Roman Sterling sprinted across the grand foyer, his tailored three-piece suit unbuttoned, his jaw clenched into granite.
The room went deathly silent as the estate security team snapped to attention along the perimeter.
Roman ignored his wife entirely, dropping down onto one knee beside Rosa on the cold marble floor.
He reached out, his massive hands trembling as he checked the swaddled baby’s chest for steady breathing.
Roman: Rosa... is he breathing? Is Leo hurt?
Rosa looked up through blurred tears, clutching Roman's forearm with shaking fingers.
Rosa: He’s breathing, sir... I held him tight. But she tried to drop your baby from the balcony!
A collective gasp ripped through the gathered house staff and guests in the hallway.
Roman’s head snapped upward, his dark eyes locking onto Evelyn with a ferocity that made her stagger a step back.
Roman: What did you just say?
Rosa: She took him to the second-floor railing while you were at the board meeting! She said if your late first wife's bloodline died today, the entire inheritance trust would transfer directly to her!
Evelyn raised both hands frantically, her voice pitching into a panicked, shrill shriek.
Evelyn: Listen to me, she is lying to you! Roman, darling, look at me! She's an immigrant maid trying to extort our family!
Roman: Rosa has been with my family for twenty-five years. She raised me when my own parents passed.
Evelyn: She tripped and fell on her own! I was trying to save Leo from her clumsy hands!
Roman slowly rose to his feet, towering over her like an oncoming storm.
He pulled a slim black digital tablet from his inner coat pocket and tapped the touchscreen once.
Roman: The estate cameras were upgraded to 4K cloud streaming yesterday morning, Evelyn.
The color drained completely from Evelyn's face, turning her cheeks as white as the marble beneath her feet.
Roman turned the screen toward her, playing the crystal-clear security feed showing Evelyn holding the swaddled infant inches over the third-floor balcony ledge while Rosa wrestled him from her grip.
Roman: You thought you could murder an innocent child and inherit eighty million dollars?
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