Julian: Toby... Look at Daddy, sweetheart. Breathe for Daddy.
Elena: Don't touch the sole of his foot, Mr. Sterling! The skin is peeling off!
Julian: Why is my ten-month-old son's heel blistered red, Victoria?
Victoria: I told you, she bumped into the stove while holding him! She dropped him near the burner!
Elena: That is a monstrous lie! You held the flat metal against his skin while he screamed!
Victoria: Shut your mouth, you common kitchen maid! How dare you speak to my husband before me!
Julian: Look at the tool sitting on the counter, Victoria.
Julian stood up slowly, his tall frame casting a dark, suffocating shadow over the breakfast bar.
On the stone counter sat the electric metal spatula, its heating coil still smoking with faint grey wisps.
A smudge of charred yellow cotton from Toby's sock remained stuck to the burning edge.
Julian: You were using this to cook breakfast?
Victoria: I was trying to warm some French toast for our morning meeting with the board!
Julian: You don't use a heavy commercial metal scraper on French toast, Victoria.
Victoria: It was the only spatula in the drawer! The kitchen staff didn't wash the utensils!
Elena: The silicone spatulas are right there in the brass crock, Mr. Sterling! She took that heavy iron tool from the barbecue kit outside!
Victoria: Julian, are you seriously taking the word of a bleeding servant over your lawful fiancee?
Julian: Look at Elena's head, Victoria. Who struck her with that golden vase?
Victoria: She lunged at my neck! I defended myself with whatever was on the counter!
Elena: I lunged to pull the baby away from the heat! She hit me while I was shielding Toby!
Julian's knuckles turned stark white as he looked at the blood dripping onto the white marble floor.
He reached out, his hand wrapping around Victoria's silk sleeve with iron force.
Julian: You hit a woman holding an infant with a solid brass vase?
Victoria: She was trespassing in our private quarters, Julian! She should know her place!
Julian: Elena has worked for my family for twelve years! She raised me after my mother passed!
Victoria: Well, she is getting sloppy and dangerous in her old age! She needs to be dismissed immediately!
Julian: You are the one who is dismissed, Victoria.
Julian's open palm cracked across Victoria's face with a deafening pop that rattled the wine glasses on the rack.
The impact knocked Victoria sideways, her high heels catching on the rug as she crashed into the pantry door.
Victoria: Ah! You struck me! A billionaire laid his hands on a Vance heiress!
Julian shoved the pantry door open, grabbed her by the shoulder, and pushed her out into the grand foyer.
Julian: Leave this home forever!
Victoria: You cannot throw me out! Our families signed the thirty-million-dollar maritime partnership!
Julian: I don't give a damn about your father's partnership!
He slammed the heavy front double doors shut, the deadbolt clicking home with a final, echoing thud.
Elena sank onto the kitchen chair, rocking the crying baby while pressing a paper towel against her bleeding brow.
Elena: Mr. Sterling... We need to get ice on this burn right now.
Julian: No ice directly on a burn, Elena. Cool running water and sterile dressing.
Julian rushed to the sink, dampening a soft cloth with lukewarm water before kneeling beside the chair.
Julian: Toby, Daddy has you. The mean lady is outside. Daddy is right here.
Elena: She did this on purpose, sir. She said something terrifying before she picked up the metal.
Julian looked up, his jaw set like stone as he carefully draped the wet cloth over the blistered skin.
Julian: What did she say, Elena?
Elena: She said Toby was an unwanted stray who would never inherit a single penny of your estate trust.
Julian's eyes widened, a cold chill washing over his neck as he stared at the crying child in her arms.