Julian turned toward the housekeeper, his chest rising and falling heavily as he took the yellowed envelope from her shaking hands.
Julian: What is this, Mrs. Gable?
Mrs. Gable: It's the original intake receipt from St. Jude’s Children's Home, Mr. Julian. Your mother made me keep it in my quarters just in case... in case she ever found the courage to bring Victoria back.
Richard Vance: You stupid old woman! You broke your non-disclosure agreement! You'll lose your pension and your housing today!
Julian: Shut your mouth, Richard!
Julian tore open the envelope, pulling out a faded piece of paper signed by a shelter director dated September 14th, twenty years ago.
The document listed a small child with brown curly hair, wearing a dark dress and a blue silk ribbon, dropped off by a private driver.
Julian: It's all right here. The signature on the drop-off form belongs to your personal driver, Richard.
Clara: I told you... I told you I wasn't lying!
Julian: You were never a maid in this house, Victoria. You are the rightful owner of half of this entire estate.
Richard Vance backed away toward the door, his face twisting into a mask of pure desperation as he reached into his suit jacket for his phone.
Richard Vance: This piece of paper proves nothing in a court of law! It's a thirty-year-old forgery created by a disgruntled maid and a bitter old staff member!
Julian: Try calling your lawyers, Richard. Go ahead and make the call.
Richard Vance: I will have the estate executors block every bank account tied to your name by noon!
Julian: You can't. Because five minutes before I walked down that hallway, I submitted a formal fraud affidavit to the state attorney general's office regarding the trust fund accounts.
Richard’s phone slid out of his hand, dropping onto the carpet with a soft thud as his face drained of all color.
Richard Vance: You... you reported the corporate accounts to the state prosecutor?
Julian: They’ve been auditing your offshore shell companies for three weeks. They were only waiting for a secondary witness to confirm the identity theft of Victoria Sterling.
Clara: You mean... you were already looking for me?
Julian: I never stopped looking for you, Victoria. Every maid agency I hired this past year was checked against state shelter records. I brought you into this house to find you.
Tears spilled over Clara’s cheeks as she looked at the young man who stood protecting her in the middle of the grand study.
Clara: You brought me here on purpose?
Julian: I had the portrait hung in the main hallway this morning because I knew if the real Victoria walked past it, she would recognize the blue ribbon our mother tied in her hair.
Richard Vance: You set a trap for me...
Julian: And you walked right into it, Richard.
Heavy footsteps echoed outside the hallway once more, followed by the firm knock of two uniformed state police officers stepping through the grand entrance.