David: Get up off those stairs right now, Eleanor!
Eleanor: David, please! You don't understand what happened!
David: I stood right there and watched you open your hands! You dropped my daughter!
Mia: Daddy, my leg hurts real bad... she pushed me!
David: I know, sweetie. Daddy's got you. Just hold onto my neck.
David adjusted Mia in his left arm, his right fist clenching so hard his knuckles turned white against his maroon sleeve.
Eleanor: She's lying, David! The child slipped! I was trying to pull her back over!
David: Do you think I'm blind?! You leaned over that iron railing and let her fall!
Eleanor: Why would I ever hurt your daughter?! I love this family!
David: You love my money! You love the trust fund, the mansion, and the credit cards!
Eleanor tried to scramble further up the carpeted stairs, but David stepped onto the first landing, blocking her escape route entirely.
Eleanor: You hit me, David! I can call the police and have you arrested for domestic assault!
David: Go ahead! Call them right now! Tell them you threw a toddler off a fifteen-foot balcony first!
Eleanor: It was an accident! No judge will ever take the word of a three-year-old child over mine!
David: She isn't the only witness in this house, Eleanor.
From the kitchen hallway, Clara the head housekeeper stepped into the foyer holding a tablet in her trembling hands.
Clara: Mr. Sterling, I have the live security feed saved on the cloud server.
Eleanor: Clara, keep out of this! You work for me!
Clara: I work for Mr. Sterling, ma'am. And I saw what you did on the monitor upstairs.
David: Did the high-definition cameras capture the balcony angle, Clara?
Clara: Yes, sir. It shows Mrs. Sterling lifting Little Mia over the iron railing and holding her there for five seconds before letting go.
Eleanor: You treacherous servant! Delete that video right now!
David: Touch that tablet and I swear you won't walk out of this house in clothes you bought yourself.
Eleanor backed up against the cold stone pillar of the staircase, her breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps as the color left her face.
Eleanor: David, listen to me... we can fix this. We can talk in private upstairs.
David: There is nothing to talk about. You tried to murder my only child in cold blood.
Eleanor: Murder?! That's insane! I was just trying to scare her so she'd stop crying all the time!
David: You dangled a toddler over a hard marble floor to scare her?!
Eleanor: She was driving me crazy, David! Ever since we got married, all you care about is her late mother's trust fund!
David: Her mother's trust fund belongs to Mia! You knew that when you signed the prenup!
Eleanor: A prenup that leaves me with nothing if we get a divorce! I deserve security in this marriage!
David: You came into this house pretending to be a mother, but you're nothing more than a monster in a silk dress.
Mia: Daddy... I want the doctor. My arm feels weird.
David: Clara, call my private pediatrician immediately. Have him bring an X-ray unit to the house right now.
Clara: Right away, Mr. Sterling!
David: And Clara? Call the police chief on his direct line. Tell him David Sterling needs an arrest team at the estate in ten minutes.
Eleanor: No, David! Please! Don't ruin my life over a mistake!
David: You ruined your own life the second you let go of my child.