Arthur took four rapid, heavy strides across the white marble floor, his polished leather shoes clicking sharply through the tense room.
Victoria's haughty smirk vanished in a split second, replaced by a wide, nervous smile as she smoothed down her green sequins.
Victoria: Arthur! Darling, you are home early from the private airfield!
Arthur: Silence!
Victoria: Arthur, please, listen to me before you get upset!
Arthur: I said close your mouth, Victoria!
Arthur stopped directly in front of her, his tall frame casting a dark shadow over her shimmering dress.
Without warning, Arthur’s right hand whipped through the air, delivering a sharp, explosive slap across Victoria's face.
The crack of the blow echoed off the high ceiling like a gunshot, snapping her head violently to the side.
A bright red handprint bloomed across her pale cheek as she stumbled backward against the mahogany table.
Victoria: Ah! Arthur! You hit me?!
Arthur: You will rot behind bars for touching my granddaughter!
Victoria: Your granddaughter?! Clara is just your deceased son's live-in girlfriend!
Arthur: Clara was legally married to Thomas in New York six months before his helicopter accident!
Victoria clutched her burning cheek, her chest heaving beneath her tight sequin bodice.
Victoria: That marriage was never registered in the family trust office!
Arthur: Thomas kept it private because he knew you were embezzling corporate funds from our logistics division!
Victoria: That is an absolute lie! I have devoted two years of my life to your household!
Clara: Look at Toby's eye, Arthur! Look at what she did to his face!
Arthur turned toward Clara, his eyes softening as he looked down at the weeping little boy cradled in her blue silk robe.
Toby whimpered, burying his tear-streaked face into his mother’s neck as his tiny shoulders shook.
Arthur: Toby... my sweet boy. Come to Grandpa.
Clara: He was strapped in his chair, Arthur. She hit him with her heavy diamond ring because he spilled his milk.
Victoria: He ruined my custom dress! It was pure silk imported from Milan!
Arthur: You care more about a piece of fabric than the flesh and blood of this family?!
Victoria: I am your fiancee, Arthur! In two weeks, I will be the mistress of this entire estate!
Arthur turned back to Victoria, his jaw set in stone, pointing an aggressive finger straight between her eyes.
Arthur: You will never be the mistress of anything, Victoria.
Victoria: We signed our prenuptial agreement on Friday! You cannot cancel the wedding without paying the fifty-million-dollar penalty clause!
Arthur: Guards, take her away right now!
Four armed estate security guards in black suits marched into the dining hall, surrounding Victoria on all sides.
Victoria: Do not lay a finger on me! I will sue every single person in this room!
Guard Davis: Hands where we can see them, ma'am. Step away from the table.
Victoria: Arthur! Tell these animals to back away! You cannot do this to a Vance!
Arthur: You are not a Vance, Victoria. You are an imposter who used a forged identity to enter my home.
Victoria's hands froze in mid-air, the color rapidly draining from her lips as the room fell dead silent.