Marcus: Where did you learn those exact words, Clara[cite: 1]?
Clara: Mr. Mercer, please don't be angry with me[cite: 1].
Marcus: I am not angry, Clara. I am begging you to tell me the truth[cite: 1].
Clara: I found a small leather notebook tucked inside the old piano bench in the parlor[cite: 1].
Marcus: In the piano bench?
Clara: Yes, sir. It was wedged behind the wooden hinge under the music books[cite: 1].
Marcus dropped to his knees right beside the twins, his tailored tuxedo trousers pressing into the hard marble[cite: 1].
Leo reached out a tiny hand, patting Marcus's wet cheek with sticky fingers[cite: 1].
Leo: Da-da! Da-da[cite: 1]!
Marcus: Oh God... Leo. You haven't laughed since the funeral[cite: 1].
Clara: They have been crying every afternoon at four o'clock, Mr. Mercer[cite: 1].
Marcus: Four o'clock was when Hannah used to play the grand piano for them[cite: 1].
Clara: I know, sir. Mrs. Gable mentioned it before she was let go[cite: 1].
Marcus: Mrs. Gable was let go? Who fired our head housekeeper[cite: 1]?
Clara: Miss Vance dismissed her yesterday afternoon, sir[cite: 1].
Marcus's jaw tightened, the tears on his face turning cold as a dark shadow crossed his eyes[cite: 1].
Marcus: Victoria dismissed my family's housekeeper of twenty years[cite: 1]?
Clara: She said the staff was wasting money on unnecessary nursery care[cite: 1].
Marcus: Unnecessary care for my infant twins[cite: 1]?!
Clara: She told me this morning that the babies needed to learn silence, sir[cite: 1].
A sharp click of designer high heels echoed from the top of the grand spiral staircase[cite: 1].
Standing on the mezzanine in an emerald green evening dress was Victoria Vance, holding a glass of champagne[cite: 1].
Victoria: Marcus, darling! Why are you kneeling on the dirty floor in your tuxedo[cite: 1]?
Marcus: Victoria, step down here right now[cite: 1].
Victoria: The charity gala starts downtown in forty minutes! The car is waiting at the gate[cite: 1]!
Marcus: I said, come down these stairs, Victoria[cite: 1]!
Victoria's smile faded into a tight, irritated grimace as she walked down the curved steps[cite: 1].
Victoria: Don't use that tone with me in front of the help, Marcus[cite: 1]!
Marcus: Did you fire Martha Gable while I was in Chicago on business[cite: 1]?
Victoria: That old woman was senile! She kept leaving baby toys across the formal gallery[cite: 1]!
Marcus: This is a home with infant children, Victoria! There are supposed to be toys[cite: 1]!
Victoria: This is a billionaire's estate, not a chaotic day-care center[cite: 1]!
Maya whimpered, crawling closer to Clara's apron and hiding her face in the light blue fabric[cite: 1].
Victoria: And why is this maid dancing instead of scrubbing the guest suites[cite: 1]?
Marcus: She was singing to my children, Victoria[cite: 1].
Victoria: We don't pay domestic cleaners to put on musical theater in the hallway[cite: 1]!
Clara: The babies were inconsolable, Miss Vance. They wouldn't drink their bottles[cite: 1].
Victoria: Shut your mouth, Clara! Pack your locker and get off this estate by dinner[cite: 1]!
Marcus: Clara is not going anywhere, Victoria. You don't dismiss my staff[cite: 1].
Victoria: I am your fiancee, Marcus! Under our pending merger, I have full executive authority[cite: 1]!
Marcus: You have zero authority over this house until a wedding ring is on your finger[cite: 1].
Victoria took a sip of her champagne, her eyes narrowing as she looked down at the piano bench across the hall[cite: 1].
Victoria: Well, you better start getting used to changes, Marcus, because tomorrow morning the probate judge signs the trust release[cite: 1].
Marcus stood up from the floor, his tuxedo jacket falling open as a cold knot formed in his gut[cite: 1].
Marcus: What trust release did you file with the probate court, Victoria[cite: 1]?