David: Chloe! Get back from that railing this instant!
Chloe: No, Daddy! You can’t let them arrest Elena! She didn't drop Liam!
The eight-year-old girl raced down the curved staircase, her pajamas fluttering as she jumped down the last two steps.
She planted her small body directly between her father and the trembling maid.
Victoria: Chloe, sweetheart, come away from there. That woman is unstable and dangerous.
Chloe: Don't touch me, Victoria! Don't you dare touch me!
Chloe violently slapped Victoria’s reaching hand away, backing firmly against her father’s legs.
David: Chloe! Mind your manners! Why are you screaming like this?
Chloe: Because Victoria is lying to you! Elena was downstairs the whole time!
Victoria's smooth expression cracked for a split second, her jaw tightening into a sharp, rigid angle.
Victoria: David, darling, the poor child is having a panic attack from all the shouting. Give Liam to me so you can take Chloe upstairs.
Chloe: Don't give Liam to her! Daddy, look at the tablet! Look at what Uncle Mark set up this morning!
David frowned, looking down at the glowing device his daughter was thrusting toward his chest.
David: Mark was here this morning?
Chloe: Yes! He came before breakfast to finish installing the internal cloud cameras!
Victoria took a quick step forward, her manicured hand reaching out to grab the edge of the tablet.
Victoria: David, the technician told us yesterday the internal servers were disabled for maintenance. This is just a toy app.
Chloe: It’s not a toy! Uncle Mark synced the whole mansion so I could watch the pool in the backyard!
Elena: Please, Mr. Vance... just look at what Chloe has on that screen. I beg you.
Elena stayed on her knees, pressing her palms against the cold marble floor to keep from collapsing from the throbbing pain.
David: Step back, Victoria. Let me see what she’s talking about.
David pulled the tablet closer, his eyes scanning the four live video streams displayed in high-definition resolution.
Chloe: Tap camera three, Dad! The one right above the grand chandelier!
David tapped the square feed labeled 'Mezzanine South' and dragged the red playback bar backward by four minutes.
The screen loaded a sharp 4K recording showing the open expanse of the second-story mezzanine and the foyer below.
On the ground floor, Elena was clearly visible at the bottom of the frame, kneeling on a floor cushion with a bottle of polish and a rag, wiping the woodwork by the grandfather clock.
David: Wait... Elena was downstairs polishing the baseboards?
Victoria: The timestamp must be glitching, David! Cloud systems lag during uploads all the time!
Chloe: It’s not glitching! Look at the top floor, Daddy! Look who walks out of Liam’s nursery!
David held his breath as the video continued to play.
A figure wearing an emerald-green silk robe walked out of the nursery door, holding the white bundle in both hands.
The person standing on the balcony was Victoria.
David: Victoria... what were you doing carrying Liam near the banister?
Victoria: I was bringing him down to you, David! I heard a noise downstairs and stepped out to check on things!
Chloe: Keep watching, Dad! Watch her hands right now!
On the screen, the woman in the emerald robe paused directly in front of the carved banister.
She stopped walking. She checked both sides of the corridor with deliberate, slow turns of her head.
Then, she lifted the infant over the wooden rail, stretched both arms out into the empty air, and pulled her fingers back.
The white bundle plummeted twenty feet straight toward the ground.
On the lower floor, Elena dropped her cleaning rag, looked up at the sudden rustle of fabric, and launched herself forward across the floor.
The video clearly captured Elena catching the swaddled baby inches before his head hit the hard stone.
A dead, suffocating silence dropped over the entire grand foyer.
David stood frozen, his eyes widening in pure horror as his breath caught in his throat.
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