Julian took a frantic step toward Arthur, his hand trembling as he reached into his jacket pocket. The composure he had displayed only minutes earlier was completely gone, replaced by a desperate, wild look in his eyes. The white marble corridor suddenly felt small and suffocating, the noise from the grand ballroom sounding like a distant whisper compared to the thunder of his own racing heartbeat.
Julian: Federal prosecutors?! Are you out of your mind, Arthur?! I pay your retainer!
Arthur: You paid my retainer using funds from the Sterling Trust, which you had no legal authority to manage.
Chloe: Did you really think no one would notice thirty million dollars missing from the charity fund, Julian?
Victoria: That money was used for corporate investments! It was reinvested into real estate projects!
Arthur: Reinvested into offshore bank accounts registered in the Cayman Islands under your maiden name, Victoria.
Victoria gasped loudly, dropping her wine-soaked silk napkin straight onto the polished marble floor. Her hands hovered over her diamond necklace as her entire body began to shake with sudden realization.
Victoria: How... how did you find out about those accounts?
Chloe: You left a paper trail a mile wide because you thought you were untouchable.
Julian: This is a setup! You bribed Arthur to manufacture fake evidence against us!
Arthur: I am a court-appointed officer, Julian. I do not take bribes, nor do I cover up grand larceny for spoiled heirs.
Chloe: You thought slapping me in this hallway would scare me into silence like you used to.
Julian: You came here to destroy my political announcement!
Chloe: You destroyed yourself the day you signed my father's bankruptcy order with a smirk on your face.
Victoria: Julian, call our criminal defense lawyer immediately! We need an injunction!
Julian: I'm calling him right now!
Julian pulled his high-end smartphone from his inner tuxedo pocket with shaking fingers, frantically scrolling through his contacts to find his head attorney. He pressed the phone to his ear, pacing back and forth across the marble floor while glaring intensely at Chloe.
Arthur: Save yourself the phone call, Julian. Your legal team resigned forty-five minutes ago.
Julian: They what?! Why would they resign?!
Arthur: Because no self-respecting law firm represents a client facing thirty counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, and corporate espionage.
Chloe: Plus assault and battery, thanks to the security feed recorded two minutes ago.
Julian lowered his phone slowly, staring at Chloe with absolute hatred burning in his dark eyes. The screen showed his call going straight to a disconnected recording, confirming Arthur's brutal words.
Julian: You think you've won? You're still penniless, Chloe! Your father's estate is gone!
Chloe: My father's estate was fully restored by court order at four o'clock today.
Victoria: Restored? That property was foreclosed! We bought the deed at auction!
Arthur: The auction was declared fraudulent due to price-fixing and illegal insider bidding by Vance Enterprises.
Chloe: The penthouse, the mansion in the Hamptons, and the control of the board all revert back to my family.
Julian: No... no, that can't be legal! I am the CEO of Vance Enterprises!
Arthur: As of five minutes ago, the board of directors voted unanimously to remove you from your position as Chief Executive Officer.
Victoria: Unanimously?! What about our allies on the board?!
Arthur: They received subpoenas from the Justice Department an hour ago. They voted against Julian to save their own skins.
Chloe: You have no power here anymore, Julian. You're just a man in an expensive suit with nowhere left to run.
Julian: I will ruin you for this, Chloe! I swear on my life I will burn your family to the ground!
Chloe: You don't have a ground to stand on anymore.