Victoria: You can't call the police on me, David! Our prenuptial agreement is signed, and our merger with Vance Logistics goes live at midnight!
David: The prenuptial agreement was contingent on your honesty and clean legal record, Victoria. Fraud, coercion, and child trafficking void every single clause in that contract.
Victoria: Child trafficking?! How dare you use that word against me! I am a respected philanthropist in this city!
Arthur: Actually, Miss Vance, under state family law, forcing a mother to sign adoption documents under illegal duress and financial coercion constitutes severe felony extortion and fraud.
Clara: I kept every single medical record, Mr. Sterling. I kept the original hospital bracelet with my name and Leo's matching foot tracking number.
Clara reached inside her uniform apron again, pulling out a small clear plastic bag containing two tiny pink and blue hospital wristbands.
David took the bag, examining the stamped numbers under the crystal chandelier lights.
David: 'Mother: Clara Jenkins. Infant Boy: Leo Jenkins. Born August 14th, 8:12 PM.'
Victoria: Those wristbands could belong to any baby born on that date! David, you are letting a servant destroy our multi-million dollar corporate alliance!
David: I don't care about the corporate alliance, Victoria! I care about the fact that I was handed a child three years ago under a mountain of disgusting lies!
Grandmother Eleanor: David, bring that girl and my grandson into the private study right now.
An elderly woman with pure white hair, wearing an emerald necklace and a dark velvet gown, stepped out from the main parlor doors, resting both hands on a gold-headed walking cane.
It was Matriarch Eleanor Sterling, the ultimate authority over the Sterling family trust fund and real estate holdings.
Victoria: Matriarch Eleanor, please! Talk some sense into your grandson! This maid is staging a corporate takeover at our engagement gala!
Grandmother Eleanor: Be silent, Victoria Vance! I have watched you manipulate my grandson for three years, but I never imagined your soul was this rotten.
Victoria: Eleanor, I did everything to protect the Sterling family name!
Grandmother Eleanor: You dragged our family name through the dirt! Security, hold Miss Vance in the foyer until the police chief arrives. The rest of you guests, the party is over. Please exit through the east garden gates immediately.
The ballroom emptied rapidly as security staff guided the panicked, gossiping guests toward the exits.
David gently helped Clara stand up from the marble floor, his strong hand supporting her elbow while little Leo held onto her hand tightly.
David: Come upstairs, Clara. You are going to tell us everything from the beginning, and nobody in this house will ever hurt you again.
Clara: I don't want your money, Mr. Sterling. I only applied for this catering job tonight so I could see my son's face just once from afar before I left the city forever.
David: You aren't leaving this city, Clara. And you aren't leaving my son ever again.