Clara: It was just a mild sleeping aid! He wouldn't stop crying at night!
Ethan: You fed sedatives to a baby?
Clara: I was exhausted, Ethan! You are always away at the corporate headquarters!
Ethan: That gives you the right to drug him?
Maya: It wasn't just about sleep, Ethan. Look at the trust fund terms your father created.
Clara: Shut your mouth, Maya!
Ethan: What terms? Maya, speak clearly right now.
Maya: Before your father passed away last year, he updated his estate planning documents.
Ethan: I know. The entire family business and the mansion go into a trust for my baby until he turns twenty-one.
Maya: Yes, but there was an emergency clause in that will.
Ethan: What emergency clause?
Maya: If the child suffers a permanent physical impairment or medical tragedy before his first birthday, the estate management transfers entirely to the legal stepmother.
Ethan stared at Clara, his breath catching in his throat as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
Ethan: The physical impairment... the hot iron...
Clara: She is twisting the truth! I don't know anything about any clause!
Maya: Your attorney sent you a full copy of the probate documents six weeks ago, Clara. I found the printout in your private desk.
Clara: You went through my personal files?
Maya: I had to protect this child! I knew you didn't love him, but I never imagined you would hurt him for money!
Ethan: You tried to burn his face so he would be classified as permanently disabled...
Clara: No! That's absurd! I would never!
Ethan: So you could take total control of the multi-million dollar estate and the corporate shares!
Clara: Ethan, baby, look at me! I love you! I did everything for our future!
Ethan: Don't call me baby! You are a monster!
Maya: She also set up a secret bank account in Switzerland last month under her maiden name.
Clara: How do you know about that?
Maya: Because you left your laptop open on the vanity table, Clara. I took photos of every single transfer receipt.
Ethan: You were planning to strip the trust clean and leave the country.
Clara: Ethan, please! We can fix this! We can send the baby to a boarding school when he's older!
Ethan: Send him away? He is my blood! He is everything I have left of my father!
Clara: But what about us? What about our marriage?
Ethan: Our marriage was built on a lie. You never cared about me or this family.
Clara: I built this life with you! You can't just discard me like garbage!
Ethan: You discarded your humanity the second you picked up that iron.
Ethan adjusted his hold on the infant, shielding the baby's eyes from Clara's frantic face.
Ethan: Maya, take him upstairs to my office. Lock the door from the inside.
Maya: Yes, Mr. Vance.
Clara: Don't you dare take him away from me!
Ethan: Touch her or that baby again, Clara, and I will not wait for the police to handle you.
Maya quickly grabbed the baby and hurried up the grand marble staircase, leaving Ethan and Clara standing alone in the massive, silent foyer under the shadow of the flag.