Julian easily pushed Evelyn away with his arm, keeping his eyes locked onto her pale, terrified face as the lawyer's keyboard clicked rapidly through the speakerphone.
Lawyer Vance: Mr. Montgomery... I am looking at the original unedited hospital entry from May 14th, 2019.
Julian: Read the name, Vance. Read it out loud.
Lawyer Vance: Biological Mother: Clara Vance Montgomery. Status: Live delivery of twin males. Mother discharged in stable condition.
Leo and Toby gasped softly, looking up at Clara with wide, shining eyes as fresh tears welled in Clara's eyes.
Toby: She really is our mommy...
Julian: Vance... What about the death certificate Evelyn presented to the probate court three months later?
Lawyer Vance: The death certificate was issued by a private clinic in County Line under the signature of Dr. Arthur Harrison. But there is no state seal attached to the primary record.
Julian: It was forged.
Lawyer Vance: It appears completely fraudulent, sir. Furthermore, I am looking at a series of wire transfers from Mrs. Evelyn's personal trust account to Dr. Harrison totaling two million dollars over the last six years.
Evelyn collapsed onto her knees on the checkered marble floor, her royal blue gown spreading around her like a dark pool as she buried her face in her hands, weeping frantically.
Evelyn: Julian... Please! I did it because I loved you! I wanted to give you a family!
Julian: You didn't do it because you loved me, Evelyn. You did it because my grandfather's trust fund required me to have living heirs before my thirtieth birthday to inherit the fifty-million-dollar estate!
Clara: She took my babies so she could secure her place in high society!
Evelyn: You were a poor schoolteacher, Clara! You couldn't give them a palace! You couldn't give them private jets and elite tutors!
Clara: I could have given them a mother's love, Evelyn! Something your money could never buy!
Julian turned to the security guards standing by the white and gold double doors, his voice cold and steady.
Julian: Guards, lock all exterior gates. Nobody enters or leaves this palace until the police arrive.
Guard: Yes, Mr. Montgomery!
Evelyn: Police?! Julian, you can't call the police on me! Think about our family's reputation in the press!
Julian: My family's reputation was destroyed seven years ago when you brought a criminal conspiracy into my home, Evelyn.
Lawyer Vance: Mr. Montgomery, I am patching Detective Harris from the state police financial crimes division onto this line right now.
Detective Harris: Mr. Montgomery? We have been monitoring Dr. Harrison's offshore accounts for three weeks. We have a team outside his residence in Florida right now.
Julian: Detective Harris, I have the suspect, Evelyn Montgomery, detained inside my foyer. She orchestrated the kidnapping of my twin sons and forged my wife's death certificate.
Detective Harris: We are dispatching three squad units to the Montgomery estate immediately, sir. Hold the scene.