The crystal chandelier in the high foyer trembled as heavy footsteps echoed along the upper gallery[cite: 1].
Six-year-old Lily clung to the cold stone balustrade with sweaty fingers, looking down thirty feet at the white marble floor[cite: 1].
Victoria stood over her in a tailored emerald green dress, her diamond bracelets clinking softly against the carved wood railing[cite: 1].
Victoria: Stop looking down, you miserable little stray[cite: 1].
Lily: Please, Victoria! My daddy told me to stay in the library until he finished parking[cite: 1]!
Victoria: Your daddy isn't here to save you, and neither is your dead mother[cite: 1]!
Lily: Daddy[cite: 1]!
Victoria's manicured palms slammed violently into the child's small shoulders[cite: 1].
Lily lost her footing on the slick wood, tumbling headfirst over the railing into empty air[cite: 1].
Lily: Daddy, help[cite: 1]!
Wind rushed past the girl's ears as she plummeted toward the hard stone below[cite: 1].
The heavy front doors of the mansion banged open with an explosive boom[cite: 1].
Julian Sterling charged across the marble floor in his dark business suit, dropping his leather briefcase with a hollow crash[cite: 1].
He threw his entire body into a frantic slide, his knees slamming hard into the floor tiles[cite: 1].
His arms shot out, locking tight around Lily's chest barely two inches above the ground[cite: 1].
Lily buried her face into his wet suit lapel, sobbing hysterically as her small arms wrapped around his neck[cite: 1].
Lily: Daddy, she threw me over the balcony[cite: 1]!
Julian's knuckles turned white as he lifted his weeping daughter, his teeth grinding in pure rage[cite: 1].
Julian: You ruthless monster... You tried to kill my child[cite: 1]!
He marched up the grand marble stairs, taking the steps two at a time[cite: 1].
Reaching the balcony landing, Julian confronted Victoria and struck her across the face with a deafening crack[cite: 1].
Julian: Get out of my house before I destroy you[cite: 1]!
Julian: Leave now[cite: 1]!
Victoria clutched her bruised cheek on the floor, completely unaware of the sealed envelope inside Julian's jacket that held the secret to end her life forever[cite: 1].