Charles: You thought I was too old and frail to notice what you were doing, didn't you?
Victoria: Charles, that conversation with your lawyer was about estate tax planning! He recommended reviewing the policy!
Charles: He told me you asked specifically how quickly the twenty-million-dollar payout would be transferred upon my death!
Victoria: That was a standard legal inquiry! Any wife in my position would ask the same thing!
Maya: Mr. Vance, please don't let her touch that decanter! The liquid is still inside!
Charles looked down at the crystal wine decanter sitting beside his plate. The dark red liquid glistened under the bright lights of the crystal chandelier.
Charles: Maya, fetch my chief of security, Thomas, from the gatehouse immediately.
Maya: Yes, Mr. Vance! Right away!
Victoria: Don't you leave this room, girl! I'm warning you!
Charles: Let her go, Victoria! You don't give orders in this house anymore!
Maya turned and hurried out through the double pantry doors, her footsteps echoing across the marble hallway. Victoria stared at Charles, her face pale and her lower lip trembling as she tried to adopt a gentle tone.
Victoria: Charles, please... think about our reputation. Think about what the city council will say if rumors start spreading about this!
Charles: You were willing to put poison in my glass, and you are worried about the city council?!
Victoria: I didn't put poison in anything! That video was taken out of context! I was pouring a concentrated fruit extract into the wine to enhance the flavor!
Charles: Then drink it.
Victoria: What?!
Charles: If it's fruit extract, pick up that glass of champagne and take a sip right now.
Charles picked up the crystal glass he was about to drink from and held it out toward his wife. His hand was steady, his blue eyes hard as steel under the high-key lighting.
Victoria: I... I don't want champagne right now. My stomach is upset!
Charles: Drink it, Victoria. Prove to me that my maid is a liar.
Victoria: You are being utterly insane! I will not be forced to drink anything under duress!
Charles: You won't drink it because you know that bottle contains a lethal dose of tasteless cardiac toxin!
Victoria: That's absurd! I love you, Charles! I've devoted five years of my life to caring for you and this estate!
Charles: You devoted five years to spending my money, buying luxury cars, and trying to push my biological daughter out of my will!
Victoria: Your daughter hasn't visited you in six months! She cares more about her career in London than she cares about her own father!
Charles: My daughter stayed away because you made her life miserable every time she stepped foot in this mansion!
The heavy doors of the dining room swung open, and fifty-year-old Thomas, the head of estate security, walked in alongside Maya. Thomas wore a sharp black suit and carried a handheld radio in his grip.
Thomas: Mr. Vance! Maya told me there was a severe emergency in the dining room!
Charles: Thomas, seal all exit doors to the estate. Nobody leaves this property until the police arrive.
Thomas: Understood, sir. Is Mrs. Vance alright?
Charles: Mrs. Vance just attempted to poison my dinner. Secure that glass bottle on the table and do not let anyone touch the decanter.
Victoria: Thomas, don't you listen to him! He's having a medical episode! Call his personal doctor immediately!
Thomas: I take my orders directly from Mr. Vance, ma'am. Please step away from the table.