The crystal chandeliers overhead cast brilliant, flashing reflections across the polished white marble floor.
Clara helped Chloe stand up gently, brushing the dust from the little girl's matching purple dress.
Clara: Stay right behind me, sweetheart. Mommy has something to show your father.
Richard: Don't you dare pull any theatrical stunts in the middle of my charity event, Clara.
Clara: It's not a stunt, Richard. It's exhibit A in the federal wire fraud indictment.
Richard: You bluff better than you used to, I'll give you that much credit.
Clara: Is it a bluff when the federal marshals are currently standing outside the ballroom doors?
Richard whipped his head around toward the grand double doors, his eyes widening in sudden panic.
Two men in dark suits and federal badges stepped out from the shadows of the foyer, blocking all exits.
Richard: This is a private club! You have no authority to enter without a warrant signed by a district judge!
Federal Agent: Warrant number four-zero-eight, signed ten minutes ago by Judge Vance, Mr. Sterling.
Clara: Tell them what you told the security guard about my daughter, Richard. Go ahead.
Richard: She's lying! The girl found the diamond on the floor and picked it up!
Chloe: (Tearfully) I didn't touch anything, Daddy! I was just looking at the flowers!
Richard: Shut your mouth, you little brat! You're ruining everything!
A collective wave of gasps erupted from the formal onlookers at Richard's harsh outburst toward his own child.
Clara stepped forward, her eyes blazing with an intensity that made the wealthy CEO take an involuntary step back.
Clara: You called her a brat in front of five hundred witnesses and three federal officers.
Richard: I misspoke! The stress of the gala is getting to all of us!
Clara: The only thing getting to you is the realization that your multi-million-dollar trust fund is gone.
Richard: Gone? That trust fund is legally bound to my corporate holdings!
Clara: Bound to a holding company that was registered under my maiden name before we married.
The silence in the ballroom grew deafening as the full scale of the legal checkmate settled over the room.
How will Richard attempt to salvage his crumbling empire as the federal net closes in?