The first thing Mara Hawthorne noticed after she struck the marble landing was the silence.

For ten minutes, the grand entrance hall of Hawthorne House was a stage of performative panic.

Celeste was kneeling on the floor five feet away from Mara, wringing her hands and sobbing dramatically, though not a single tear fell from her eyes.

"Mother, call Dr. Harrison!" Celeste cried. "Call the private ambulance!"

"No," Evelyn said, standing near the phone table, her hands shaking as she dialed. "If we call the private service, it takes thirty minutes. I'm calling 911."

"No 911!" Celeste hissed, suddenly dropping her fake sob, her voice turning sharp and cold. "If the city paramedics come, the police come with them! We can't have police in the house!"

"She might be dying, Celeste!" Evelyn shouted, her maternal instinct briefly piercing through her cold armor. "And the baby!"

"She's fine! She's just unconscious!" Celeste snapped, standing up and looking down at Mara's still body with a mixture of contempt and fear. "If the police come, she's going to tell them her ridiculous story about the foundation!"

"She can't tell them anything if she's..." Evelyn trailed off, staring at her daughter in sudden realization.

"If she's what, Mother?" Celeste whispered darky. "If she loses the baby, it's an tragic accident. She fell. I witnessed it. You witnessed her shouting at us."

Mara lay motionless on the floor, hearing every single word.

The sheer, monstrous cruelty of Celeste's words made Mara's blood run cold. Celeste wasn't just trying to cover up fraud. She was actively hoping Mara would lose her child to preserve her own freedom.

Suddenly, the heavy front oak doors of Hawthorne House were slammed open with immense force.

A blast of cold rain and wind swept into the entrance hall.

"What is going on here?!"

It was Daniel.

He stood in the doorway, soaked from the rain, his tie pulled loose, his briefcase dropping to the floor with a loud thud.

He took one look at Mara lying broken on the marble landing and went deathly pale.

"MARA!"

Daniel sprinted across the hall, dropping to his knees beside his wife. His hands hovered over her, terrified to touch her, terrified he might hurt her more.

"Mara! Baby, please! Can you hear me?!" Daniel's voice was cracked with absolute terror.

Mara slowly opened her eyes.

"Daniel..." she gasped, playing weak, though the pain in her hip was very real.

"Don't move, don't move," Daniel sobbed, gently taking her hand in his. "I'm right here. I'm here."

He turned his head toward his mother and sister, his eyes wide and furious. "WHAT HAPPENED?! WHY ISN'T AN AMBULANCE HERE?!"

Celeste stepped forward, her face instantly morphing back into an expression of tragic sorrow.

"Daniel, it was terrible," Celeste whimpered, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "She went crazy. She started screaming at Mother and me about some financial nonsense. She rushed at me at the top of the stairs... I tried to catch her, but she tripped over her own feet and fell..."

Daniel stared at his sister, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

"She... she fell?" Daniel murmured, looking between Celeste and Mara.

"Yes!" Celeste insisted, tears finally spilling over her cheeks on cue. "It was an accident! I tried to save her, Daniel! I swear I tried!"

Daniel looked down at Mara, his eyes filled with agonizing confusion and grief. He loved his wife, but he had trusted his sister his entire life.

"Mara..." Daniel whispered, tears streaming down his face. "Is that what happened?"

Mara looked up into her husband's eyes.

She didn't answer him with words.