Julian turned to the eighth page, his hands trembling so violently that the papers rustled like dry leaves.
Julian: 'If my wife or my son attempt to impose any coercive premarital custody waiver or extortion against any future bride...'
Elena: Don’t stop now, Julian. Read the penalty.
Julian: '...then all executive voting shares in Sterling Enterprises and the entirety of the primary trust fund shall immediately transfer to the Children's Hospital Foundation.'
The private dining room went completely silent, save for the hum of the air vents overhead.
Julian: Mother... tell me this isn't true. Tell me Dad didn't write this.
Victoria: Arthur was vindictive until his last breath! He never understood how business power actually works!
Julian: So it is true! If she signs that custody waiver tonight, we trigger Dad's clause and lose every single penny of the estate!
Victoria: Julian, be quiet! Let me call our attorneys right now!
Elena: Call whoever you want, Victoria. The codicil was signed before two independent physicians and the Chief Justice of the state supreme court.
Julian grabbed the thick prenup from the table, grabbed both sides of the contract, and tore the papers straight down the middle.
Victoria: Julian, what are you doing? Stop tearing those pages!
Julian: Are you out of your mind, Mother? She has us completely trapped! I’m not losing thirty million dollars because of your obsession with control!
The ripped halves of the prenuptial agreement fluttered onto the parquet floor, scattering around Victoria’s high heels.
Julian: Elena, look at me. It’s gone. I destroyed the agreement. It never happened.
Elena: It did happen, Julian. You sat there for twenty minutes and let your mother threaten my unborn baby with homelessness.
Julian: I was just panicked! I didn’t know Dad had written that codicil! You know I love you more than anything!
Elena: You don't love me, Julian. You love your trust fund, your luxury sports cars, and your mother’s validation.
Elena reached down to her left hand and slowly slid the four-carat diamond ring off her finger.
Julian: No, Elena, please don’t take the ring off. Put it back on! We have six hundred prominent guests arriving tomorrow morning!
Elena: Then you can tell them the truth about why the wedding is off.
Elena placed the diamond ring down in the center of the torn agreement papers on the table.
Victoria: Julian, let her leave! She has no right to insult this family under our own roof!
Elena: Insult your family? Victoria, you committed federal tax fraud to cover your private debts. You insulted your own name years ago.
Victoria: If you try to walk out of this building with those audit files, my security staff will seize your belongings before you reach the front entrance!
Elena: Tell them to try it, Victoria. The local police chief and three federal investigators are waiting in an unmarked vehicle right outside your gates.
Victoria’s hand went to her throat, her face draining of color as she stared at Elena in disbelief.
Victoria: You brought federal agents to our rehearsal dinner?
Elena: Arthur told me never to meet with either of you without proper legal protection.
Julian: Elena, please... what about our baby? What about my child?
Elena: This baby is going to grow up with a mother who loves them, not a family that views them as an asset on a balance sheet.