Elena felt the blood rush to her face as the cold quiet in the dining salon stretched between them[span_34](start_span)[span_34](end_span).
Elena: Julian, look at me right now. Did you read these paragraphs before your mother printed them out?[span_35](start_span)[span_35](end_span)
Julian: Don’t start shouting, Elena. The staff is right outside the corridor. It’s just standard protective language[span_36](start_span)[span_36](end_span).
Elena: Protective language? This contract states that if we divorce, I am barred from contacting my own child without written consent from your board[span_37](start_span)[span_37](end_span)[span_38](start_span)[span_38](end_span)!
Julian: We’re never getting divorced anyway! So why does a hypothetical legal document even matter to you?[span_39](start_span)[span_39](end_span)[span_40](start_span)[span_40](end_span)
Elena: If it’s purely hypothetical, Julian, why are you demanding my signature twelve hours before we walk down the aisle?[span_41](start_span)[span_41](end_span)
Victoria leaned back in her carved armchair, a thin, cold smirk touching her mouth[span_42](start_span)[span_42](end_span).
Victoria: Because you come from an ordinary background, Elena. Your father repairs radiators, and your mother works a school lunch register[span_43](start_span)[span_43](end_span).
Elena: My parents are decent, honest people who earned everything they have through honest labor[span_44](start_span)[span_44](end_span).
Victoria: Honest labor does not govern an international shipping trust worth hundreds of millions of dollars[span_45](start_span)[span_45](end_span)[span_46](start_span)[span_46](end_span).
Elena: A baby doesn't need an international shipping trust, Victoria[span_47](start_span)[span_47](end_span)[span_48](start_span)[span_48](end_span). A baby needs a mother who truly loves them[span_49](start_span)[span_49](end_span).
Victoria: A future billionaire heir requires private security, elite schooling, and proper pedigree[span_50](start_span)[span_50](end_span)[span_51](start_span)[span_51](end_span). You are simply the vessel[span_52](start_span)[span_52](end_span).
Elena took a step back, the cruelty of the words cutting deeper than any raised voice[span_53](start_span)[span_53](end_span).
Elena: The vessel? Is that what I’ve been to you this entire year, Julian?[span_54](start_span)[span_54](end_span)
Julian: Mother didn’t mean it like that, Elena! She’s just thinking about the family dynasty[span_55](start_span)[span_55](end_span)!
Elena: I asked what I am to you, Julian. Answer me[span_56](start_span)[span_56](end_span).
Julian: You know I love you! But thirty million dollars of my personal inheritance is tied directly to my mother’s approval of this wedding[span_57](start_span)[span_57](end_span)[span_58](start_span)[span_58](end_span)!
Elena: So your trust fund comes before your own flesh and blood?[span_59](start_span)[span_59](end_span)[span_60](start_span)[span_60](end_span)
Julian: Be realistic! What are we supposed to live on? Your high school teaching salary?[span_61](start_span)[span_61](end_span)
Victoria slid an expensive gold pen across the tablecloth until it tapped against the edge of the leather binder[span_62](start_span)[span_62](end_span).
Victoria: We have indulged this emotional tantrum long enough. Pick up the pen and sign your name on the marked line[span_63](start_span)[span_63](end_span).
Elena: And if I refuse to sign away my child?[span_64](start_span)[span_64](end_span)
Victoria: Then security escorts you down the service elevator right now, the wedding is called off, and you leave this estate with nothing[span_65](start_span)[span_65](end_span)[span_66](start_span)[span_66](end_span).
Elena: You think you hold all the leverage in this room, don't you?[span_67](start_span)[span_67](end_span)
Victoria: I don’t think so, my dear. I know so. We also hold the commercial note on your father’s garage property downtown[span_68](start_span)[span_68](end_span).
Elena froze, her hand pausing just above her purse clasp as a cold chill ran down her spine[span_69](start_span)[span_69](end_span).
Elena: What did you just say about my father’s garage?[span_70](start_span)[span_70](end_span)
Victoria: Our family holding firm purchased the regional bank debt on his garage two weeks ago. If you leave tonight, we initiate immediate foreclosure on his shop by Monday morning[span_71](start_span)[span_71](end_span)[span_72](start_span)[span_72](end_span).
Julian: Just sign the paperwork, Elena! Mother has covered every angle. You can’t fight our lawyers[span_73](start_span)[span_73](end_span)[span_74](start_span)[span_74](end_span)!
Elena: You targeted my sick father just to force me into giving up my baby?[span_75](start_span)[span_75](end_span)
Victoria: In our world, business is about securing every vulnerability. Sign the document, Elena[span_76](start_span)[span_76](end_span).
Elena slowly unzipped the inner compartment of her handbag, her voice dropping into a steady, freezing calm[span_77](start_span)[span_77](end_span).
Elena: You spent months investigating my family's debts, Victoria[span_78](start_span)[span_78](end_span). But you never bothered to check what was inside your late husband’s safe[span_79](start_span)[span_79](end_span).
Victoria’s smile vanished instantly, her manicured fingers stiffening on the table[span_80](start_span)[span_80](end_span).
Victoria: What did you say about Arthur?[span_81](start_span)[span_81](end_span)
Elena: I think it's time you look at the documents I brought to dinner[span_82](start_span)[span_82](end_span).
Victoria crossed her arms, her diamond bracelets clinking loudly in the quiet room[span_83](start_span)[span_83](end_span).
Victoria: Arthur was my husband for thirty-two years. There is nothing in his estate that you know and I don't[span_84](start_span)[span_84](end_span)[span_85](start_span)[span_85](end_span).
Elena: That’s where you're completely wrong, Victoria[span_86](start_span)[span_86](end_span).
Julian: Elena, what are you talking about? Dad passed away nine months ago[span_87](start_span)[span_87](end_span).
Elena: He did, Julian. But he left behind a trail of paper that you two were too arrogant to look for[span_88](start_span)[span_88](end_span).
Victoria: You are bluffing to save face because you know you have no choice[span_89](start_span)[span_89](end_span).
Elena: Am I? Take a look for yourself[span_90](start_span)[span_90](end_span).
Elena pulled the manila envelope from her bag, tossing it squarely onto the center of the table where it landed with a dull thud[span_91](start_span)[span_91](end_span).