The sterile smell of antiseptic filled the quiet hospital room on the fourth floor of St. Jude's Medical Center.
Claire lay in the high-tech hospital bed, an IV monitor softly beeping beside her bed frame. Mark sat on a small plastic chair next to her, gently stroking her knuckles.
Mark: How are you feeling now, honey?
Claire: The cramps stopped an hour ago. The doctor said the baby is completely fine, thank God.
Mark: I'll never forgive myself for leaving you alone in that villa today, Claire. I should have known she would try something terrible.
Claire: You didn't know she had a key, Mark. Nobody expected her to act like a monster.
A soft knock echoed at the door, and Maria stepped inside, carrying a small bouquet of yellow roses and a bag of takeout food.
Maria: How is our future mother doing?
Claire: Maria! Come in! Please, sit down!
Mark: Maria, I can't thank you enough for what you did today. If you hadn't brought that strap...
Maria: I just did what any decent human being would do, Mark. I've worked for your mother for five years. I know how cruel she can be when she doesn't get her way.
Claire: Did the police take her away?
Mark: Yeah. She spent the night in the county jail. Her lawyer tried to get her out on emergency bail, but the judge saw the security video and denied it until her preliminary hearing on Monday.
Claire: What about the family business? The trust fund?
Mark: I met with the board of directors this morning while you were resting. Once they saw the news reports and the video footage, they voted unanimously to remove her as CEO of Sterling Enterprises.
Claire gasped, sitting up slightly in her bed.
Claire: They removed her? But she built that company for thirty years!
Mark: Her violent behavior created a massive legal liability for the firm. The board couldn't risk the bad publicity. In fact, they appointed me as the interim CEO starting next week.
Maria: That's wonderful news, Mark! Justice is finally being served!
Mark: And Maria, as interim CEO, my first act was to hire you as our head estate manager with three times your previous salary.
Maria's eyes filled with tears as she covered her mouth in shock.
Maria: Oh, Mark... you don't have to do that!
Mark: You saved my wife and my child's life today, Maria. You are family now. You'll never have to worry about your job or your housing ever again.
Suddenly, the door to the hospital room swung open again. Evelyn's corporate lawyer, Arthur, stepped into the doorway looking exhausted, carrying a thick leather briefcase.
Mark: What are you doing here, Arthur? I told you not to come near my wife.
Lawyer: Mark, please. I'm not here as your mother's defense lawyer. I'm here as the Sterling family estate administrator.
Claire: What does she want now?
Lawyer: Evelyn is desperate, Mark. She's sitting in a holding cell, and the district attorney is charging her with felony assault, attempted murder, and child endangerment. She faces up to fifteen years in state prison.
Mark: Good. She can spend those fifteen years thinking about what she did to the glass floor.
Lawyer: She is willing to sign over all her remaining shares in the company, the villa, and her personal trust fund to Claire and the baby if you drop the criminal charges.
Mark looked down at Claire, then back at the lawyer with a cold, unyielding glare.
Mark: Tell her to keep her money, Arthur. We're going to court.