Evelyn stepped forward, her face turning pale as she listened to her son speak into his phone. She reached out her hands, trying to grab Julian's arm to stop the call, but he pulled away with sharp disgust.
Evelyn: Julian, no! You wouldn't call the police on your own mother! You are letting this maid put crazy ideas in your head!
Julian: My mother would never pour poison down a defenseless woman's throat!
Evelyn: I carried you for nine months! I built this family's reputation in this city!
Julian: You built a house of cards on greed and cruelty!
Julian carefully lifted Chloe off the hard floor, carrying her gently across the hallway into the grand parlor. He laid her down on the plush velvet sofa, wrapping a soft woolen blanket around her cold, shivering shoulders.
Julian: Clara, bring a warm, wet towel. Wash the juice off her face and hands.
Clara: Right away, Mr. Vance!
Evelyn: Clara, if you step into that kitchen, you are fired without a severance package!
Julian: Ignore her, Clara. You answer only to me now. Your salary is doubled as of this minute.
Clara: Thank you, sir! I'm getting the towel right now.
Clara hurried down the grand hallway into the kitchen. Evelyn paced back and forth across the hardwood oak floor, her high heels clicking loudly against the polished wood as her composure completely crumbled.
Evelyn: You think you can treat me like a criminal in my own home? I have partial ownership of this mansion!
Julian: Check the land deed again, Evelyn. My father transferred full ownership of this estate to me on my thirtieth birthday.
Evelyn: Because I allowed him to! I signed off on the marital property waiver!
Julian: Which means I can have you escorted off this property whenever I choose.
Chloe reached out her hand from the velvet sofa, tugging softly at Julian's suit sleeve. Her voice was weak, but her eyes were sharp with sudden clarity.
Chloe: Julian... the bottle... she keeps it behind the third pantry cabinet...
Julian: What bottle, Chloe?
Chloe: The small amber glass bottle... she refills it every Tuesday when the private courier arrives...
Evelyn froze in place, her eyes widening in absolute panic as she looked toward the open kitchen doors.
Evelyn: She's hallucinating! The trauma from her accident is making her fabricate stories!
Julian: Clara! Check behind the third pantry cabinet in the kitchen!
Evelyn: Don't you dare touch my personal belongings!
Evelyn turned and tried to sprint toward the kitchen, but Julian moved much faster. He stepped into her path, grabbing her arm securely and forcing her back into the middle of the hallway.
Julian: You stay right here!
A few seconds later, Clara walked out of the kitchen holding a small brown glass bottle with a printed pharmacy label attached to the side.
Julian: Read the label, Clara.
Clara: It says... Muscle Relaxant and Neuromuscular Blocker. Prescription issued to an offshore account in Nassau.
Julian: Neuromuscular blocker... That is a high-strength drug used to induce temporary paralysis!
Chloe: That's why... that's why my legs never healed...
Julian: You were giving her muscle paralyzers every single morning so she couldn't walk out of this house!
Evelyn: It was a mild sedative! She was anxious! She was threatening to leave you and take her mother's inheritance with her!
Chloe: I never said that! I loved Julian! I wanted to go to physical therapy!
Julian: You didn't just paralyze her, Evelyn. You isolated her from me, from her doctors, and from her lawyers!