Victoria: That maid is a thief! She sneaked into my private rooms and stole my personal documents!
Julian: She was cleaning the room that belonged to my father! You had no right to lock it in the first place!
Victoria: That room became my property the moment Arthur passed away!
Julian: Nothing in this house ever belonged to you, Victoria!
Up on the landing, Clara leaned weakly against the wooden banister, her face pale, her hands still pressed against her lower waist. She looked down at Victoria with tears streaming from her eyes.
Clara: She put something in the kitchen tea kettle this afternoon... I saw her from the pantry window...
Julian: What did she put in the kettle, Clara?
Clara: A small brown powder from a glass vial... she mixed it into the peppermint tea...
Victoria: Shut up, you miserable little brat!
Julian: Did you drink that tea, Clara?
Clara: I had a small cup while I was folding the napkins... twenty minutes before the guests arrived...
The room went completely dead silent. Julian looked at Clara's pale face, then turned his gaze back to Victoria, his eyes burning with pure, cold fury.
Julian: You poisoned a maid just to cover up your crime?
Victoria: She was snooping where she didn't belong! She brought this on herself!
Julian: You monster...
Victoria: I gave that old man two years of my life! I deserved his estate! I deserved his corporate voting shares!
Julian: You deserved nothing! My father realized what you were, and you killed him before he could update his will!
Victoria: He was going to leave everything to you and a charity foundation! He was going to cut me out with ten thousand dollars!
Julian: Because ten thousand dollars is ten thousand more than you are worth!
Victoria raised the steel scissors, screaming in pure frustration as she stepped toward Julian.
Victoria: You will not take my home from me!
Julian: Shut up!
Before Victoria could move another inch, Julian stepped forward and forcefully slapped her straight across the face. The heavy impact sound echoed loudly off the high marble walls. A collective gasp rose from the crowd as Victoria's head snapped sideways, her steel scissors dropping from her fingers and clattering onto the hard floor.
Victoria: Ah!
Victoria stumbled backward, losing her balance on her long green dress, and collapsed onto her knees on the cold marble floor. She held her bruised cheek with both hands, her eyes wide with shock and terror as she looked up at Julian.
Julian: The enemy is already inside this house...
Victoria: Julian... please... I loved your father...
Julian: Don't you dare speak his name with those lying lips ever again.
Julian reached down and picked up the steel scissors from the floor, along with the torn piece of note in his other hand. Outside the estate windows, the sound of loud sirens echoed down the long driveway, red and blue lights flashing against the white marble pillars.
Mrs. Gable: The police are here, Mr. Sterling! And the paramedics right behind them!
Julian: Open the front doors, Mrs. Gable. Let them in.
Victoria: Julian... don't do this to me... think about the news stories tomorrow! Think about the Sterling name!
Julian: The Sterling name will be cleansed tonight, Victoria. Starting with you.
Two paramedics rushed through the grand entryway with a medical stretcher, followed closely by four uniformed police officers led by a tall detective in a navy coat.
Detective Vance: Police! Nobody move! Where is the victim?
Julian: Up on the second-floor balcony, Detective! She was poisoned with a substance from the kitchen tea kettle!
Paramedic One: Get the stomach pump and oxygen kit upstairs right now!
The paramedics rushed up the grand staircase to reach Clara, while Detective Vance walked directly toward Victoria, who was still kneeling on the marble floor holding her cheek.
Detective Vance: Victoria Sterling?
Victoria: I am the mistress of this estate! My stepson just assaulted me in front of these people!
Julian: Hand him the note, Mrs. Gable.
Mrs. Gable handed the torn piece of paper to Detective Vance. The detective read the handwritten lines carefully, then looked down at the steel scissors in Julian's hand and the dark clumps of hair scattered across the floor.
Detective Vance: We also found three glass vials of digitalis powder in your private vehicle outside, Mrs. Sterling. Our forensics team impounded your car ten minutes ago.
Victoria's jaw dropped open. She swallowed hard, her body trembling as she realized her entire plan had been completely uncovered.
Victoria: Digitalis? I... I use that for my heart condition!
Detective Vance: You don't have a heart prescription on state record, ma'am. But Arthur Sterling's toxicology report from last month showed high levels of that exact cardiac toxin.
Victoria: No... no, that's impossible! The coroner said it was natural heart failure!
Detective Vance: The coroner was paid twenty thousand dollars by your personal account. He confessed an hour ago when federal agents brought him in for questioning.