Evelyn: Don't be ridiculous, Julian! You don't have a sister! Your mother died two years ago!
Julian: Look at this crest, Evelyn! Look at the crown and the cross!
Evelyn: It's a cheap piece of junk she stole from a flea market! Throw it in the trash and stand up!
Julian: My grandfather had three master keys forged in 1990 for his biological heirs! My mother held one, I held one, and the third was placed in my newborn sister's baby crib!
Julian pulled the little girl closer against his maroon blazer, wrapping his arm around her small shoulders to keep her warm. The surrounding party guests began whispering furiously, pointing their fingers at Evelyn's pale face.
Guest A: Did Julian just say that child is a Sterling heir?
Guest B: Look at the key in his hand! That's the family vault emblem!
Evelyn: Keep your mouths shut, all of you! I am the mistress of this mansion!
Julian: You're not the mistress of anything, Evelyn! Where did you get this child?!
Lily: The mean lady kept me in the dark room behind the garage, mister... She said if I cried, she wouldn't give me bread...
Julian: You kept my four-year-old sister locked in the servant's quarters?!
Evelyn took two steps backward, her gold sequin gown rustling loudly against the marble floor. Her face lost all its color, her hands shaking as she tried to smooth her manicured nails.
Evelyn: She is lying! The child is confused! I took her in out of charity after her mother died!
Julian: You didn't take her in out of charity, Evelyn. You hid her so my father's sixty-million-dollar trust fund wouldn't split three ways!
Evelyn: Your father left that trust fund to me in his secondary will!
Julian: My father's primary will states that if my mother gave birth to a second biological child, sixty percent of the voting shares transfer automatically to the daughter upon her fourth birthday!
Julian stood up from the floor, holding little Lily securely in his arms. The toddler rested her head against his shoulder, her tiny hands clutching two silver keys that she had picked up from the floor.
Lily: Brother Julian... my hand hurts...
Julian: I've got you, Lily. Nobody is ever going to hurt you or hide you again.
Evelyn: Julian, listen to reason! Think about the corporate stock price! If the press finds out about this, Sterling Global will lose millions overnight!
Julian: The stock price is the least of your concerns, Evelyn. Detective Vance is waiting outside in the driveway.
Evelyn froze, her eyes widening in utter panic as the heavy double oak doors at the end of the ballroom swung open. Detective Vance walked in, flanked by two uniformed police officers, his dark trench coat flapping against his legs.
Detective Vance: Julian Sterling? We received your emergency dispatch signal from the estate server.
Julian: Thank you for coming so fast, Detective. The suspect is standing right there in the gold gown.
Evelyn: Vance! What is the meaning of this intrusion?! I am hosting a private charity gala!
Detective Vance: We're not here regarding your gala, Mrs. Sterling. We are executing a state arrest warrant for child endangerment, illegal confinement, and grand corporate trust fraud.
Evelyn: Fraud?! I have legal custody of this child under the probate court decree!
Detective Vance: The probate court decree was declared a complete forgery twenty minutes ago, ma'am. The notary public gave a full confession to federal agents in Chicago.