The heavy front double doors chimed as two uniformed state police officers pushed their way into the grand foyer, led by a tall man in a navy blue coat holding a thick leather briefcase. It was Harrison Vance, the former estate attorney.
Harrison Vance: Good evening, Mrs. Sterling. It has been a very long time.
Victoria: Harrison! You traitorous old coward! You took my money!
Harrison Vance: I took your money to buy time, Victoria. And then I placed every single dollar into an escrow account to hand over to the state prosecutor the moment Elena turned thirty.
Richard: Mr. Vance... is everything she said true?
Harrison Vance: Every word of it, Richard. Your mother forged your father’s signature on the custody releases seven years ago while you were in a state of deep shock following Celeste’s death.
Richard: And the fifty percent voting stock?
Harrison Vance: Belonged to Elena the moment she turned thirty last month. The state probate judge signed the emergency asset transfer order at four o'clock today.
Victoria: You can't execute that transfer! I am the primary trustee of the Sterling Estate!
Police Officer: Victoria Sterling, you are under arrest for grand forgery, corporate trust fraud, and felony child endangerment.
The two officers stepped forward, pulling Victoria’s hands behind her brown dress. The cold steel handcuffs clicked firmly around her wrists in front of the entire household staff standing near the dining archway.
Victoria: Get your hands off me! Do you know who my lawyers are?! Richard, tell them to stop!
Richard: I am calling our corporate legal team right now, Mother. To make sure your bail is set at the absolute maximum amount possible.
Victoria: You ungrateful fool! I built your life! I gave you everything!
Richard: You stole seven years of my son’s life, Mother. You built nothing but a house of lies.
The officers turned Victoria around, escorting her down the grand marble steps toward the open front entrance. Her brown designer dress trailed across the cold floor as she thrashed against the officers' grip, her shrill screaming echoing through the high ceilings.
Victoria: Elena! You filthy maid! You haven't won anything! My legal team will destroy you in court!
Elena: Your legal team was dissolved an hour ago, Victoria. The state prosecutor froze all your personal accounts.
The heavy front doors slammed shut behind her, cutting off her hysterical shouting as the police cruiser sped away down the dark estate driveway.
The grand foyer fell into a deep, peaceful quiet. The bright chandelier lights shone warm against the polished marble floor, illuminating the silver locket resting safely in Richard's hand.
Richard stood up, holding Leo’s hand as he walked over to where I stood in my black uniform apron.
Richard: Elena... I don't even know how to begin to ask for your forgiveness.
Elena: You don't have to ask, Richard. You were a victim of her greed just like Celeste and I were.
Richard: My mother spent seven years making me believe my wife died alone without any family left... She kept you working as a maid in our own house just to humiliate you.
Elena: She wanted to break my spirit so I would sign away my rights to the trust fund. But she forgot that a mother’s love for her family never breaks.