Ashley: Open that door right now! Who locked the service entryway?!
Julian: My head of security, Marcus. He knows which side of this family signs the payroll checks.
Ashley: Julian, please! Think of our childhood! We grew up together at the country club!
Julian: The boy you grew up with died the day you tried to kick my three-year-old daughter across a stone floor.
Ashley: It was an accident! I tripped on her toy! You saw how dark the hallway lighting was!
Maya: You looked right into my eyes and said 'know your place' while you drove your heel into my side!
Ashley: Shut up, Maya! Stop poisoning his mind against me!
Julian: Maya doesn't need to poison my mind, Ashley. You did that all by yourself when you forged my dead father's will.
Julian held up the thick legal folder, flipping directly to page seven where a blue notary stamp was displayed.
Julian: Did you honestly think Senior Judge Harrison wouldn't recognize his own forged signature?
Ashley: Judge Harrison was retired! He wasn't supposed to be reviewing estate filings anymore!
Julian: Harrison was my father's closest friend for forty years. He came out of retirement specifically to audit your fraudulent claims.
Ashley: That will was notarized by a licensed public official in Austin!
Julian: That notary lost her license six years ago for document tampering, and she’s currently sitting in a holding cell giving evidence against you.
Ashley's chest heaved as panic completely overwhelmed her polished facade, her hands clawing at the brass stair railing.
Ashley: What do you want from me, Julian? Name your price! I have ten million in liquid gold in Zurich!
Julian: I don't want a single dirty penny of your money, Ashley.
Ashley: Then let me walk out to my sports car! Let me drive to the airfield and I will disappear from your lives forever!
Maya: You don't get to run away after what you've done to this family, Ashley. Justice doesn't have an airfield.
Ashley: You think you've won, teacher?! You think you're going to live happily ever after in this mansion?!
Maya: I don't care about this mansion. I only care about the safety and honor of my husband and my child.
Lily: Daddy, my tummy feels better now that you're standing next to us.
Julian looked down at his daughter, his eyes softening as he gently stroked her brown curls.
Julian: Daddy's right here, Lily. You never have to be scared in your own house ever again.
The heavy front doors swung open wide as Captain Miller and four armed uniformed officers marched into the bright marble foyer.
The sound of heavy tactical boots echoed loudly off the walls as they formed a semi-circle around the staircase.
Captain Miller: Ashley Vance? Step down from those stairs and place your hands behind your head.
Ashley: Captain Miller, wait! You know my family! We donated fifty thousand dollars to the police charity ball last year!
Captain Miller: Your donations don't buy immunity from federal grand jury indictments, Miss Vance. Hands where I can see them.
Ashley: Julian, tell them to stop! Call your legal team right now! You can't let them arrest me like a common thief!
Julian: You aren't a common thief, Ashley. You are a corporate predator who assaulted a mother and her toddler.
Two officers ascended the marble steps, taking Ashley firmly by her champagne silk sleeves and pulling her hands behind her back.
The cold steel handcuffs snapped shut with a sharp, heavy click that resonated beneath the soaring American flag.