Richard lunged forward, his voice cracking into a furious snarl.
Richard: You think the board will side with an ex-wife over the visionary who multiplied their market cap by five hundred percent?!
Karen: They will side with whoever keeps them out of federal prison, Richard.
Vanessa: Federal prison? Richard, what is she saying? You told me you were completely untouchable!
Richard: Stop panicking, Vanessa! She has nothing but wild theories and old land deeds!
Karen: Ask him about the mortgage fraud on the logistics terminal in New Jersey, Vanessa. Ask him where the commercial development loan really went.
Vanessa: Richard? What mortgage loan? You said that money bought our private jet charter memberships!
Richard: Don't answer her questions! Pack your jewelry right now, we are going to the downtown hotel!
Karen: None of the jewelry leaves this house tonight.
Vanessa: Excuse me?! My sapphire earrings were a personal gift from him!
Karen: Paid for using funds drawn from our joint marital estate account prior to legal separation. Everything inside those velvet cases belongs to the estate inventory.
Richard: You are being utterly ridiculous! I bought those gifts with my personal earned compensation!
Karen: Under state law, all executive bonuses earned during the marriage prior to the final decree are classified as community marital property.
Richard: I have the best divorce lawyer on the East Coast on speed dial. Marcus Stone doesn't lose cases.
Karen: Marcus Stone resigned as your legal counsel at four-thirty this afternoon.
Richard froze, his phone already halfway out of his tailored suit pocket.
Richard: That's a lie. Marcus has represented my family office for over a decade.
Karen: Check your inbox. Marcus realized that representing you while you hid offshore trust fund assets would risk his license before the state bar association.
Richard frantically tapped his phone screen, his breathing turning shallow and fast in the quiet room.
Richard: No... no, this has to be a clerical error. He sent a formal notice of withdrawal.
Vanessa: Richard, what does withdrawal mean? We don't have a lawyer?!
Karen: It means you are on your own, Richard. Just like you intended me to be when you packed my life into three cardboard boxes.
Richard: Karen, please. Let's step into my study and discuss this like rational business partners.
Karen: We are not business partners anymore. We are plaintiff and defendant.
Vanessa: Richard, do something! She can't just take over everything! I gave up my modeling agency contract for you!
Karen: You gave up your contract to live in a mansion built on my family's dirt. And now it is time to check out.
Richard: What do you want, Karen? Tell me your price. Name a settlement number right now and I will wire it by midnight.
Karen: I don't want your settlement money, Richard. I want what is already mine.
Richard: If you strip my shares, the company stock will plummet thirty percent at the opening bell! You'll destroy your own inheritance!
Karen: The company will survive without an arrogant thief at the helm. In fact, the market usually rallies when a corrupt CEO gets replaced by someone who actually respects the law.
Vanessa: You're a monster! You're ruining our lives over simple jealousy!
Karen: Jealousy? You think I envy a woman who settles for stolen scraps from an empty suit?