Richard: Unhand my daughter this instant!
A loud, booming voice roared from the grand double doors of the ballroom. Richard Sterling marched through the entrance, his dark tailored suit wrinkled, his silk tie crooked, and heavy sweat glistening on his forehead. Two federal agents followed close behind him, keeping a firm distance.
Mindy: Dad! Dad, help me! She kicked me! She had these fake cops put handcuffs on me!
Richard: Victoria Vance... I knew you were back in Dallas. I told my lawyers you were hiding in the shadows!
Victoria: I wasn't hiding, Richard. I was buying your debt.
Richard stopped ten feet away from Victoria, his chest heaving as he stared at the scratch mark on her cheek, then down at his weeping daughter kneeling on the floor.
Richard: You have no right to interfere with this charity gala! My family organized this event for the city!
Victoria: You organized this gala to cover up the fact that your real estate firm lost forty million dollars in offshore investments last month.
Richard: That's proprietary corporate information! How did you get access to those files?!
Victoria: When I bought sixty percent of Sterling Enterprises at nine o'clock this morning, all your secret ledgers became my legal property.
Mindy: Dad, tell her she's wrong! Tell her we still have the mansion in Highland Park!
Richard didn't answer his daughter. His eyes darted nervously toward the two federal agents standing near the doorway, holding leather briefcases packed with financial documents.
Richard: Victoria... listen to me. We can work this out privately in the boardroom. There's no need to cause a public scene in front of the press.
Victoria: You didn't care about public scenes when you kicked twenty elderly families out of their apartment complex last winter to build a golf course.
Richard: That was business! Pure business!
Victoria: And this is justice. Pure justice.
Mindy: Dad, do something! She hit me! My chest hurts!
Victoria: Your daughter walked up to me and slapped my face without provocation, Richard. She thought her last name gave her permission to abuse anyone she wanted.
Richard: She's a child! She didn't know who you were!
Victoria: She's twenty-six years old, Richard. She's not a child. She's a bully raised by a thief.
Richard's face turned a dangerous shade of crimson. He took an aggressive step toward Victoria, raising a finger to point at her nose.
Richard: Don't you dare talk about my family like that! My father built this city's medical foundation! We are Dallas nobility!
Victoria: Nobility doesn't steal from widows to buy private jets, Richard.
Richard: I'll call the Governor! I'll have your federal clearance revoked by noon!
Agent Miller: Mr. Sterling, step back from Commander Vance immediately.
The lead federal agent stepped between Richard and Victoria, flashing an official badge pinned to his belt.
Agent Miller: Richard Sterling, you are officially under arrest for wire fraud, embezzlement, and falsifying corporate tax filings.
Richard: What?! Arrest?! On what evidence?!
Victoria: On the evidence your own CFO handed over to the district attorney an hour ago in exchange for immunity.
Richard staggered backward, his knees going weak as he leaned against a marble pillar for support. His mouth opened, but no words came out as the realization hit him like a freight train.
Mindy: CFO? You mean Uncle David?! He betrayed us?!
Victoria: David saved himself from going to prison for twenty years. Something you should have considered before you let your daughter run wild across Dallas.
Richard: Victoria... please. My wife is sick... think of my family...
Victoria: Did you think of my family when you forged my father's signature on his deathbed to seize the Vance Estate?
The ballroom went dead silent again. Guests looked at each other in utter shock as the true depth of the rivalry was laid bare in the bright, high-key light.
Richard: That... that was a legal settlement...
Victoria: It was forgery. And today, the court returns every single penny to its rightful owner.
Agent Miller pulled Richard's arms behind his back, clicking heavy steel handcuffs over his wrists just as the officers had done to his daughter moments earlier.