Mark: You think this is funny, Elena?! You just assaulted a baby!
Elena: Go ahead, Mark. Call the cops. Call the district attorney. See who goes to prison first.
Clara: What are you talking about?! You hurt my boy!
Elena: Look at my face, Clara. Look at these dark bruises around my eyes.
Elena slowly pushed herself up from the marble floor, dusting off her skirt. She pointed a manicured finger directly at her bruised face, staring at Mark with a wicked grin.
Elena: Who do you think the police will believe when they walk into this kitchen? A poor, bruised mother who was just pushed to the floor, or a hot-headed CEO with a history of anger issues?
Mark: You got those black eyes at a nightclub last weekend when you got into a fight with your boyfriend!
Elena: But there are no police reports for that, are there? But if I tell the officers here that you gave me these black eyes today when I tried to stop Clara from yelling at the baby... well, Texas courts are very sensitive about domestic abuse.
Clara: You monster! You lied to my father for five years, and now you're trying to frame my husband?!
Elena: Your father left me fifty percent of this mansion and a seat on the board of Sterling Enterprises, Clara. I am the mistress of this estate. You two are just guests living on my allowance.
Mark stepped closer to Clara, wrapping his arm around her waist while holding little Toby’s head against his neck. The baby’s whimpers had softened, but the dark red marks on his skin were still painfully visible.
Mark: You won't get away with this, Elena. I'm taking my family to the hospital right now to get a full medical report on Toby's injuries.
Elena: Go ahead! Run to the hospital! But while you're gone, I'll be calling your corporate board members to inform them that their CEO is under investigation for domestic violence against his late father-in-law's widow.
Clara: You wouldn't dare. The stock price would crash!
Elena: I don't care about the stock price, Clara. I care about getting total control of your father's trust fund. And if I have to destroy Mark to get it, I'll do it with a smile on my face.
Mark: Let's go, Clara. Pack Toby's diaper bag. We're leaving this house today.
Elena: Leave all you want! But if you step out that door without signing over your father's voting shares to me, I press charges against Mark before you reach the front gate!
Clara looked at her husband's furious face, then down at her shivering baby. She felt a cold knot of dread tighten in her stomach. Elena had spent years manipulating her dying father, and now she was using her own self-inflicted wounds to trap them in a corner.
Clara: Mark... what are we going to do?
Mark: We aren't giving her a single share, Clara. Not today, not ever.
Elena: Then enjoy watching your husband walk out of this mansion in handcuffs, my dear!