Victoria: That is a deranged forgery created by an unstable woman who was losing her mind[cite: 1]!
Marcus: Hannah was a concert pianist with a brilliant, spotless mind, Victoria[cite: 1]!
Victoria: She was paranoid! She was jealous because your father favored my shipping empire over her family[cite: 1]!
Marcus: My father passed away five years before I ever met Hannah, you disgusting liar[cite: 1]!
Victoria: Marcus, darling, listen to reason! Why would I sabotage an airplane[cite: 1]?!
Clara: For sixty million dollars in maritime logistics stock, Miss Vance[cite: 1].
Victoria: Shut up, maid! One more word from your mouth and I will have you prosecuted for theft[cite: 1]!
Marcus: Don't you dare raise your voice to Clara in my house[cite: 1]!
Victoria smoothed down her green gown, lifting her chin with cold, stubborn arrogance[cite: 1].
Victoria: A handwritten diary note won't stand up in any courtroom in Texas, Marcus[cite: 1].
Marcus: We'll see what the National Transportation Safety Board says when they see this billing slip[cite: 1].
Victoria: The NTSB closed that case thirty months ago! The wreckage was auctioned for scrap[cite: 1]!
Marcus: You made sure it was scrapped, didn't you?
Victoria: My father bought the salvage rights as a courtesy to spare you the public pain[cite: 1]!
Marcus: A courtesy?! You scrapped the evidence of a double homicide to save your skin[cite: 1]!
Victoria took a step toward the twins sitting on the marble floor, her eyes narrowing with sudden venom[cite: 1].
Victoria: Those brats belong in a full-time boarding school in Switzerland, Marcus[cite: 1]!
Marcus: They are nine months old[cite: 1]!
Victoria: And they are draining your time, your energy, and the focus our corporate merger requires[cite: 1]!
Marcus: You are never touching these children again, Victoria[cite: 1].
Victoria: If you cancel our engagement, Vance Logistics pulls forty percent of your naval shipping routes by midnight[cite: 1]!
Marcus: Pull every single ship, Victoria! I don't give a damn about your shipping lines[cite: 1]!
Victoria: You will be bankrupt within ninety days! You'll be selling this mansion to pay off our creditors[cite: 1]!
Marcus didn't hesitate for another fraction of a second[cite: 1].
He stepped forward and swung his open right hand across Victoria's face with deafening force[cite: 1].
The crack of the slap echoed through the vaulted foyer like a rifle shot[cite: 1].
Victoria: Ah[cite: 1]!
The impact snapped her head violently to the side, sending her staggering backward across the marble[cite: 1].
Her high heels slipped on the spilled champagne, and she crashed down hard onto the stone floor[cite: 1].
A bright crimson handprint burned across her cheek as she clutched her jaw in utter disbelief[cite: 1].
Victoria: You struck me! A billionaire CEO slapped a Vance heiress[cite: 1]!
Marcus: You are fortunate I don't throw you off this estate with my bare hands[cite: 1].
Victoria: My father will destroy you for this, Marcus! He has judges on his personal payroll[cite: 1]!
Clara: Mr. Mercer, look toward the front entrance[cite: 1].
From beyond the heavy arched windows of the foyer, flashing red and blue lights illuminated the white columns[cite: 1].
The distant wail of police sirens grew louder, echoing down the long tree-lined driveway[cite: 1].
Victoria's hands began to shake as she looked at the door, her arrogance finally cracking into sheer panic[cite: 1].
Victoria: Who called the police to this private residence?! Who dialed 911[cite: 1]?!
Marcus: Clara dialed them from the kitchen landline twenty minutes ago, Victoria[cite: 1].