Julian: I am so sorry, Maya. I had no idea my mother was running a wage theft scheme with the catering and cleaning staff.
Chloe: It's okay, Mr. Sterling... I'm just used to people like her pushing me around.
Emma: Call him Julian, Maya. He's your brother-in-law now. And nobody is ever pushing you around again.
Julian: I'm calling our corporate legal team right away. We're going to audit every temp contract my mother touched for the last two years, and every worker she cheated will get their back-pay with interest paid directly from her personal allowance fund.
Chloe: Really? The other girls at the agency... they were struggling so much. Mrs. Sterling told us if we missed a single shift, she'd get us blacklisted from every estate in the city.
Emma: She won't be blacklisting anyone ever again. In fact, after Julian's lawyer gets done with her, she'll be lucky if she can afford her own apartment in the city.
Julian: I'll go make the call now. Emma, take your time. The guests can wait another thirty minutes.
Emma: Thanks, babe. Tell the coordinator we're making a change to the wedding program.
Julian nodded, giving Chloe a warm, reassuring smile before stepping down the hall toward the library to phone the estate attorneys.
Emma took Chloe's hands, guiding her into the bright, floral-scented bridal suite. She sat her down at the illuminated vanity table, looking at their side-by-side reflection in the large gilded mirror.
Emma: Look at us, Maya. We have the exact same smile. I can't believe you've been in the same city this whole time.
Chloe: I tried finding you when I turned eighteen, but the agency said your adoption records were sealed by a private court order. I didn't have the money for a lawyer to fight it.
Emma: My adoptive parents were good people, but they passed away when I was in college. They left me a trust fund, but they never knew how to track down your records. I spent years hitting dead ends.
Chloe: I almost didn't bring the photo today... I thought maybe you wouldn't want to remember where you came from, especially marrying into a rich family like this.
Emma: Are you crazy? That photo is the most valuable thing in my life! I kept a matching copy of it inside my locket every single day!
Emma reached around her neck, unlatching a delicate silver chain hidden beneath her lace neckline. She opened the small heart-shaped pendant, revealing the exact matching vintage polaroid of the two young girls sitting on the orphanage steps.
Chloe: You still have it... the matching piece.
Emma: I promised you on the day they loaded me into that car that I would never forget you. And I never did.