Victoria: That's just old probate paperwork! Patrick is the lawful trustee of the family estate[cite: 2]!
Eleanor: This is the holographic codicil signed by Arthur Vance forty-eight hours before his heart gave out[cite: 2].
Patrick: Father never wrote any codicil! He was in hospice care in Houston[cite: 2]!
Eleanor: He was in hospice care because you and Victoria refused to let him stay in his own bedroom[cite: 2]!
Patrick: We moved him for specialized medical monitoring! The doctors said he needed around-the-clock intensive care[cite: 2]!
Eleanor: You moved him so you could rummage through his private wall safe behind the library oil portrait[cite: 2]!
Patrick swallowed hard, his throat clicking dryly as water dripped from his expensive trousers[cite: 2].
Patrick: We needed the corporate banking passwords to make payroll for our shipyard workers[cite: 2]!
Eleanor: You took eleven million dollars out of the employee pension reserve and transferred it to an offshore bank in Grand Cayman[cite: 2]!
Victoria: That was an offshore capital shelter! Every multinational logistics company uses foreign holding vehicles[cite: 2]!
Eleanor: It wasn't a corporate holding vehicle, Victoria. The account was registered in your maiden name[cite: 2].
Victoria: That's a flat-out lie! My father handles all family accounts through his private wealth office[cite: 2]!
Eleanor: Your father was detained by federal marshals at Austin-Bergstrom Airport forty-five minutes ago[cite: 2].
Victoria gasped, her body jolting against Officer Davis's firm grip as her painted face lost every trace of color[cite: 2].
Victoria: Detained...?! My father was flying to Washington for an energy summit[cite: 2]!
Eleanor: He was flying to Zurich on a one-way private charter with two aluminum cases containingbearer bonds[cite: 2].
Patrick: Victoria, what is my mother talking about?! Did your father take the bond reserves[cite: 2]?!
Victoria: Shut up, Patrick! Don't let her turn you against me[cite: 2]!
Patrick: Those bonds were the collateral for our maritime terminal expansion in Galveston[cite: 2]!
Eleanor: There is no expansion, Patrick. The Vance and Sterling families were being liquidated by your fiancee from the inside out[cite: 2].
Lily: Grandma, the mean lady told Daddy that if I was gone, they could buy a bigger yacht in Miami[cite: 2].
Eleanor’s hand tightened around the blue folder until the heavy cardstock creaked[cite: 2].
Eleanor: Did you tell that to a motherless child, Victoria[cite: 2]?
Victoria: The girl repeats private dinner conversations she doesn't understand[cite: 2]!
Eleanor: She understands that you viewed her as an obstacle to a trust fund[cite: 2].
Patrick: Mother, I swear on my life, I never wanted Lily hurt! I thought we were just disciplining her for fifteen minutes[cite: 2]!
Eleanor: You stood outside a sealed glass container and watched your own child choke on freezing water, Patrick[cite: 2, 3].
Patrick: Victoria told me it was safe! She said the filtration pump had an automatic emergency shut-off[cite: 2]!
Eleanor: The emergency shut-off was bypassed with a wooden wedge, Patrick. Officer Davis checked the control box on the wall[cite: 2].
Officer Davis nodded firmly, his face hard with stone-cold disgust[cite: 2].
Officer Davis: The bypass wire was wrapped in black electrical tape, ma'am. That tank would have filled to the ceiling in four minutes[cite: 2].
Patrick turned his head toward Victoria, his eyes widening in pure, horrifying realization[cite: 2].
Patrick: You wedged the shut-off valve... You told me you checked the safety switch yourself[cite: 2]!
Victoria: You spineless coward! You were happy enough to spend my family's money when your logistics accounts were running dry[cite: 2]!
Patrick: You tried to kill my daughter in front of me[cite: 2]!
Victoria: She isn't even your real daughter, Patrick[cite: 2]!
The grand marble hallway fell into a dead, suffocating silence as the front doors opened wide[cite: 2].