Chapter 1: The Drop
The silence of the luxurious estate was shattered by a sickening crack. From the shadows of the far left alcove, seven-year-old Lily clamped small hands over her mouth. She had seen it all. She had seen the woman in the elegant purple dress—her father’s new fiancée, Victoria—shove her grandmother over the second-floor railing.
Eleanor, dressed in her signature pristine white, plummeted like a broken bird, landing lifelessly on the cold granite floor of the grand lobby. A second later, the heavy oak front doors flew open. Arthur, Eleanor’s son and the master of the house, stormed inside. He froze, his briefcase dropping from his hand. With a guttural cry, he dropped to his knees, cradling his mother’s bleeding head. His face was twisted in absolute agony.
