Julian: "Victoria, are you okay? Is Leo hurt?!"
Victoria: "He's shaking, Julian! She almost killed our son!"
Julian: "Mother, have you lost your mind?! You could have killed him!"
Beatrice: "I was protecting what is ours, Julian! That child does not carry Vance blood!"
Victoria: "You evil woman! How dare you say that after everything I've put up with in this house!"
Beatrice: "I know what you are, Victoria. You married my son for his trust fund and his position at the firm!"
Julian: "Mother, stop this right now! Victoria has been my wife for three years!"
Beatrice: "And for three years she has lied to you! Look at her! She brought shame into this mansion!"
Julian slowly stood up from the marble floor, holding little Leo securely in his left arm while placing his right hand over Victoria's shoulder. The massive crystal chandelier above them cast sharp shadows across the grand entryway, making the silence in the room feel heavy and suffocating.
Julian: "I don't care about your wild accusations, Mother. You dropped a baby from a second-story balcony."
Beatrice: "I dropped a fraud, Julian! I had a private detective run a background check on her last week!"
Victoria: "A private detective? You hired someone to spy on me?!"
Beatrice: "Of course I did! I knew your mother was an uneducated maid from West Texas!"
Victoria: "My mother was an honest woman who worked twenty hours a day to put me through college!"
Beatrice: "Your mother was a nobody who tried to extort my late husband thirty years ago!"
Julian's eyes widened as he looked up at his mother. The cold, rigid woman who had controlled the family business since his father's death stood with her hand resting on the wooden balcony rail, her string of pearls gleaming in the daylight.
Julian: "What are you talking about, Mother? Extort Dad?"
Beatrice: "Ask your precious wife! She knew about it the whole time!"
Victoria: "I didn't know anything until three days ago, Julian! But your mother is twisting the facts to protect herself!"
Beatrice: "I don't need to twist anything. I hold the keys to the entire estate."
Victoria: "You hold a mountain of illegal secrets, Beatrice! And today the whole world is going to see them!"
Victoria reached into the side pocket of her silk pajama pants and pulled out the sealed brown manila envelope. The white sticker label marked with the letter "D" pulled tight across the flap as she held it high in the air for Beatrice to see.
Beatrice: "What is that trash?"
Victoria: "This is the verified lab test you tried to bribe the clinic director to hide!"
Beatrice: "You're bluffing. That clinic answers directly to the Vance board of directors!"
Victoria: "Not when the state prosecutor gets involved! Julian, open this envelope right now!"
Julian looked down at the brown envelope in Victoria's hand. His fingers trembled as he took the paper, feeling the thick, official legal seal along the back flap.
Julian: "Victoria... what is inside this?"
Victoria: "Read it out loud, Julian! Read it so your mother can hear every single word!"