Chapter 1 - THE CALL FROM THE FLOOR
Emma Whitmore heard the scream before she realized it belonged to her.
One moment, she was standing at the top of the grand marble staircase, facing her sister-in-law beneath the glittering chandelier.
The next, Vanessa’s hands struck her shoulders with all their strength.
Emma’s heel slipped from the polished step.
Her body twisted sideways.
She reached for the golden railing, but her fingers caught only air.
Then she fell.
The marble steps seemed endless.
When Emma finally landed on the floor below, a terrible pain spread through her lower back.
Her hands immediately covered her pregnant belly.
“Please,” she whispered.
“Please be all right.”
For several seconds, no one moved.
Daniel, Emma’s husband, stood near the dining-room entrance with his parents and several relatives.
His face had gone pale.
At the top of the staircase, Vanessa stared down at Emma.
The horror in her eyes lasted only a moment.
Then calculation replaced it.
Vanessa grabbed Rosa, the nearest maid, and pulled the terrified woman beside her.
“She attacked me,” Vanessa cried.
“She tried to push me down the stairs.”
Rosa shook beneath Vanessa’s hand.
Vanessa pointed toward Emma.
“I defended myself.”
“She did this to herself.”
Margaret Whitmore, the family matriarch, rushed toward her daughter.
“My poor Vanessa.”
Daniel finally moved toward Emma.
“What happened?”
Emma looked into her husband’s eyes and saw something that hurt almost as much as the fall.
Uncertainty.
He did not know whether to believe her.
Vanessa began sobbing louder.
“She has always hated me.”
“She became violent when I confronted her about stealing from the family.”
“That’s a lie,” Emma whispered.
Margaret turned sharply.
“After everything we have done for you, this is how you repay us?”
Emma did not answer.
Her trembling hand reached into the pocket of her dress.
Vanessa watched her pull out her phone.
“Who are you calling?” Margaret demanded.
Emma pressed one number.
The call connected immediately.
“Detective Cole,” a man answered.
Emma fought through the pain.
“Detective,” she said.
“Send everyone here immediately.”
Silence filled the mansion.
Vanessa’s false tears stopped.
Her hand slowly released Rosa’s arm.
Emma looked up at her sister-in-law.
“The investigation is over,” she whispered.
“And you just gave us the final piece of evidence.”
May you like
Sirens began to rise beyond the iron gates.
For the first time that evening, Vanessa looked afraid.
