David: Toby! Look at Daddy, buddy!
Toby: Daddy, she pushed me! She shoved me with both hands!
David rushed up the bottom steps, dropping to his knees and pulling Toby out of Clara's arms.
He checked the boy's ribs and elbows with shaking hands, his breath coming in fast, ragged gasps.
David: Where does it hurt, son? Tell me right now.
Toby: My arm hurts, Dad... It hit the marble step when I fell.
David: Clara, did you see the shove happen?
Clara: I saw every single second of it, Mr. Whitman. She looked him dead in the eye and pushed him.
Victoria: That is an outrageous, filthy lie! That maid is completely unstable!
Victoria stood on the upper landing, smoothing down the front of her light blue gown with trembling fingers.
Victoria: The boy was running with that cheap toy and tripped over his own untied laces!
David: Toby doesn't run on the stairs, Victoria. I taught him better than that.
Victoria: Children get excited, David! I reached out to grab his collar, but I was too late!
Clara: You didn't reach out to help him! You leaned over and smiled when he tumbled!
Victoria: Shut your mouth, servant! David, are you really listening to a girl who cleans our toilets?
David: Clara has worked for my family for six years, Victoria. She doesn't lie to me.
Victoria: She just slapped me across the face in front of your police officers! Arrest her for assault!
Officer Davis stepped past David on the stairs, his hand resting calmly on his utility belt.
Officer Davis: Ma'am, we're going to need everyone to remain calm while we assess the situation.
Victoria: Calm?! A hired maid struck the future mistress of this entire estate!
David: You are not the mistress of this estate, Victoria. You never will be.
Victoria: We signed our marriage license last month, David! Our wedding celebration is in three days!
David: The wedding is canceled. It was canceled forty minutes ago.
Victoria's jaw dropped open, her eyes darting between David and the two officers standing on the steps.
Victoria: Canceled?! You cannot cancel a wedding with four hundred high-society guests arriving!
David: Tell your guests to turn their cars around, because you won't be here to greet them.
Victoria: My father invested thirty million dollars into your shipping lines on Friday!
David: Your father didn't invest a single penny of clean capital, Victoria.
Victoria: What are you talking about?! Vance Maritime is the largest logistics partner in the Gulf!
David: Vance Maritime is an insolvent shell company that has been bleeding money for three years.
Victoria froze on the upper landing, her manicured fingers clawing at the brass banister.
Victoria: That is slander! My father is a respected member of the state commerce commission!
David: Your father was arrested at his private airfield thirty minutes ago by federal marshals.
The entire grand foyer went completely silent, the grandfather clock ticking with a slow, heavy rhythm.
Victoria's painted lips parted, her breath catching in her throat as cold dread settled over her.
Victoria: Arrested...? You're lying! He was flying to Austin for a private luncheon!
David: The Texas Rangers met him on the runway with a federal grand jury indictment.
Victoria: On what possible charges?! My family has spotless business records!
David: Wire fraud, grand embezzlement, and stealing from our employee pension reserve.
Victoria took a frantic step backward, her heels clicking nervously against the polished stone.
Victoria: You set this up... You set a trap for my father!
David: I didn't set any trap, Victoria. I just looked inside the private wall safe in my study.