Julian stared straight into his stepfather's eyes, refusing to back down as the silence stretched across the sunlit study.
Julian: So you admit that a court investigation would uncover something you don't want the bank to see?
Richard Vance: I admit nothing! I am trying to save this family from financial bankruptcy while you waste time with emotional fantasy!
Clara: You lied to him! You told him his little sister was dead so you could take her trust fund money!
Richard took a sharp step toward Clara, his eyes narrowed with fury as he raised his finger to point directly at her face.
Richard Vance: Keep your filthy mouth shut! You are nothing but a common servant who breaks tea set china on my floor!
Julian: Don't you dare talk to her like that in my house, Richard!
Richard Vance: Your house? This mansion is mortgaged to the hilt under the corporate holding firm that I control! You own nothing until the estate settlement is signed today!
Julian: Then I won't sign it. I will let the whole thing go into court arbitration.
Richard Vance: You wouldn't dare. If the estate enters probate court, the tax liens will wipe out your monthly allowance completely. You’ll be penniless within a week!
Clara: He doesn't care about your allowance! He cares about finding his sister!
Richard let out a harsh, bitter laugh as he adjusted the cuffs of his expensive shirt.
Richard Vance: A sister? You really think this girl is Victoria? Victoria Sterling died in a hospital bed in Boston! I have the official death certificate right here in the cabinet!
Julian: Signed by a doctor who was paid two hundred thousand dollars from your private consulting account three days after she vanished!
Richard stopped mid-breath, his aggressive posture slipping for a split second as he stared at Julian in genuine shock.
Richard Vance: How do you know about that transfer?
Julian: I hired a private investigator two years ago when my mother was on her deathbed. She kept whispering your name and begging for forgiveness every time she looked at Victoria’s portrait.
Clara: My mother... she knew what you did to me?
Julian: She was terrified of him, Clara. Richard had her convinced that our father’s death wasn't an accident, and that if she didn't sign the trust transfers, he would take everything and leave us on the street.
Richard Vance: Your mother was an unstable woman who didn't understand how high-stakes corporate finances worked!
Julian: She told me on her last night that she signed papers she never read because Richard threatened to hurt me next!
Clara: You monster... you threw a seven-year-old child into an orphanage just to steal a trust fund!
Richard Vance: I saved this estate! Without that fifty million dollars, the family business would have gone under twenty years ago!
Julian: You didn't save anything! You stole my sister’s life and paid off a corrupt shelter worker to keep her hidden forever!
Richard Vance: You have no proof of any shelter! You have no papers, no DNA records, and no legal standing in this court!
Mrs. Gable: Mr. Vance... sir...
The old housekeeper stepped quietly into the study, her hands trembling as she held a yellowed envelope taken from her apron pocket.
Richard Vance: Get back to the kitchen, Mrs. Gable! This is an internal family matter!
Mrs. Gable: No, sir... I can't keep quiet anymore. I remember the night you took the little girl out to the dark sedan in the rain.