Daniel: The estate transfer... Mom, I haven't signed anything yet. The lawyers are arriving at three o'clock.
Margarethe: Good. Because if you sign those papers, Chloe becomes a legal co-owner of this mansion the second you get married.
Daniel: I thought she loved me for who I was, Mom. We've been dating for two years.
Margarethe: Did she ever ask about your family history? Did she ever want to meet me before today?
Daniel: She always said she was too busy with her fashion firm... every time I brought up a family dinner, she made an excuse.
Margarethe: She wasn't busy, Daniel. She was waiting until you secured the sole title to the Vance estate before she made herself known.
Margarethe reached into the wet pocket of her grey uniform and pulled out the small black recording device[cite: 1]. She tapped a button on the side, and a clear audio recording began to play through the small speaker.
Chloe's Recorded Voice:"I own this house now! Learn your place!"[cite: 1]
Margarethe's Recorded Voice:"You think money gives you the right to humiliate people?"
Chloe's Recorded Voice:"Money gives me the right to do whatever I want in my husband's home! It will be mine by tonight! Daniel is signing the final estate transfer papers in an hour!"
Daniel stared at the recorder, his eyes darkening with intense anger as he heard his fiancé's cruel voice echoing clearly through the quiet living room.
Daniel: She was counting down the minutes until she got the house...
Margarethe: She didn't just dump water on a maid, Daniel. She was testing her power in this house before she even had a legal right to it.
Daniel: I can't believe I was going to marry her next month. I was going to put her name on the trust fund accounts!
Margarethe: It is better to find out who someone truly is today than five years into a toxic marriage, son.
Daniel: I'm calling my lawyer right now. I want the prenuptial agreement canceled, and I want her off the guest list for the charity gala tonight.
Margarethe: No, Daniel. Don't cancel anything yet.
Daniel: What do you mean, Mom? You want me to stay engaged to her?!
Margarethe: Absolutely not. But Chloe's family invited fifty high-society guests to the estate dinner tonight to celebrate the property transfer. Her mother has been boasting to the press all week about how her daughter married into the Sterling empire.
Daniel: What are you planning, Mom?
Margarethe: I am going to dress up for dinner, Daniel. And we are going to give Chloe and her family a proper Sterling family welcome.
Daniel looked at his mother, seeing the sharp, brilliant business mind that had built a multi-million-dollar real estate empire from nothing. A slow, determined smile appeared on his face.
Daniel: I'll go tell the caterers to add a special audio presentation to the dinner schedule.
Margarethe: Excellent. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take a hot shower and change out of this maid dress.