Victoria gasped loudly and backed toward the edge of the stone wall.
Julian took one long step forward and reached out his strong hand.
He pulled the heavy red folder right out of her silk pocket.
Victoria reached out to grab it back, but Julian blocked her arms.
Julian: You told me this original file was destroyed in the fire last year.
Victoria: I was only trying to protect our family estate from greedy people!
Julian: You were trying to protect yourself from my father's true wishes.
Julian opened the stiff red folder with steady hands on the balcony.
He read through the crisp white legal pages line by line carefully.
His eyes opened wider as he saw the legal stamps and official signatures.
His late father had left the mansion and controlling business shares elsewhere.
Victoria was only meant to receive a small monthly allowance each year.
The entire vast fortune belonged to someone else entirely according to law.
Julian looked up from the legal paper with deep shock in his eyes.
Julian: My father named a biological daughter in this document.
Victoria: That old man was out of his mind when he signed that!
Clara: He was completely clear in his mind, ma'am.
Julian looked back at Clara with a sudden look of intense wonder.
Julian: How do you know anything about my father's mental state?
Clara: Because he wrote to me every month while I was away at school.
Victoria let out a harsh scream of pure anger and frustration.
Victoria: She is the child of that poor farm woman from out of town!
Victoria: She doesn't deserve a single dollar of the Vance family money!
Julian stepped closer to Clara and stared into her familiar blue eyes.
He recognized the exact same eye color that his late father had possessed.
The truth hit him like a cold wave of ocean spray across his face.
Julian: You are my half sister.
Clara: Yes, Julian, I am your sister.