Victoria: What did you just say to me?
Chloe: You heard me. Dad signed an amendment to his last will and testament after he caught you stealing from his corporate account.
Victoria: That is impossible! I was in the room when his divorce lawyer drafted the original documents!
Chloe: He drafted a new will in secret, Victoria. He knew you were draining the accounts to pay off your offshore debts.
Victoria gripped the edge of the marble console table, her knuckles turning white under her manicured nails.
Victoria: He would never leave me with nothing! I was his wife for thirty years!
Chloe: You were his wife in name only! You slept in separate bedrooms for the last decade of his life!
Victoria: I gave up my career to maintain this estate and host those charity galas for his public image!
Chloe: And you charged hundreds of thousands of dollars to his business accounts every single month to fuel your lifestyle!
Elena: Miss Chloe... should I call the private security guards at the front gate?
Chloe: Not yet, Elena. I want my mother to tell me every single detail of what she gave you today.
Victoria: Don't you dare report me to security! I am the mistress of this house!
Chloe: You are a guest in my house! Look at the title deed, Mom! My name is on every document associated with this land!
Victoria: I am your mother! You cannot treat me like a criminal in front of the help!
Chloe: You acted like a criminal the moment you put dangerous chemicals near my baby's crib!
Chloe turned to Elena, placing a comforting hand on the trembling maid's shoulder.
Chloe: Elena, go upstairs right now and lock the nursery door from the inside. Do not open it for anyone except me or Mark.
Elena: Yes, Miss Chloe. Right away.
Victoria: Elena, if you walk up those stairs, I will make sure you never work in this city again!
Chloe: Ignore her, Elena. Go upstairs now!
Elena hurried up the grand staircase, her soft footsteps fading into the upper hallway as the heavy wooden nursery door clicked shut.
Victoria: You are turning the staff against me! You have been plotting this ever since your father died!
Chloe: I didn't have to plot anything, Victoria! You destroyed yourself with your own greed!
Victoria: You think you're so smart sitting on top of a multi-million-dollar empire, don't you?
Chloe: I worked eighty hours a week at the firm alongside Dad while you were on luxury cruises in Europe!
Victoria: I deserved those vacations! I earned every penny of his money by enduring his workaholic lifestyle!
Chloe: You didn't earn anything! And today, you tried to harm an innocent child because your credit cards got declined!
Victoria: I told you, it wasn't going to harm her permanently! It was just meant to cause a mild fever!
Chloe: Do you even hear yourself right now?! You sound like a monster!
Victoria: I am a woman trying to survive! The lender called me this morning and threatened to seize my sports car and my jewelry collection!
Chloe: Then let them take it! Let them take every single ring off your fingers!
Victoria: I would rather die than go to public court as a bankrupt disgraced widow!
Chloe: Then you better get ready for court, because you are going to face a lot worse than bankruptcy.
Victoria took a step back, her sharp grey suit suddenly looking stiff and empty as she stared at her daughter's unforgiving expression.
Victoria: What are you going to do, Chloe? Are you really going to call the police on your own mother?
Chloe: I am going to do whatever it takes to protect my baby from you.