By noon, Victoria was walking around the second-floor hallway near the grand balcony.
The balcony looked over the lower foyer with its massive marble staircase.
Lily was playing quietly on the thick Persian rug near the wooden railing.
Elena was folding clean laundry inside the linen closet just a few feet away.
She kept the door open so she could hear every single sound from the hallway.
Victoria walked over to the child with a strange smile on her face.
She picked up Lily's stuffed teddy bear and held it over the balcony railing.
Victoria: Look what I have, little girl.
Lily: My bear!
The toddler toddled toward the edge of the open railing to reach her toy.
Victoria held the child by her tiny arm near the edge of the drop.
Elena stepped out of the closet just in time to see the dangerous situation.
Her heart stopped beating for a brief second as terror filled her chest.
Victoria suddenly let go of the toddler's arm with a cold smirk.
Victoria: Oops!
Lily lost her balance and stumbled right over the edge of the top step.
The child shrieked in terror as she began to fall downward.
Elena did not hesitate for a single fraction of a second.
She sprinted forward and leaped down the first few stairs at full speed.
She dropped to her knees on the hard floor right beneath the balcony ledge.
She reached out her arms with every ounce of strength in her body.
Elena caught the falling toddler tightly against her chest right before impact.
The heavy force of the catch knocked the wind out of Elena's lungs.
They slid across the smooth marble floor together in a flurry of black skirt.
Lily wept loudly, burying her face into Elena's warm apron collar.
Elena held the child close, her whole body trembling violently with pure panic.
Elena: Oh god, I got you, you're safe!
Victoria stood at the top of the stairs, clutching her necklace in fake horror.
Victoria: It was an accident! She slipped!
Elena looked up at the wealthy woman with absolute fury shining in her eyes.
Elena: Don't you dare touch her!
The sound of heavy leather shoes echoed loudly from the front entrance below.