The crystal chandelier threw harsh white light across the grand mansion foyer, reflecting off the polished Italian marble floor.
Seven-month-old Leo lay on the white velvet sofa, his small hands kicking wildly as tears streamed down his pale cheeks.
Victoria stood over the trembling infant in her ruby red designer dress, holding a heavy glass pitcher filled with crushed ice and water.
Victoria: Cry louder! You don't belong in this house!
Victoria: You think your dead mother left you an empire? You will never live to see a single dime of it!
She tipped the heavy pitcher forward without hesitation, sending a cascade of freezing water and sharp ice straight over the baby's chest.
Leo choked on a frantic breath, his tiny face turning a bruised shade of blue as he let out a muffled scream.
From the dining room hallway, Maria dropped a silver serving tray, sprinting across the floor tiles in her navy blue uniform.
Maria: Touch this innocent baby again and I'll destroy you!
Maria threw her entire body into a fierce shove, hitting Victoria's shoulder and sending the woman crashing hard onto the floor.
The glass pitcher shattered with a loud crack, sending ice cubes and cold water splashing across the room.
Maria scooped the gasping baby into her arms, pressing his freezing body tight against her chest beneath the large American flag hanging from the second-floor mezzanine.
The heavy front doors flew open as Ethan Vance entered the hall in his charcoal grey suit, his eyes widening in terror.
Maria: Sir! She poured ice water over your baby!
Victoria: She's lying, Ethan!
Ethan took three furious strides across the room, driving his open hand hard across Victoria's face with a stinging crack that dropped her flat against the tiles.
Ethan: You dared to harm my child?!
Ethan: Get out of my house before I have you arrested!
Victoria clutched her bleeding jaw on the wet floor, completely unaware of the locked leather binder in Ethan's briefcase that held a secret about to dismantle her life forever.