Victoria: "Christopher, please! You can't leave me over a stupid maid!"
Christopher: "Get up off the floor, Victoria. The fake act is over."
Victoria: "I am your wife! You promised to stand by me no matter what happened!"
Christopher: "I promised to love a woman who had a heart. I didn't promise to stay with a monster who abuses old people."
Victoria: "I was stressed! You are always at the bank, leaving me alone in this big empty mansion all day!"
Christopher: "You weren't alone. You were busy spending money that didn't belong to you."
Victoria sat on the wet wood, her hair falling out of its tight bun as she looked up at him. All the cold pride on her face was starting to turn into sheer panic.
Victoria: "What are you talking about? I only use the credit cards you gave me!"
Christopher: "I'm not talking about the credit cards. I'm talking about the Vance Family Foundation account."
Victoria: "I... I haven't touched the foundation account!"
Christopher: "My corporate auditors called me two hours ago while I was at the airport. Three hundred thousand dollars was moved out of the charity fund yesterday morning."
Victoria: "That was a loan! I was going to put it right back next week after my shop sale!"
Christopher: "You transferred money meant for sick children into a private bank account in Miami!"
Christopher tapped his phone screen again, pressing a button that played a clear voice recording through the speakers in the hall. Victoria's own loud, sharp voice echoed off the white marble columns.
"Listen to me, Margarethe. If you tell Christopher about the bank mail that came this morning, I will make sure he fires you without a dollar. You will end up on the street with nowhere to go. Do you hear me?"
Victoria buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as her own words played back to her in the high room. She couldn't deny it anymore.
Christopher: "Margarethe hid the letters because she was scared of you. She suffered in silence for three months just to keep peace in this house."
Victoria: "Christopher, I was in debt! Some bad men in New York were threatening to take my boutique if I didn't pay!"
Christopher: "So you stole from a charity, threatened my nanny, and lied to my face every single night?"
Victoria: "I did it to save my business! I was trying to protect my name so I wouldn't embarrass you!"
Christopher: "You embarrassed yourself the day you decided money was more important than human kindness."
Victoria tried to scramble up from the floor, her hands leaving wet smudges on the polished wood as she reached out to grab Christopher's leg.
Victoria: "Please! We can fix this! I'll close the boutique, I'll apologize to the maid, I'll do whatever you want!"
Christopher: "It's too late for apologies. The police are already on their way up the driveway."
Victoria: "The police?! Christopher, no! You can't let them take me in front of the neighbors!"
Christopher: "You chose this path when you stole that money and abused Margarethe. Now you have to face the ending."
From the back doorway, Margarethe walked slowly back into the foyer, leaning on Sarah's shoulder. Her eyes were dry now, and her face looked calm as she looked down at the woman in red.
Margarethe: "Mr. Christopher, the police car is pulling up to the front steps."
Christopher: "Thank you, Margarethe. Go back inside and rest. You don't have to see this."
Margarethe: "No, child. I want to stand right here."