The bright fluorescent lights of the emergency wing hallway hummed quietly as the clock on the wall struck three in the morning.
Arthur sat on a cold plastic chair, his head resting in his hands, his tuxedo jacket stained with small traces of blood and champagne from the ballroom floor.
The heavy double doors at the end of the hallway swung open, and a doctor in blue scrubs stepped through, pulling down his surgical mask.
Arthur: Doctor! How is she? How is my baby?
Doctor Miller: Mr. Vance, take a breath. Your wife has suffered severe bruising and a concussion from the fall.
Arthur: What about the baby? Please tell me my child is okay!
Doctor Miller: The fetal heart rate stabilized twenty minutes ago. The baby is safe, but Clara needs absolute bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy.
Arthur let out a long, shuddering breath, his shoulders shaking as he wiped tears from his eyes.
Arthur: Thank God... thank God.
Doctor Miller: She is awake now. She keeps asking to speak with you.
Arthur: Can I see her right now?
Doctor Miller: Room four-zero-two. Keep it quiet, Mr. Vance. She is still very weak.
Arthur pushed open the heavy wooden door of room four-zero-two, stepping into the dim room where Clara lay with an IV tube attached to her arm.
Clara: Arthur...
Arthur: Don't try to sit up, Clara. The doctor said the baby is safe.
Clara reached out, wrapping her trembling fingers tightly around his thumb.
Clara: I was so scared... when I was falling, I thought I lost everything...
Arthur: You didn't lose anything, sweetheart. I'm right here with you.
Clara: Did Victoria leave the estate?
Arthur: State troopers are holding the estate grounds right now. Nobody is touching your father's personal study or the safe.
Clara: Julian has the master key to the safe, Arthur. He took it from my father's desk two weeks ago.
Arthur: I know. I had the lock codes changed yesterday afternoon without telling them.
Clara's pale face broke into a soft, weak smile as she looked up at her husband.
Clara: You knew she was going to move against us tonight, didn't you?
Arthur: I knew she was getting desperate because the trust fund matures on your twenty-fifth birthday next week.
Clara: She pushed me because she wanted the pregnancy terminated, Arthur. She knew if the baby was gone, the court would award her the surviving spouse share.
Arthur: I know. And that is why she is going to spend the rest of her life behind bars for attempted murder.
A soft knock sounded at the hospital room door, and a man in a dark grey trench coat stepped inside holding a leather briefcase.
Detective Ross: Mr. and Mrs. Vance? I am Detective Ross with the Major Crimes Unit.
Arthur: Detective. Thank you for coming so quickly.
Detective Ross: Mrs. Vance, I need to take your official statement regarding the incident at the estate tonight.
Clara: I am ready to speak, Detective. I want every charge filed immediately.
Detective Ross: We already have three witness statements from gala guests who saw the physical shove from the top landing.
Arthur: Did you secure the security camera footage from the main ballroom balcony?
Detective Ross: That is why I'm here, Mr. Vance. The security system hard drive was wiped clean thirty minutes after the ambulance left.