Julian: Margaret, wait! Just give me two minutes to talk to you!
Margaret: I said stay away from us, Julian! You lost your right to talk to my daughter four years ago!
Julian: She's my daughter too, Margaret! I never stopped looking for both of you!
Margaret: You abandoned us when she was only a year old! You took every dollar from our family account and disappeared!
Margaret walked quickly toward the grand double doors of the ballroom, her silk dress rustling against the floor while she held Lily's tiny hand tightly. Julian scrambled up from his knees, rushing past two waiters carrying champagne trays to cut her off near the entrance.
Julian: I didn't abandon you! My mother forced me onto that plane to Europe! She showed me fake divorce papers with your signature!
Margaret: Do not blame your mother for your own cowardly choices, Julian! I raised Lily alone in a small apartment while you were living in luxury!
Lily: Mommy, why is that man crying?
Margaret: Don't look at him, Lily. He's nobody to us.
Julian: I'm your daddy, Lily! I'm your real father!
Margaret froze in her tracks, her knuckles turning white as she squeezed her clutch purse. She turned around slowly, her green emerald earrings swaying as she stepped right into Julian's personal space, her voice dropping to a dangerous, icy whisper.
Margaret: Do not ever say that word to her again. You don't get to walk in here in a expensive suit and claim her after four years of silence!
Julian: I have the medical records, Margaret! I have the proof that my mother faked my signature on the surrender documents!
Margaret: I don't care about your papers or your excuses, Julian. My husband is the man who bought Lily her first shoes, who stayed up with her when she had a fever, and who gave her a real home!
Julian: Your husband? You married David Vance?
Margaret: Yes, I married David. A man who actually knows what it means to protect his family.
Julian stumbled back a step, as if Margaret's words had hit him harder than the slap across his face. The wealthy guests around them whispered furiously, pointing their phones at the confrontation.
Guest 1: Is that Julian Sterling? The heir to Sterling Financial?
Guest 2: Yes, and that's David Vance's new wife! I can't believe he raised Julian's secret daughter!
Julian: David Vance was my father's corporate rival! You married him just to get revenge on my family?!
Margaret: I married him because he saved our lives when your mother threw us out into the street in the middle of winter!
Before Julian could answer, the heavy wooden doors of the ballroom swung open, and a tall man in a navy blue suit stepped into the foyer. David Vance walked in with a calm, commanding presence, his dark eyes immediately scanning the room until they landed on Margaret and Lily.
David: Is there a problem here, Julian?
Julian: David... keep out of this. This is between me, my ex-wife, and my daughter.
David: She isn't your daughter anymore, Julian. The court terminated your parental rights three years ago when you failed to show up for the custody hearing.
Julian: Because I was in a coma in a hospital in Switzerland after a car crash my mother arranged!