Victoria walked briskly toward the edge of the second-floor marble balcony.
She carried the original trust papers and the family inheritance deed in her manicured hands.
Clara stepped out from behind the heavy velvet curtains with a steady, quiet voice.
Clara: Put those papers back where they belong, Mrs. Sterling.
Victoria spun around quickly with a sharp look of anger upon her pale face.
Victoria: Do not dare tell me what to do in my own house!
Clara: Those documents belong to Arthur and his young son, Leo.
Victoria: This brat does not deserve a single dollar of the Sterling estate!
Victoria held the original deed out over the polished wooden banister above the foyer.
The drop down to the hard marble floor below was steep and unforgiving.
If the signed legal papers fell, they would rip on the edge and scatter.
More importantly, Victoria raised a heavy bronze antique statue sitting on the ledge nearby.
She threatened to drop the statue onto the baby glass carriage parked right below.
Clara felt her heart stop as she realized how far Victoria would actually go.
Clara: Please stop this madness before someone gets hurt!
Victoria: Nobody will ever suspect that I caused an unfortunate home accident!
Victoria lifted the heavy bronze object and let it slip from her slender fingers.
Clara sprinted across the slippery landing with every ounce of speed she possessed.
She lunged over the top step and caught the sliding frame right near the edge.
Her knees slammed hard against the cold marble as she secured the heavy item.
The legal documents fluttered from Victoria's grip and tumbled down into the open air.
Clara reached out her left arm wildly and managed to grab the main folder.
She pulled the priceless inheritance documents safely into her lap while gasping for breath.
Victoria gasped in total shock as her cruel plan crumbled in an instant.
Clara: You monster! How could you try to destroy this family?
Victoria: Give those papers back to me right now, you simple maid!
Victoria reached down forcefully to grab Clara's collar and pull her to her feet.
Clara stood her ground firmly and pushed Victoria back onto the landing carpet.
Victoria held her bruised cheek in absolute horror at being challenged by the staff.
She had never expected the quiet maid to fight back so fiercely today.
The air in the foyer was heavy with tension as both women stood breathing hard.
Suddenly, the sound of heavy dress shoes echoed from the front driveway outside.
The massive wooden entrance doors swung wide open into the bright afternoon sunlight.
Arthur stepped through the frame wearing his sharp red velvet suit jacket.
He had forgotten his passport and had turned the car around just in time.