Evelyn: Get your hands off me! Do you have any idea who my father is?! I am a Vance!
Detective: You have the right to remain silent, Mrs. Vance. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
The detective pulled Evelyn's hands behind her back, snapping heavy steel handcuffs over her wrist bracelets. Her glass of wine fell from her hand, shattering near her red designer heels. The guests gasped and pulled out their phones, videoing every second as the high-society socialite screamed in anger[cite: 1].
Evelyn: Marcus! Do something! Call our criminal defense lawyer! Call the mayor!
Marcus: It's over, Evelyn... It's all over...
Marcus didn't fight back as the second officer stepped forward, clicking handcuffs around his wrists. His head hung low, his dark tuxedo jacket looking crumpled as he stared at the marble floor[cite: 1].
Marcus: Clara... please... I only did it to keep the company from falling apart after Thomas died...
Clara: You did it because you were greedy, Marcus. You couldn't bear the thought of Thomas's wife owning more shares than you.
Attorney Vance: The state prosecutor has already signed the indictment papers. The medical examiner who falsified the hospital surrender form was taken into custody two hours ago. He confessed to accepting a two-hundred-thousand-dollar bribe from your personal account.
Guest 1: Unbelievable... they bribed a hospital doctor to steal a comatose mother's child!
Guest 2: They belong in state prison for the rest of their lives!
Evelyn: Clara, you witch! You ruined my life! You destroyed everything!
Clara: You destroyed yourself, Evelyn. You had two years to treat this boy with love, but you treated him like an accessory for your social status. You were never his mother.
The police officers turned Marcus and Evelyn around, walking them down the center aisle of the grand ballroom past three hundred staring eyes[cite: 1]. The cameras flashed continuously, casting harsh white light across their disgraced faces as they were led through the front glass double doors into waiting police cruisers.
The heavy doors slammed shut, leaving the grand hall in complete silence once again[cite: 1]. Clara took a deep breath, resting her hand over Leo's warm back.
Attorney Vance: The court has granted immediate full physical and legal custody of Leo to you, Clara. All emergency protective orders have been signed.
Clara: Thank you, Sarah... Thank you for believing me when no one else would.
Attorney Vance: Your husband Thomas was my best friend, Clara. I only wish I had found out what they were doing sooner.
Leo: Mommy... are we going home now?
Clara: Yes, my sweet boy... We're going home. And nobody is ever going to separate us again.