legacy

Chapter 1 - Seventy Stories Above the Street

"SHE PUSHED HER!" Rose shouted, and the champagne tray flew from her hands.

Crystal shattered across the rooftop terrace. Beyond the glass railing, seventy-year-old Eleanor Callaway was already falling, her silver hair whipping across her face as the city opened beneath her.

Rose ran. She didn't think about the drop or the guests screaming behind her. She caught the back of Eleanor's silk jacket with both hands and slammed her hip against the railing. For one terrible second, the older woman's weight dragged her forward.

"Please," Rose gasped. "Hold on to me."

"I can't," Eleanor whispered.

Rose's fingers slipped across the fabric. A seam tore. She hooked one arm around the railing post and screamed again.

Two security guards finally reached them. Together they pulled Eleanor over the ledge and onto the marble. Rose fell backward beside the broken glasses, shaking so hard she couldn't close her hands.

Nathaniel Callaway dropped to his knees and gathered his mother against his chest.

"Mom? Look at me. Please."

Eleanor nodded, barely able to breathe. Across the terrace, Nathaniel's bride stood in her white gown, both palms still facing the railing. They had been married two hours earlier. Victoria Mercer Callaway looked as though she had forgotten how to move.

"It was an accident," Victoria said.

Nathaniel raised his head. "I didn't ask you anything."

"She slipped. I tried to catch her."

Rose tried to stand. "That's not what happened."

Victoria turned on her. "You were carrying drinks. You weren't even close enough to see."

"I saw your hands on her shoulders."

A paramedic rushed through the gathering crowd. Guests lifted phones.

Eleanor clutched her son's sleeve. Her voice was thin but clear.

"Nathaniel. Don't let her near me."

Victoria took one step backward.

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Then the head of hotel security arrived and said the words that made Rose's stomach drop.

"Sir, the rooftop cameras were switched off for the wedding."

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