Victoria followed Mark up the grand staircase into the master bedroom.
She slammed the heavy wooden door shut behind them with a bang.
She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and narrowed her eyes.
Victoria: You have no right to yell at me in front of her!
Mark: You made my elderly mother scrub floors on her hands and knees!
Victoria: She lives under our roof for free, so she must contribute!
Mark stared at his wife as if she were a total stranger.
Mark: This is my mother's home, built by her and my father!
Mark: You signed a prenuptial agreement before our wedding five months ago!
Mark: You own nothing in this house, and you know that well!
Victoria sneered coldly and walked over to the tall wooden desk.
She pulled open the top drawer and pulled out a manila folder.
Victoria: Things have changed while you were away in New York, darling.
She tossed the heavy paper folder right onto the king size bed.
Mark looked down at the official legal papers resting on the white blanket.
Mark: What is the meaning of these legal documents?
Victoria: Your mother signed over her full power of attorney to me last week.
Mark felt a cold chill run down his entire back instantly.
He picked up the crisp white pages and began reading them fast.
His mother's signature was written in shaky ink at the bottom.
Mark: She would never sign her life decisions over to you willingly!
Victoria: She signed it right in front of a notary public, Mark.
Victoria: I control her estate, her money, and her medical care now.
Victoria: If you try to divorce me, I will put her in a home.
Mark felt absolute rage boiling inside his veins like hot fire.
He remembered how confused his mother had seemed on the phone lately.
Victoria had been giving his mother high doses of sleeping pills daily.
Mark: You tricked her into signing these papers while she was sick!
Victoria: You cannot prove anything in a courtroom, my dear husband.
Victoria: So you had better act nice to me from now on.
Mark took a deep breath to calm his fast pounding heart down.
He realized he was dealing with a dangerous and greedy woman.
He needed to play this game very carefully to save his mother.
Mark: I need time to think about all of this legal business.
Victoria: You have until tomorrow morning to accept the new reality.