Julian: Look at her, Mom! She looks like a drenched alley cat!
Margarethe: Take a good look in the mirror, Chloe. That dressing on your face is worth more than your entire bank account right now.
Chloe: You think this is funny, Julian? We were supposed to get married in three weeks.
Julian: Married? Are you delusional? My mother and I were only using your family's reputation to secure the municipal contract!
Chloe: So the engagement... the promises... it was all just a lie?
Julian: Of course it was a lie! Do you really think a Sterling would marry a girl whose father died penniless?
Chloe wiped a thick layer of salad dressing from her eyelid, her voice trembling slightly, but her eyes remaining locked on Julian.
Chloe: My father didn't die penniless, Julian. He died protecting his company from snakes like you.
Margarethe: Keep your mouth shut about my family! Your father was an incompetent fool who trusted the wrong business partners!
Chloe: He trusted you, Margarethe. He thought you were his friend.
Margarethe: Friendship doesn't exist in the boardroom, child. Only profit exists. And right now, you are a liability.
Margarethe leaned over the table, placing her hands flat on the white marble, staring down at Chloe with pure contempt[cite: 1].
Margarethe: I am giving you ten minutes to pack your bags and get out of this mansion. If you are still here when the clock strikes two, I will have the police arrest you for trespassing.
Chloe: My engagement ring is on the dresser upstairs. It belonged to my grandmother.
Julian: That ring was appraised at two hundred thousand dollars, Chloe! It belongs to the Sterling estate now to cover the cost of your food and lodging!
Chloe: You're stealing my grandmother's ring?!
Julian: Consider it payment for the salad you just ruined with your face!
Julian burst into another fit of laughter, grabbing his glass of iced tea and taking a long sip as if he hadn't just committed a crime[cite: 1].
Chloe: You won't get away with this, Julian. Neither of you will.
Margarethe: Oh? And who is going to stop us? Your dead father? The banks? You have no money, no lawyer, and no influence in Dallas!
Chloe: You'd be surprised who is listening, Mrs. Sterling.
Margarethe: Stop talking nonsense and move your feet! Security!
Two large, suit-clad security guards stepped through the heavy archway of the dining room, their expressions grim[cite: 1].
Margarethe: Escort this girl to the front gates. If she tries to take anything other than the clothes on her back, search her bags thoroughly.
Guard 1: Ma'am... are you sure you want us to handle this right now?
Margarethe: Did I stutter?! Throw her out!
Chloe stood up slowly from her chair, grabbing a cloth napkin to wipe the remaining lettuce from her shoulder[cite: 1]. She adjusted her lapel, making sure the small, pearl-shaped pin pinned near her collar was pointed directly at Margarethe.
Chloe: You don't need to touch me. I know where the door is.
Julian: Bye-bye, princess! Don't forget to wash your hair in the gutter!
Chloe turned her back on the laughing mother and son, walking steadily down the high-key hallway toward the front entrance, her jaw clenched tight in absolute determination[cite: 1].