Victoria: Julian, please! Turn off the security feed! Let's talk about this in your private office[cite: 1]!
Julian: The time for talking ended when you shoved my daughter over that railing, Victoria[cite: 1].
Victoria: I didn't shove her to hurt her! I was reaching for her collar[cite: 1]!
Julian: The video shows you planting both hands on her chest and pushing with all your strength[cite: 1].
Victoria: I lost my balance! The floor was polished with fresh wax[cite: 1]!
Julian: You are a sociopath who married me for a trust fund you couldn't touch[cite: 1]!
The heavy front doors of the estate banged open, and four uniformed police officers strode into the grand foyer[cite: 1].
Leading them was Detective Marcus Vance, Victoria's own estranged cousin from the Major Crimes Division[cite: 1].
Detective Vance: Julian Sterling? We received the live alert and verified the video feed[cite: 1].
Julian: Over here, Marcus. The suspect is standing on the second-floor landing[cite: 1].
Victoria: Marcus! Oh God, Marcus, thank goodness it's you! Tell these officers to stand down[cite: 1]!
Detective Vance walked up the marble staircase with heavy, measured steps, pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt[cite: 1].
Detective Vance: Keep your hands where I can see them, Victoria. I am not here as your cousin today[cite: 1].
Victoria: Marcus, we share the same grandfather! You can't arrest your own family[cite: 1]!
Detective Vance: Our grandfather was an honest shipyard worker, Victoria. He didn't push children off balconies[cite: 1].
Victoria: I didn't push her! This is a domestic dispute between a husband and wife[cite: 1]!
Detective Vance: The district attorney reviewed the footage three minutes ago. The charge is attempted capital murder of a minor[cite: 1].
Victoria let out a sharp shriek, stumbling backward toward the library doors[cite: 1].
Victoria: Capital murder?! That's insane! Nobody died! The girl is downstairs drinking hot chocolate[cite: 1]!
Detective Vance: In the state of Texas, attempting to throw a child under fourteen from an elevated balcony carries the same penalty as aggravated homicide[cite: 1].
Victoria: Julian! Tell him to stop! I'll give back the twelve million dollars! I'll transfer it right now from my phone[cite: 1]!
Julian: Those accounts have already been frozen by the Department of Justice, Victoria[cite: 1].
Victoria: What about my personal jewelry? My diamond bracelets in the master bedroom safe[cite: 1]?!
Julian: Every piece of jewelry you bought over the last two years was purchased with stolen trust fund money[cite: 1].
Victoria: You can't take everything from me! I am a Vance[cite: 1]!
Julian: The Vance name means nothing anymore. Your father's firm will be liquidated by the end of the month[cite: 1].
Two uniformed officers stepped forward, grabbing Victoria's arms with firm, practiced authority[cite: 1].
Officer Davis: Hands behind your back, ma'am. Stop resisting[cite: 1].
Victoria: Don't you dare touch my designer dress! Do you know how much this emerald silk costs[cite: 1]?!
The steel handcuffs clicked shut around her wrists with a sharp, heavy double-snap that echoed through the gallery[cite: 1].
Victoria: Ah! You're pinching my skin! Julian, you coward! You weak, pathetic coward[cite: 1]!
Julian: The only coward in this room is the woman who attacked a defenseless six-year-old girl[cite: 1].
Detective Vance: Officer Davis, escort her to the patrol cruiser. Take the front entrance[cite: 1].
Victoria: I will sue you, Julian! I will drag your name through every tabloid in America[cite: 1]!
Julian: Save your breath for the judge, Victoria. You're going to need it for the next twenty years[cite: 1].
The officers marched Victoria down the grand marble stairs, her green dress dragging across the floor as she screamed curses into the air[cite: 1].
Outside, the flashing red and blue lights illuminated the grand driveway, casting long shadows across the manicured lawns[cite: 1].
Julian walked down the stairs slowly, feeling the crushing weight of the last six months finally lift from his shoulders[cite: 1].