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