Chapter 1 - The Fall
“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Sarah screamed.
Eleanor Vance shoved anyway.
Eight months pregnant, Sarah skidded backward across the polished marble landing. Her fingers clawed at empty air. The torn halves of her ultrasound drifted past her like white feathers.
Then the railing disappeared behind her.
For one frozen second, Sarah saw the chandelier below, the terrified housemaids, and Eleanor’s face above her—calm, almost satisfied.
Sarah fell.
Arthur Bell, the Vance family’s seventy-year-old butler, moved faster than anyone thought a man his age could move. He came out from beneath the archway, threw both arms up, and caught Sarah against his chest.
The impact drove him to one knee.
Pain shot through his shoulder, but he did not let go.
Sarah gasped, clutching her belly.
“My baby.”
Arthur’s face drained of color. “Stay with me, Mrs. Vance.”
Above them, Eleanor stared over the railing.
Her expression changed only when Arthur reached into his jacket.
“Arthur,” she said sharply. “Put that phone away.”
He dialed 911.
Eleanor’s voice hardened. “You did not see what you think you saw.”
Arthur looked up at the woman who had controlled the house for twenty-three years.
“I saw you push her.”
Every servant in the foyer stopped breathing.
Eleanor descended the staircase slowly. “Sarah lost her balance. She’s emotional. She’s pregnant. Accidents happen.”
Sarah began shaking.
“She tore my ultrasound,” Sarah whispered. “Then she said I didn’t belong here.”
Eleanor reached the bottom step. “You’re confused.”
Arthur put himself between them.
“Do not come closer.”
The words were quiet. That made them worse.
Sirens sounded beyond the iron gates.
Eleanor’s eyes flicked toward the front doors. For the first time, fear broke through her control.
Then Sarah doubled over.
A deep cramp ripped through her abdomen.
She looked down.
Blood darkened the front of her pale dress.
Arthur’s phone nearly slipped from his hand.
“No,” Sarah breathed.
The paramedics rushed in seconds later, lifting her onto a stretcher while Arthur followed, refusing treatment for his own shoulder.
Eleanor remained in the foyer as two police officers entered.
One of them looked up toward the landing.
Then he looked at Eleanor.
“Ma’am, we need everyone who witnessed the fall to stay in the house.”
Eleanor gave a thin smile. “Of course.”
But as the ambulance pulled away, the head housekeeper, Nora, saw Eleanor quietly take out her phone and send one message.
May you like
Nora only caught three words before Eleanor lowered the screen.
DELETE THE FOOTAGE.
