Victoria: You struck me! A billionaire laid hands on an heiress in front of staff[cite: 1]!
Julian: I should have thrown you into the street six months ago, Victoria[cite: 1]!
Victoria: The maid is lying to you! She tripped over the rug and bumped my arm while I was pressing the sofa cushion[cite: 1]!
Maria: That is an evil lie! You held the hot plate one inch above his ribs and told him to shut up[cite: 1]!
Julian: Give Ethan to me, Maria[cite: 1].
Julian took the crying baby into his arms, carefully pulling back the yellow cotton onesie[cite: 1].
A faint red heat rash flushed across the infant's skin where the steam had scorched him[cite: 1].
Julian: His skin is boiling hot, Victoria[cite: 1].
Victoria: He was crying because he had colic! The room was warm from the fireplace[cite: 1]!
Julian: You held an iron running at four hundred degrees directly over an infant's chest[cite: 1]!
Victoria: I am the mistress of this estate! I decide how the furniture is maintained[cite: 1]!
Maria: She threatened to burn him yesterday too, Mr. Sterling! She pinched his legs until they bruised[cite: 1]!
Victoria: Shut your mouth, Maria! Pack your uniform and get off my property by sundown[cite: 1]!
Julian: Maria isn't going anywhere, Victoria. You don't fire my family's staff[cite: 1].
Victoria: I am your legal wife under Texas law! I have equal authority over this household[cite: 1]!
Julian: You are not my wife yet, Victoria. The wedding ceremony is three weeks away[cite: 1].
Victoria: But we signed the prenuptial agreement on Friday! We filed the paperwork with the county clerk[cite: 1]!
Julian: That prenuptial agreement is completely void if you commit a violent crime against an heir[cite: 1].
Victoria pushed herself up onto her elbows, smoothing her silver gown with shaking fingers[cite: 1].
Victoria: You can't prove intent! No judge will take the word of a common maid over mine[cite: 1]!
Julian: Look at the burn mark on that velvet cushion, Victoria[cite: 1].
Julian pointed at the black, smoking triangle branded deep into the sofa arm[cite: 1].
Julian: That iron didn't drop by accident. It was held down with deliberate pressure[cite: 1].
Victoria: I dropped it when the maid screamed in my ear! She startled me[cite: 1]!
Maria: You didn't drop it until I grabbed your wrist, Mrs. Vance[cite: 1]!
Victoria: Stop calling me Mrs. Vance! My name is Sterling[cite: 1]!
Julian: You will never carry my family name, Victoria[cite: 1].
Victoria: My father invested fifty million dollars into your shipping terminals last quarter, Julian[cite: 1]!
Julian: Your father didn't invest a single penny of clean capital, Victoria[cite: 1].
Victoria: What are you talking about?! Vance Maritime holds thirty percent of your logistics bonds[cite: 1]!
Julian: Your father embezzled those funds directly from the state maritime pension system[cite: 1].
Victoria froze on the floor, the blood draining from her lips until she looked like paper[cite: 1].
Victoria: That is slander! My father is a respected commissioner on the harbor board[cite: 1]!
Julian: Your father was arrested at his private hangar in Houston forty minutes ago by federal agents[cite: 1].
Victoria: Arrested...?! You're lying! He was flying to Austin for a luncheon with the governor[cite: 1]!
Julian: The governor's office signed his federal indictment at seven this morning, Victoria[cite: 1].
Victoria: No... No! That's impossible! Our family controls the entire Gulf shipping lane[cite: 1]!
Julian: Your family controls nothing anymore. The federal government seized your assets at dawn[cite: 1].
Victoria's hands began to tremble violently as she looked up at Julian standing tall in his suit[cite: 1].
Victoria: You planned this... You set a trap for me and my father[cite: 1]!
Julian: I didn't set any trap, Victoria. I simply opened the wall safe in my private study[cite: 1].