David: Get up, Maria! Get off my floor and get out of my house!
Maria: Mr. Vance, please listen to me. I was wiping the downstairs mirrors when I heard a gasp from upstairs.
Victoria: Don't listen to her, David! She's making up stories to cover her criminal negligence!
Maria: Mrs. Vance was holding the baby near the railing! She let go! I sprinted as fast as I could!
Victoria: That is an absolute lie! I was holding Emma peacefully, and Maria ran up behind me and shoved me! She knocked the baby right out of my arms!
David looked between his weeping wife on the stairs and the bruised maid on the floor. His teeth were clenched, his fists tightly balled at his sides. The wealthy venture capitalist was used to making quick decisions, and right now, his instincts were blinded by raw panic.
David: Why would my wife drop her own child, Maria? Does that make any sense to you?
Maria: I don't know, sir! But I swear on my life, I didn't push anyone! Look at my knees, they're bloody from sliding under the balcony to catch her!
Victoria: She probably fell on her way out! David, please, she's dangerous. Call the police right now. Have her arrested for attempted murder!
David: You're lucky I'm letting you walk out of here instead of putting you in handcuffs, Maria. Pack your things. You have five minutes.
Maria: Please, sir, check the hallway security camera!
Victoria: The camera in the hallway is broken, David! You know the electrician hasn't come to fix the upstairs line yet!
David: Enough! Maria, if you are not off my property in five minutes, I will call the sheriff and make sure you never work in this city again. I will make sure you lose everything.
Maria: You are making a huge mistake, Mr. Vance.
David: The only mistake I made was hiring someone like you to work in my home. Leave!
Maria slowly pushed herself up from the cold floor. Her knees throbbed with pain, and red stains were bleeding through her uniform fabric. She looked at baby Emma, who was now crying softly in David's arms, and then at Victoria, who gave her a subtle, smug smile from the landing above.
Maria: I am leaving, sir. But the truth always finds a way out.
Victoria: Just go, you crazy woman!
Maria turned around and walked out into the cool evening air. The massive iron gates of the Vance estate slammed shut behind her, locking her out in the dark. She stood on the pavement, wiping tears from her cheeks, pulling her phone out of her pocket with shaking fingers. She wasn't just a maid who had lost her job. She was the only person who knew the truth about the Vance family estate, and she wasn't going to let Victoria get away with it.
Maria: I need to call him now. He needs to know what she did.
She dialed a number she had saved weeks ago, holding the phone against her ear as it rang.
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