Daniel: Mom... what happened to you?! Why are you soaked?! Why are you wearing a maid's uniform[cite: 1]?!
Margarethe: Ask your new bride, Daniel[cite: 1]. She was just teaching me a lesson about who owns this estate[cite: 1].
Chloe: M-Mom?! Daniel, what are you talking about?! You told me your mother was on a luxury cruise in Europe!
Daniel: She was on a cruise, Chloe! She came home early this morning to surprise us!
Margarethe: I decided to test the staff and my future daughter-in-law before the big wedding next month[cite: 1]. I wanted to see how the people in this house treat those they think are beneath them[cite: 1].
Chloe: I... I didn't know! Daniel, I swear it was an accident! I tripped over the mop bucket[cite: 1]!
Margarethe: An accident? Is that why you leaned into my face and told me you owned this house[cite: 1]?
Daniel: Did you really say that to her, Chloe[cite: 1]?
Daniel took three large steps across the foyer, stepping directly into the puddle of dirty water without caring about his expensive leather shoes. He grabbed a clean white towel hanging from the entry hall rack and wrapped it around his mother's shivering shoulders.
Chloe: Daniel, listen to me! She was disrespecting me! She wouldn't move out of the hallway while I was showing the interior designer around!
Margarethe: I was cleaning the marble floors that your boots tracked mud over an hour ago[cite: 1].
Chloe: She was being rude! She didn't bow her head or call me ma'am!
Daniel: Bow her head?! Chloe, this is my mother! The sole owner of the Sterling Real Estate Group! The woman whose trust fund is paying for our wedding!
Chloe: She... she owns the company...?
Margarethe: I own sixty percent of the shares, Chloe[cite: 1]. And my son owns thirty. You currently own zero.
Chloe's face drained of all color. She took a step back, her high heels clicking nervously against the wet marble floor. Her hands began to shake as she looked at the puddle of filthy water pooling around her green silk gown.
Chloe: Mrs. Sterling... I am so sorry... I thought you were the new temp worker agency sent over this morning...
Margarethe: So if I were just a temp worker, it would have been acceptable to dump a bucket of dirty water on my head[cite: 1]?
Chloe: No! Of course not! I was just stressed about the wedding preparations!
Margarethe: Stress doesn't reveal a bad day, Chloe. It reveals a bad character.
Daniel: Chloe, go upstairs to your room right now. Do not say another word.
Chloe: Daniel, please! Let me explain! We can talk about this privately in your office!
Daniel: I said go upstairs!
Chloe bit her lip, tears of embarrassment and panic welling up in her eyes as she turned around and ran up the grand staircase, her green dress rustling loudly against the marble. Daniel turned back to his mother, his face full of guilt and heartbreak.
Daniel: Mom, I am so sorry... I had no idea she was capable of doing something like this.
Margarethe: I know you didn't, son. Love makes people blind to a lot of warning signs.
Daniel: Are you okay? Let me help you get out of those wet clothes.
Margarethe: I am fine, Daniel. But before I change, we need to have a very serious conversation about the estate papers you were planning to sign today.