softly inside his cozy crib.
The sound of the crying infant echoed across the polished hardwood flooring of the hall.
Vanessa squeezed her glass tightly as her flawless face twisted with deep annoyance.
She hated the sound of the child interrupting her quiet afternoon of luxury leisure.
She walked briskly down the hallway and slammed open the wooden nursery door.
The crying baby looked up with tiny wet cheeks and reached out his small arms.
Instead of comforting the child, Vanessa leaned down with a sharp, mean glare.
Vanessa: Stop that noise right now, you little brat!
She picked up the baby roughly and carried him out into the bright central foyer.
She set him down on the cold floor far away from his comfortable nursery blanket.
The poor child began to cry even louder from the cold temperature and sudden shock.
Vanessa grabbed a heavy container of ice water from the nearby sideboard counter.
She dumped the freezing liquid onto the floor right next to the crying infant.
She wanted the baby to freeze so he would stay silent for hours.
Vanessa: You are never going to ruin my life inside this house!
Down the hallway, Sarah was folding clean linen sheets inside the master laundry room.
She heard the sharp sound of Vanessa's harsh shouting mixed with the baby's terror.
Her heart sank as she dropped the heavy basket onto the polished wooden floor.
She sprinted down the long grand corridor as fast as her feet could move.
Her heart pounded wildly inside her chest as she turned the bright marble corner.
She saw Vanessa standing directly over the shaking baby with a cold smirk.
The sweet infant was shivering in the pool of ice water on the floor.
Sarah felt a wave of righteous anger surge through her entire small body.
She rushed forward without a single second of hesitation or fear for her job.
She shoved past the surprised socialite and gathered the wet baby into her arms.
She wrapped her warm apron around the shivering child to protect his body.
Sarah: Get your vile hands away from this innocent child right now!
Vanessa: How dare you touch me, you worthless little servant girl!
Sarah: You are a monster to treat a helpless baby like this!
Vanessa: I will have Ethan fire you and throw you out on the street!
Sarah held the trembling infant tightly against her beating chest with loving protection.
She ignored the rich woman's threats and backed away toward the front main foyer.
At that exact moment, the heavy double front doors swung open with a loud thud.