Victoria Vance walked through the front double doors, her heels clicking against the polished marble floor. She paused in the foyer, her sharp eyes noticing the dirty streaks on the white steps and the discarded briefcase near the entrance. Her forehead creased in annoyance as she called out to the staff.
Victoria: Thomas! Why is there trash near the grand staircase? We have board members arriving in two hours!
Samuel: Don't bother yelling at Thomas, Mother.
Victoria turned around to see Samuel standing near the landing of the second-floor balcony. His suit jacket was off, his sleeves rolled up, and his eyes were colder than she had ever seen them before.
Victoria: Samuel? Why aren't you dressed for the boardroom meeting? The estate lawyers are waiting for your signature on the trust fund transfer.
Samuel: The meeting is canceled.
Victoria: Canceled? Are you out of your mind?! That transfer secures our majority voting rights in the company!
Samuel: I don't care about the voting rights, Mother. I care about what happened three years ago in the private clinic in Vermont.
Victoria’s hand froze on her handbag strap. A faint flicker of panic crossed her face before she quickly smoothed her expression into one of calm condescension.
Victoria: I don't know what you're talking about. Vermont? You know very well that girl abandoned you and ran off with her secret lover.
Samuel: Is that so? Then why is she currently resting upstairs in the primary suite with my daughter?
Victoria gasped, taking a sharp step backward. Her face paled as she looked up toward the closed bedroom doors above the foyer.
Victoria: She... she's here? How did she get past the front gate guards?!
Samuel: She walked up the driveway begging for food, Mother! Barefoot! Covered in bruises! Holding a baby that hasn't had proper nourishment in days!
Victoria: She's a liar, Samuel! She's a gold-digger who came back to extort money from our family now that the news published our quarterly earnings!
Samuel: She didn't ask for money! She asked for a job so she could buy milk for my child!
Victoria: That child could belong to anyone! She was living in low-income housing before you met her!
Samuel descended the stairs with slow, heavy steps, stopping directly in front of his mother. The air between them grew suffocatingly dense.
Samuel: You forged her signature on the departure contract, didn't you?
Victoria: I protected this family! She was a commoner with no family background! She would have ruined our reputation in high society!
Samuel: You didn't protect this family! You destroyed it for your own pride and greed!
Victoria: I paid off her mother's medical bills three years ago! I gave her a choice, and she took the money!
Catherine: That's a lie!
Catherine stepped out onto the upper balcony, wearing a clean cotton robe provided by the maid staff. Though her body was weak, her voice rang out with clear, unwavering anger across the high ceilings of the hall.