Victoria: You struck me! A billionaire laid his hands on a Vance heiress in front of a common servant!
Julian: I should have thrown you off this property six months ago, Victoria!
Victoria: That maid is a lying thief, Julian! She was trying to sneak Maya out through the service exit!
Elena: Look at the balcony above us, Mr. Sterling! The blanket ribbons are still caught in the railing!
Julian looked up at the second-floor gallery, his eyes catching the fluttering pink silk tied to the brass rail.
Julian: Why was my eight-month-old child near that balustrade, Victoria?
Victoria: I took her out for some fresh air! The maid startled me and snatched her from my arms!
Elena: You pushed her over the rail with both hands! I caught her barely two inches from this stone floor!
Victoria: Shut your filthy mouth, Elena! Pack your bags and leave this mansion before I have you jailed!
Julian: Elena is not going anywhere, Victoria. You don't dismiss my household staff.
Victoria: I am your legal wife under Texas law! I have full authority over this estate!
Julian: You have zero authority over this estate, and zero authority over my child.
Julian dropped to both knees on the floor beside Elena, his hands trembling as he reached for his daughter.
Julian: Give her to me, Elena. Let me hold my baby girl.
Elena: Be careful with her neck, Mr. Sterling. The wind rushed so fast when she fell.
Maya buried her wet face into Julian's neck, her tiny fingers digging into the collar of his shirt.
Julian: Breathe, Maya. Daddy has you now. Nobody will ever hurt you again.
Victoria: You're coddling that brat just like your dead wife did, Julian!
Julian slowly lifted his head, his dark eyes turning into cold, razor-sharp blades.
Julian: Do not speak Clara's name with your venomous mouth.
Victoria: Clara died two years ago! I am the woman running your charity dinners and managing your home!
Julian: You didn't manage anything, Victoria. You siphoned money from our foundation.
Victoria pushed herself up onto her elbows, smoothing the dark velvet fabric of her gown with shaking fingers.
Victoria: That is slander! My family invested thirty million dollars into your shipping lines last spring!
Julian: Your family didn't invest a single penny of clean capital, Victoria.
Victoria: What are you talking about?! Vance Maritime holds thirty percent of your logistics equity!
Julian: Your father embezzled that thirty million dollars directly from the municipal port authority.
Victoria froze on the marble tiles, the blood draining from her lips until she looked like damp ash.
Victoria: That's a lie! My father is a respected commissioner on the harbor board!
Julian: Your father was arrested at his downtown Dallas office thirty minutes ago by federal marshals.
Victoria: Arrested...?! You're making up ridiculous stories to justify hitting your wife!
Julian: You are not my wife, Victoria. You never were.
Victoria: We had a wedding ceremony in front of four hundred high-society guests at the cathedral!
Julian: A ceremony built on forged documents, bigamy, and corporate blackmail.
Julian reached inside his tailored suit coat, pulling out a heavy manila legal envelope stamped with a gold seal.
He threw the packet down onto the marble floor directly in front of her trembling knees.
Julian: Open it, Victoria. Read page four aloud so Elena can hear what kind of monster invaded our home.
Victoria pulled the parchment from the flap, her eyes darting across the bold black header.
Victoria: 'State of Texas, Family Court Division... Decree of Immediate Annulment'...
Julian: Keep reading, Victoria. Read the red stamp across the center.
Victoria: 'Void ab initio... Due to active legal marriage of Victoria Vance to Mark Lawson in Nassau'...
Julian: You committed felony bigamy to get your hands on my late wife's sixty-million-dollar trust fund.
Victoria's hands began to shake so violently that the paper rustled loudly against the marble floor.
The distant sound of wailing police sirens began to echo down the long tree-lined driveway outside the mansion gates.