Daniel: My mother told me she saw the medical records herself. She swore you walked into a private clinic in Miami and ended the pregnancy!
Lucia: She forged those papers, Daniel! Just like she forged my signature on that non-disclosure agreement!
Victoria: Daniel, your mother presented those exact documents to the board during the annual estate meeting. She used your grief to take over your voting shares in Sterling Enterprises!
Daniel: I was so destroyed... I stayed in my office for two weeks drinking myself to sleep every night because I thought my wife killed our child and abandoned me for money.
Lucia: And I cried myself to sleep on a thin mattress in a basement apartment because your mother's bodyguards stood outside my door every night for two months, making sure I didn't write you a letter!
Daniel: Why didn't you go to the police, Lucia?
Lucia: Go to the police? Against the Sterling family? Your mother owns half the city council and pays the chief of police's salary!
Victoria: She's right, Daniel. Your mother's defense lawyers have total control over the local precinct.
Daniel released Lucia's wrist, his hands shaking as he pulled his phone out from his pocket. His thumb hovered over his mother's contact name, his knuckles turning white with rage.
Daniel: She ruined our lives for her corporate merger.
Lucia: Don't call her, Daniel. It doesn't matter anymore. Look at me... I'm a maid now. I scrub toilets and change bedsheets for wealthy guests. Your life is up there in the executive suites with Victoria.
Victoria: Don't bring me into this! I had no idea your mother did something so vile, Lucia!
Lucia: It's fine, Victoria. You fit his world. I never did. I was just a teacher's daughter who made the mistake of falling in love with a billionaire CEO.
Daniel: Stop saying that, Lucia! You are my wife! The legal marriage certificate is still filed in the state court!
Lucia: Your mother filed divorce papers four months ago using a forged power of attorney!
Daniel: She what?
Lucia: I received the final court decree in the mail three weeks ago. According to the judge, we are officially divorced, and I waived all rights to any spousal support, child support, or family inheritance.
Daniel: I never signed a single divorce document! I never authorized my lawyers to file anything against you!
Lucia: Then your mother used your private stamp. The paperwork had your official signature right at the bottom.
Daniel felt a cold knot tighten in his stomach. He looked down at Lucia's worn shoes, then at her swollen ankles straining against her socks. She had been standing on her feet for hours, pushing a heavy cart while carrying his unborn child, all because of his mother's ruthless greed.
Daniel: I am going to tear down everything my mother built.
Lucia: Daniel, please don't cause a scene here. The hotel manager will fire me if he sees me talking to guests instead of cleaning.
Daniel: Let him try to fire you. I own this hotel!
Manager: Is there a problem here, Mr. Sterling?
The hotel manager, Mr. Harrison, came bustling down the hallway in his sharp tuxedo, a wide smile on his face that quickly turned into a frown when he saw Lucia standing next to the cart.
Manager: Lucia! What are you doing blocking the hallway? Get that cart back into the service room right now!
Daniel: Shut your mouth, Harrison!
Manager: Mr. Sterling? I... I'm sorry, sir! Did this maid cause you an inconvenience? I can have her replaced immediately!
Daniel: You lay one finger on her schedule, and I will fire you before you can walk out those front doors!
Manager: Sir? I don't understand...
Daniel: This is Mrs. Lucia Sterling. The owner of this hotel chain, and my wife.
Mr. Harrison's face turned completely red as he stumbled back against the wall, looking at Lucia's faded apron in sheer terror.
Manager: Mrs... Mrs. Sterling? But she was hired through the temporary staffing agency three months ago!
Victoria: Harrison, get out of here right now before Mr. Sterling decides to buy out your contract too!
Manager: Yes, ma'am! Immediately, ma'am!
The manager turned on his heel and hurried down the corridor as fast as his legs could carry him, leaving the three of them standing under the flickering light of the hallway.
Lucia: You shouldn't have done that, Daniel. I don't want your money or your titles.
Daniel: I don't care about the titles, Lucia! I care about you and our baby!
Lucia: Our baby? You believed her, Daniel. You believed I took money to kill our child. How am I supposed to trust a man who believed that about the woman he loved?
Daniel stood silent, her words cutting deeper than any knife. Tears filled Lucia's eyes again as she took a deep, shaky breath, wiping her cheeks with the sleeve of her blue maid uniform.
Lucia: I have to finish my shift. Please leave me alone.
Daniel: I am not leaving this hotel without you, Lucia. Not today, not ever again.