The dark hallway was silent as Clara walked toward her bedroom on the second floor.
The massive mansion felt empty and cold without her father's cheerful laughter.
She clutched the estate papers against her chest like a protective shield.
Every step on the wooden floor made a faint creaking sound in the quiet house.
She saw a light shining beneath the door of her father's former study.
Clara stopped in her tracks and slowly approached the open doorway.
Margarethe was inside, searching through the drawers of the mahogany desk.
She was throwing old letters and legal folders onto the floor in a hurry.
Clara: What are you looking for in my father's personal office?
Margarethe spun around quickly, holding a heavy metal key in her right hand.
Her face flushed with anger as she glared at Clara standing in the entrance.
Margarethe: This room belongs to me now, so leave at once!
Clara: You have no right to dig through his private records like a thief.
Margarethe: I am looking for the original deed to our Dallas property!
Clara: The lawyer already told you that the deed is filed with the court.
Margarethe stepped across the messy room and stopped right in front of Clara.
She noticed the pearl necklace that Clara was wearing around her neck.
It was a priceless family heirloom given to Clara by her grandmother years ago.
Margarethe reached out her hand as if to touch the shimmering white pearls.
Margarethe: You do not deserve to wear something so valuable in this house.
Clara: Do not touch me or my grandmother's necklace, Margarethe!
Margarethe: Everything in this house belonged to my late husband!
Clara: And he wanted me to have it because he loved me!
Margarethe reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a pair of sharp desk scissors.
The silver metal caught the light from the chandelier overhead.
Clara gasped in shock and took a step back toward the grand hallway staircase.
Clara: Put those scissors down right now before you get hurt!
Margarethe: You think you are so brave standing here in your fine clothes.
Clara: I am calling the police if you take another step toward me.
Margarethe followed Clara out into the hallway with a fast and furious pace.
The wide marble staircase opened up behind Clara as she backed away slowly.
She could hear her own rapid heartbeats echoing in her ears.
Margarethe: No police officer in Texas will take your word over mine!
Clara: You have lost your mind over this money, Margarethe!
Margarethe: That fortune belongs to me and my natural heirs alone!
Clara reached for the wooden railing behind her to keep her balance.
She could feel the cold draft coming from the grand foyer down below.
Margarethe raised the metal scissors right toward Clara's pale throat.
Margarethe: Hand over those legal papers right now, Clara!
Clara: Never! These papers belong to my father's legal trust!
Margarethe lunged forward with a furious scream that echoed through the home.
Clara tried to turn away, but her back was right against the top railing.
The battle for the estate was about to turn violent on the grand stairs.