Mark: Hand over my daughter this instant, Elena!
Elena: Mr. Mark, please listen to me for just one second. Look at her—she doesn't have a single scratch on her!
Mark: I said give her to me!
Mark snatched the crying infant from Elena’s trembling arms, wrapping his suit jacket around the baby while checking her tiny arms and legs. Victoria hurried down the sweeping staircase, her designer heels clicking loudly on the marble floor as she forced tears to pool in her eyes.
Victoria: Oh, my sweet little angel! Mark, I heard a terrible commotion and rushed out of the master bedroom just in time to see her hold Lily over the railing and let go!
Elena: That is an absolute lie! You know that isn't true!
Victoria: How dare you talk back to me in my own home!
Elena: Mr. Mark, I was dusting the artwork in the lower foyer when I heard the baby crying upstairs. When I looked up, I saw Miss Lily dangerously close to the railing gap!
Mark: And how did an eight-month-old baby get all the way out of her crib, through the nursery door, and over to the balcony railing, Elena? Answer me that!
Elena: I don't know! The nursery door was wide open when I started my shift!
Victoria: She left the door open herself, Mark! She's been careless all week. Last night she almost spilled hot tea on my lap, and now this! She’s unhinged!
Elena: Mrs. Victoria, you were the one standing near the balcony right before she slipped!
Victoria: Are you seriously blaming me for my own baby's fall?! Mark, fire her this second and have the police take her away!
Mark: You don't need to tell me twice. Elena, pack your things and get off my property before the sheriff gets here.
Elena: Please, I've worked for your family for three years! I love Lily like she's my own family! Why would I ever hurt her?
Mark: I don't care about your excuses! You put my daughter's life in danger. If I see your face on this estate again, I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life behind bars.
Victoria: Take your little rag and your coat and leave. You’re lucky my husband doesn't drag you out himself.
Elena stood up slowly, her knees bruised and raw from sliding across the hard tile. She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, her gaze shifting between Mark's furious glare and Victoria's smug, hidden smile.
Elena: You know in your heart what really happened today, Victoria. God was watching, and so was someone else.
Victoria: Is that a threat? Mark, listen to her!
Mark: Out! Right now!
Elena turned around without another word, grabbing her worn coat from the staff closet. As she walked out into the chilly Texas afternoon, the massive iron gates of the mansion slammed shut behind her, leaving her utterly penniless, accused of a heinous crime, and utterly determined to expose the truth.
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