Richard stopped instantly when he heard the word lawyer come out of her mouth.
His pale face lost all of its color in a single second.
He narrowed his gray eyes until they looked like sharp slits of glass.
Richard: What papers are you talking about, Elena?
Elena: You know exactly which documents I mean, Mr. Vance.
Richard: You have been going through my private desk drawers.
Elena: I was cleaning up after your late-night meeting last Tuesday.
Matteo looked up at Elena with wide curious eyes through his thick tears.
He did not fully understand the heavy words about money and legal trust.
But he knew that his nanny was standing up to his strict father.
No one in the mansion had ever spoken to Richard in that tone before.
The heavy front door opened with a slow creak from the outside porch.
A woman walked into the foyer wearing a high-end designer coat and dark sunglasses.
It was Victoria, the woman Richard was planning to marry next month.
She carried three shopping bags from expensive clothing stores in the city center.
She stopped when she saw the scene in the middle of the room.
Victoria: Why is the staff shouting in the front hall, Richard?
Richard: It is nothing for you to worry about, my dear.
Victoria: The boy is crying again, as usual.
Elena: He is crying because his father wants to send him away.
Victoria pulled off her dark sunglasses and sniffed the air with disgust.
Victoria: A boy his age needs proper structure at a discipline school.
Elena: He needs a family that actually loves him, not a prison.
Richard stepped off the last wooden stair and walked close to Elena.
He towered over her, but the nanny did not step back a single inch.
Richard: You will keep your mouth quiet about my private business affairs.
Elena: Or what? You will call the police on me?
Richard: I can make sure you never find another job in this city.
Elena: Try it, and the judge will read your late wife's original will tomorrow.
Victoria dropped her expensive shopping bags onto the marble floor with a thud.
She turned her head to look directly at Richard with sharp suspicion.
Victoria: What original will is she talking about right now, Richard?
Richard: She is lying to start trouble, ignore her.
Elena: Ask him why the family trust fund freezes if Matteo leaves his care.