Arthur: Look me in the eye and say that again, Evelyn.
Evelyn: Arthur... you struck me. I can’t believe you just put your hands on me!
Arthur: I don't care about your cheek right now! My daughter is bleeding on the floor!
Arthur dropped back down to his knees beside Lily, wiping a tear from her cheek with his thumb. Her left wrist was already swelling terribly, turning a faint shade of blue under the bright light streaming in from the foyer window.
Arthur: Lily, baby, look at me. Tell me what happened before I got through that door.
Lily: I was in the hallway... looking at the picture of Mommy. She took it away from me, Daddy.
Arthur: Who took it away?
Lily: Evelyn. She said I didn't need to look at dead people anymore. Then she took it to the balcony to throw it in the trash bin downstairs...
Evelyn: She's confused, Arthur! She’s in shock and making up stories because she’s hurt!
Arthur: Shut up, Evelyn! Let her speak!
Lily: I tried to reach for the picture... and she shoved my chest. She pushed me right over the wood rail.
Evelyn’s face paled further, the crimson mark on her cheek standing out in sharp contrast against her skin. She gripped the staircase banister tightly, her knuckles turning white.
Evelyn: She’s lying to you because she hates that I moved into this house! She’s tried to ruin our marriage since the day we got back from our honeymoon!
Arthur: She is seven years old! Look at her wrist, Evelyn!
Evelyn: I know she’s hurt, and I feel terrible, but I did not push her! I am your wife, Arthur! You have to believe me over a child’s imagination!
Arthur pulled his smartphone from his coat pocket with a trembling hand, dialing three numbers without looking down at the screen.
Arthur: Yes, I need an ambulance at 404 Willow Creek Lane immediately. My seven-year-old daughter fell from a second-story indoor balcony. She has a fractured wrist and possible spinal injury.
Evelyn: An ambulance? Arthur, the neighbors will see... the rumors will start!
Arthur: I am also requesting a police unit to the scene.
Evelyn: Police? Are you insane?! You’re calling the cops on your own wife?!
Arthur: I am calling the cops to investigate an assault on my child in my own home.
Arthur hung up the phone and pulled a velvet throw blanket off the living room sofa, gently draping it over Lily's shivering frame. He kept his body positioned firmly between his wife and his daughter, refusing to look back up at the top of the stairs.
Evelyn: You're making the biggest mistake of your life, Arthur. If you involve the police, our family reputation in this town is ruined. My father’s firm will pull its funding from your estate project!
Arthur: My daughter’s life is worth more than your father’s money, Evelyn. If you step any closer to her, I won't just yell.
Evelyn: Fine. Call them. Let them search the house. They won't find a single shred of proof that I did anything wrong because it was a tragic, clumsy accident!
The distant sound of sirens began to wail through the quiet suburban neighborhood, growing louder with every passing second as Evelyn backed away toward the kitchen hall.
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