Elena stood near the top of the stairs, watching Victoria open the nursery closet.
Victoria pulled out a heavy leather car seat that contained important sealed family documents.
The custom car seat held the original trust fund papers locked in a side pocket.
Elena: Mrs. Harrison, what are you doing with baby Leo's car seat?
Victoria turned around quickly with a sharp glare across her painted face.
Victoria: This old seat is cluttered garbage, and I am throwing it out today.
Elena: That seat holds his legal inheritance documents from his mother!
Victoria: I am the mistress of this house, so I decide what stays here.
Elena stepped forward quickly and placed herself between Victoria and the balcony railing.
She could see the anger building up inside Victoria's bright dark eyes.
Victoria dragged the heavy car seat toward the polished balcony edge with force.
Victoria: Get out of my way before I have you fired instantly!
Elena: I will not move, ma'am, because those papers belong to the baby.
Victoria pushed the heavy car seat closer to the edge of the high railing.
Below them, the sharp marble floor in the grand foyer looked cold and hard.
If the car seat fell from this height, the locked box inside would smash open.
Elena reached out her hands and firmly grabbed the side handle of the seat.
Elena: Please stop this madness before someone gets hurt!
Victoria: Let go of it right now, you foolish maid!
The two women tugged at the leather handles near the edge of the balcony.
Victoria shoved Elena back with a strong push against her shoulders.
The heavy car seat tipped over the polished top rail of the high balcony.
Elena gasped loudly as the heavy object plummeted toward the floor below.
She sprinted down the winding marble stairs faster than she ever had before.
The air rushed past her ears as her heart pounded loudly inside her chest.
She reached the bottom step just as the seat reached the lower level.
Elena dove forward across the slick marble floor with her arms stretched wide.
She caught the falling car seat tightly against her chest before it slammed down.
The heavy impact knocked the breath out of her lungs for a brief moment.
She lay on the cold marble, cradling the seat securely in her trembling arms.