Victoria took a step back, her expensive heels clicking against the cold floor like a ticking clock.
Victoria: "My divorce lawyer was helping me protect my future! You were neglecting me!"
Arthur: "Neglecting you? I bought you a penthouse in Manhattan, a luxury car, and unlimited access to my accounts."
Victoria: "That was nothing compared to what you built with your family company! I deserved half!"
Arthur: "You deserved what was in the prenup contract: zero if you tried to defraud the estate."
Elena stepped closer to Arthur, placing a tray of water on a nearby side table.
Elena: "Mr. Vance, I knew she was changing your medication. I saw the strange pill bottles in her bedroom vanity."
Victoria: "Shut up, you useless servant! Nobody asked you!"
Arthur: "Don't you dare speak to her like that in my home."
Victoria: "This is MY home too! My name is on the deed!"
Arthur: "Check the public records tomorrow morning. I transferred the deed into a private family trust last month."
Victoria gasped, dropping her brass cane onto the hard marble floor with a loud clang.
Victoria: "You stripped the deed out of my name?"
Arthur: "You signed the transfer form yourself three weeks ago, thinking it was my medical authorization paper."
Victoria: "That was fraud! You tricked me!"
Arthur: "You didn't even read the document, Victoria. You were too busy counting the millions you thought you were inheriting."
Victoria: "I will sue you for every penny! I will get the best legal defense team in the city!"
Arthur: "With what money? All your personal credit cards were frozen twenty minutes ago."
Victoria reached frantically into her glittering designer purse and pulled out her smartphone.
She tapped the screen rapidly, her breathing becoming shallow and erratic.
Victoria: "Declined... card declined? No, this is a mistake!"
Arthur: "No mistake. My chief financial officer executed the freeze order on all joint accounts."
Victoria: "You can't do this to me! I have high-society charity events this weekend! My reputation will be ruined!"
Arthur: "Your reputation is the least of your concerns right now."
Elena looked at Victoria with a quiet, stern expression.
Elena: "You used to laugh at me when I cleaned the floors, calling me worthless. Look at you now."
Victoria: "You little rat! You helped him play me!"
Arthur: "Elena didn't know anything until five minutes ago. She defended me purely out of the kindness of her heart."
Victoria: "Kindness doesn't pay the bills in this world, Arthur!"
Arthur: "No, but real loyalty does. Which is why Elena is getting a promotion to estate manager today."
Elena looked up in surprise, her eyes shining with sudden emotion.
Elena: "Mr. Vance... really?"
Arthur: "You earned it, Elena. You showed humanity when everyone else was acting like a vulture."
Victoria's face grew red with deep humiliation and fury.
Victoria: "You're giving my house to the maid?!"
Arthur: "It was never your house. It was my family's legacy, and you were just a temporary guest who overstayed her welcome."
Victoria backed up toward the grand hallway archway, looking for an escape route.
Victoria: "I'm leaving. I'm packing my jewelry and driving to my sister's house."
Arthur: "I wouldn't advise going to the garage."
Victoria: "Why not? The sports car is registered in my name!"
Arthur: "Because the state police are already parked in the driveway."