Eleanor stood towering over small seven-year-old Claire in the foyer.
The older woman wore a dark burgundy dress and held a blue rag.
Claire was kneeling down on the hard marble with a white cloth.
The little girl was crying softly as she scrubbed at a spill.
A fresh white bandage was wrapped around Claire's small forehead.
Severe red marks showed under her tear-stained eyes.
Sarah gasped loudly and dropped her black handbag onto the floor.
Eleanor snapped her head around with a startled look on her face.
Sarah did not wait for an explanation or a single greeting.
She sprinted across the room directly toward her weeping child.
She dropped to her knees on the cold floor without hesitation.
Sarah threw her arms around Claire and pulled her up close.
She snatched a grey blanket off the nearby sofa bed quickly.
She wrapped the soft blanket securely around her trembling daughter.
Claire buried her face into Sarah's neck and sobbed loudly.
Sarah glared up at the older woman with fierce anger in her eyes.
Sarah: You sick bitch!
Eleanor stood tall with a cold and completely defiant expression.
She adjusted the cuffs of her dark burgundy dress casually.
Eleanor: She was clumsy and knocked over an antique vase.
Eleanor: She needs to learn respect and how to clean up.
Sarah: Look at her face and her forehead, Eleanor!
Eleanor: Children fall down when they run around like wild animals.
Sarah felt a wave of absolute fury wash over her body.
She held Claire tightly against her chest to shield her completely.
Claire whispered softly through her heavy and painful tears.
Claire: I was scared, Mommy.
Sarah: I know baby, I have you now.
Heavy footsteps suddenly sounded from the front entryway behind them.
David walked into the house carrying a leather briefcase.
He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the scene.
Sarah turned around while still holding her shaking daughter.
Sarah: Claire, listen to me, stay right behind me.
David took a step forward with a look of utter confusion.
David: Have you lost your mind?!