Chapter 2 - The Fateful Push
The argument began just before sunset.
Elena had returned to the rooftop terrace after dinner.
She needed air again.
The baby had been restless all evening.
She stood beside the glass railing.
The sea below was turning orange beneath the setting sun.
Then Victoria appeared.
“You should pack.”
Elena turned.
“Pack what?”
“Your things.”
Elena stared.
“What are you talking about?”
Victoria walked closer.
“Daniel will be here tonight.”
“I know.”
“And when he arrives, you won't be here.”
Elena's heart began beating faster.
“Did Daniel tell you to say this?”
Victoria smiled.
“Daniel doesn't need to say everything aloud.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you should have realized by now that this family doesn't want you.”
Elena shook her head.
“You're lying.”
Victoria stepped closer.
“You think your child makes you untouchable.”
“She is Daniel's daughter.”
“Exactly.”
Elena frowned.
Victoria lowered her voice.
“And that is why you have to disappear before she is born.”
Elena's blood ran cold.
“You wouldn't.”
Victoria laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“Once the baby is born, the trust activates.”
“What trust?”
Victoria's eyes flashed.
“The one that controls everything.”
Elena stepped backward.
“You're trying to take my baby.”
“No.”
Victoria smiled.
“I'm trying to take the future.”
Elena felt the baby move.
“Stay away from me.”
Victoria continued approaching.
“You should never have married my son.”
“He loves me.”
Victoria's expression became vicious.
“No.”
“He loved the woman he thought you were.”
“And now he understands what you really are.”
Elena stared.
“Daniel knows about this?”
Victoria's silence was answer enough.
Tears filled Elena's eyes.
“You've planned this together.”
Victoria's face softened strangely.
“Daniel understands his responsibilities.”
Elena stepped backward again.
Her heel touched the edge of the stone terrace.
Victoria noticed.
She smiled.
“Elena…”
“No.”
“Don't make this difficult.”
“You're insane.”
Victoria lunged forward.
Her hand struck Elena's shoulder.
Elena stumbled.
“Victoria!”
Another shove.
Harder.
The world tilted.
For one terrifying second, Elena's hands reached for the railing.
Her fingers missed.
She fell.
The scream that left her throat was swallowed by the wind.
She dropped past the terrace.
Past the flowers.
Past the stone balcony.
Her hands searched desperately for anything.
Nothing.
Then—
A hand grabbed her wrist.
Pain exploded through her shoulder.
Elena looked up.
One of the household maids, Sofia, was hanging over the lower balcony.
She had thrown herself forward.
“I've got you!”
Elena sobbed.
“My baby!”
“Hold on!”
Sofia pulled.
But the weight was too much.
The rope from the decorative awning had become tangled around Elena's waist.
It snapped tight.
Sofia lost her footing.
Both women dropped.
The rope caught.
They swung violently above the pool.
Elena's feet dangled over the water.
Sofia's arms shook.
“Don't let go!”
“I can't!”
“Please!”
Elena looked down.
The pool was directly beneath her.
One wrong movement.
One slip.
And they would both fall.
Above them, Victoria stepped onto the balcony.
May you like
She looked down.
And smiled.
