Victoria: Attempted murder?! Are you insane?! I just gave her a slight push! I didn't mean for the table to break!
Ethan: You pushed a woman who is six months pregnant into a thick glass tabletop. Do you think a jury is going to care what you meant to do?
Victoria: Ethan, please! We are family! Your father loved me!
Ethan: My father married you because he thought you cared about this family. He didn't know you were draining his business accounts behind his back.
Clara: The documents... Ethan, she forged the probate signatures last week...
Ethan: I know, Clara. My corporate lawyers received the forensic handwriting report an hour ago. Every single signature she submitted to the bank was fake.
Victoria: That lawyer lied to you! He's working with Clara to steal my share of the company!
Ethan: Your lawyer is currently sitting in a precinct interrogation room giving a full confession to federal investigators, Victoria.
Victoria stumbled to her feet, clutching her velvet dress around her as she tried to back toward the hallway leading to the back exits.
Victoria: I need to make a phone call. I'm calling my defense team.
Ethan: Don't take another step.
Victoria: You can't stop me from leaving my own living room!
Ethan: It's not your living room anymore. The bank issued an emergency asset freeze thirty minutes ago based on the wire fraud evidence.
Outside the front entrance, loud sirens echoed down the long driveway, growing louder by the second. Red and blue lights flashed through the tall glass windows of the grand foyer.
Victoria: No... no, this can't be happening to me!
Ethan: You thought you could isolate Clara while I was out of the country. You thought without her father here to protect her, she had no one left.
Victoria: Ethan, I'll sign the papers! I'll give up the corporate shares! Just tell the police it was a household accident!
Ethan: Look up at that red light, Victoria.
Victoria looked up again at the blinking camera on the ceiling[cite: 1]. Her reflection was visible in the glossy lens, catching her terrified expression.
Ethan: That camera recorded every lie you just told. It recorded you screaming that she attacked you while she was lying bleeding on the floor.
Victoria: Please... Ethan... I'm begging you!
Ethan: The time for begging ended the moment you laid your hands on my wife.
The heavy front doors pushed open, and four uniformed police officers rushed into the living room, followed closely by two paramedics carrying a stretcher and medical gear.
Paramedic: Ma'am, don't move! We're here to help you!
Ethan: Over here! Be careful of the glass on the floor!
The paramedics dropped to their knees beside Clara, quickly opening their trauma bags to check her vitals and examine her back for glass cuts.
Officer Martinez: Ethan Vance?
Ethan: Yes, Officer. The suspect is standing right by the hallway.
Officer Martinez: Victoria Vance, stay where you are and keep your hands visible!
Victoria: Get away from me! I am the owner of this property!
Officer Martinez: You are under arrest for felony assault, reckless endangerment, and grand corporate fraud. Place your hands behind your back!