Arthur: Maya, can you sit down on the couch for a second while I deal with this?
Maya: Yes, Dad. Just please don't leave us alone with her.
Arthur: She isn't going anywhere near you ever again.
Arthur carried Noah over to the soft leather sofa, placing him gently beside Maya before turning back to Victoria, who was still cowering on the floor near the stairs[cite: 1].
Arthur: Get up. Stand up right now.
Victoria: Arthur, my cheek is swollen! You assault me and then demand—
Arthur: Walk upstairs to your bedroom safe and open it. If you don't open it in ten seconds, I'm calling the Chief of Police directly on my cell phone.
Victoria scrambled to her feet, her red sequin dress rustling loudly as she hurried up the grand white staircase with Arthur following closely behind her[cite: 1]. They walked into the master suite, where a heavy steel electronic safe was built into the closet wall.
Arthur: Punch in the code. Now.
Victoria’s hands shook uncontrollably as she typed in the six-digit combination. The electronic lock beeped twice, and the heavy door swung open.
Inside sat Maya’s prescription medicine bottles, her missing smartphone, and her school laptop[cite: 1]. But right beside them sat a thick manila folder labeled with the logo of a prominent offshore banking firm.
Arthur: What is that folder doing in your safe?
Victoria: That's... that's just my personal financial records! You have no right to look through that!
Arthur shoved her hand aside and snatched the thick folder from the safe shelf, flipping it open to read the documents inside.
Arthur: Documents for a trust fund liquidation? You were trying to transfer Maya and Noah's inheritance into a shell company in the Cayman Islands?!
Victoria: It was an investment strategy! I was trying to secure higher interest rates for their future!
Arthur: You forged my signature on three separate bank authorization letters! You were planning on draining my children's trust fund and fleeing the country!
Victoria: Arthur, listen to me! Your late wife left too much money to those kids! You were giving them everything while treating me like a trophy!
Arthur: You married me for my money, you abused my injured child, and you attempted to steal millions from a motherless girl and a baby!
Arthur grabbed Maya’s phone, laptop, and medicine bottles from the safe, holding the fraudulent financial folder tightly under his arm.
Arthur: Walk back downstairs. Right now.
Victoria: Arthur, please! We can work this out! Don't destroy my life over a mistake!
Arthur: You destroyed your own life the second you laid a hand on my daughter.