Mark stood up slowly, helping Sarah stand on her feet. Sarah was trembling so violently that Mark had to keep one arm anchored around her waist to steady her. The grand foyer was dead silent except for the heavy breathing of everyone in the room. Pages of real estate contracts were scattered across the gleaming floor like fallen leaves.
Mark: WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!
His voice boomed off the tall white walls, shaking the glass chandelier hanging above them. Victoria adjusted her silk robe and began walking down the curved marble staircase, taking slow, deliberate steps to regain her composure.
Victoria: Mark, calm down! It was a terrible accident! She tripped over her own long dress while walking backward!
Sarah: That is a complete lie! You put your hands on my shoulders and shoved me with all your strength!
Victoria: How dare you accuse me of such a horrific thing in my own home! Mark, she is insane. She is trying to turn you against your own wife so she can take my place!
Mark looked from Victoria's defensive face down to Sarah, whose body was still shaking from the shock of almost dying. He had known Victoria was possessive, but he could not bring himself to believe she was capable of physical violence. Yet, the fear in Sarah's eyes was undeniably real.
Mark: Victoria, people do not just fall over a chest-high railing by accident.
Victoria: She lost her balance, Mark! Look at those high heels she is wearing! She was clumsy and almost fell, and now she is blaming me because she is embarrassed!
While they argued, Elena quietly walked down the staircase. Her hands were still trembling from the effort of holding Sarah over the edge. She stood at the base of the stairs, holding her apron tightly. She knew the power dynamic in this house. Victoria was a rich woman with powerful family connections, while Elena was just a salaried maid relying on this job to pay her mortgage and support her family.
Mark: Elena, you were standing right next to them on the second floor. Tell me exactly what happened up there.
Victoria turned her head sharply toward the maid, her eyes narrowing into cold, sharp daggers. She took a step closer to Elena, her voice dropping into a dangerous whisper.
Victoria: Be very careful what you say, Elena. Remember who pays your wages and who can have you thrown out onto the street without a reference letter.
Sarah: Don't intimidate her, Victoria!
Victoria: Shut your mouth, you foolish girl! Mark, why are you asking the hired help about private family matters? Elena doesn't know anything!
Mark stepped directly between Victoria and the maid, placing his body as a protective shield for Elena. He looked straight into Elena's nervous eyes with a calm, reassuring look.
Mark: Elena, you have worked in this house for ten years. You have always been honest with me. Look at me and tell me what you saw. No one is going to fire you, and no one is going to hurt you. I promise you that.
Elena took a deep, shuddering breath. She glanced at Victoria, who was glaring at her with venomous hatred, and then at Sarah, who was looking at her with desperate eyes. Elena thought about her own daughter, who was Sarah's age, and realized she could not live with herself if she stayed silent about an attempted murder.
Elena: I saw everything, Mr. Vance. Miss Sarah was standing near the edge, trying to walk away peacefully. Mrs. Victoria blocked her way, grabbed her by the shoulders, and deliberately shoved her over the metal bar.
Victoria: You traitorous liar! You are lying for her!
Elena: I am telling the truth, sir. If I hadn't caught her wrist, Miss Sarah would have hit the marble floor head-first before you could even reach her.
Victoria's face flushed bright red with pure anger. She raised her hand toward Elena as if to strike her, but Mark grabbed Victoria's wrist mid-air, holding it tight with a firm grip.
Mark: Don't you dare touch her, Victoria.
Victoria: Mark, release my arm! You are taking the word of a common maid and a cheap secretary over your own legally wedded wife?!
Mark: I am taking the word of two people who aren't lying to my face! Pack your bags and leave this house right now.
Victoria: You can't kick me out! This is my home too! My father's lawyers will destroy you if you try to throw me out!
Mark: We will see about that. Get out of my sight before I call the police and have you arrested for attempted assault!
Victoria snatched her arm back, her eyes burning with bitter resentment. She looked at Sarah, then at Elena, before turning around and marching up the grand stairs toward the master bedroom, slamming the heavy wooden door so hard the sound vibrated through the entire mansion.