Julian turned around, his chest heaving as he rushed back across the grand marble hall.
He dropped to his knees beside Lily, his hands shaking as he lifted her gently into his arms.
Julian: Lily! Oh God, Lily, look at me! Are you hurt, sweetie?
Lily: Daddy... my cheek hurts so bad... the lady threw water on Mr. Bear...
Julian: I know, baby. I saw it all. Daddy is right here. You're safe now.
He pulled a soft silk handkerchief from his suit pocket and wiped the cold water from her face.
A dark red handprint was already swelling across her pale, delicate cheek.
Victoria: JULIAN! HOW DARE YOU TOUCH ME LIKE THAT!
Victoria stood at the open front entrance, clutching her torn gold dress, her hair completely disheveled.
Victoria: You threw me out onto the steps in front of the gate guards!
Julian: If you take one more step inside this house, Victoria, I will break your legs myself.
Victoria: Are you insane?! She's a homeless street child who snuck past the front gates!
Julian: She didn't sneak anywhere! She lives here!
Victoria: What are you talking about?! Look at her dirty shoes!
Julian: She is my legal daughter, Victoria!
Victoria froze in the doorway, her eyes widening as the breath caught in her throat.
Victoria: Your... your daughter?
Julian: Yes, my daughter! Lily Vance! My late wife's only child!
Victoria: But... you never told me you had a daughter when we started dating!
Julian: Because I kept her at my mother's estate to protect her from greedy socialites like you!
Lily buried her small face into Julian's navy suit jacket, her shoulders shaking with quiet sobs.
Lily: Daddy, she kicked me... she told me security was going to throw me into the trash...
Julian: Nobody is throwing you away, Lily. Ever.
Julian stood up slowly, holding Lily securely against his chest while glaring at Victoria with cold eyes.
Julian: You came to my mansion today for a private dinner meeting to discuss our corporate merger.
Victoria: Julian, please! I had no idea she belonged to you!
Julian: So if she belonged to someone else, it would be fine to slap her and kick her on the floor?!
Victoria: No! I mean... she was standing near my designer clutch! I thought she was going to steal my diamond compact!
Lily: I wasn't stealing, Daddy... I just dropped my teddy bear near her chair...
Julian: I know, baby. You don't have to explain anything to this monster.
Victoria: Julian, listen to reason! Our families have a forty-million-dollar real estate contract signed for next week!
Julian: That contract is dead. Effective right now.
Victoria's face turned completely white as she stepped back into the foyer, her hands shaking in sheer panic.
Victoria: Dead?! You can't cancel a forty-million-dollar deal over a little discipline!
Julian: Discipline? You assaulted an six-year-old child in my foyer!
Victoria: My father is the primary trustee of the merger fund! If you pull out, your company will face a massive stock penalty!
Julian: I own eighty percent of Vance Enterprises, Victoria. I can afford a stock penalty. Can your father afford losing his primary investor?
Victoria swallowed hard, her arrogant posture crumbling into sheer terror.
Victoria: Julian... please! My father's firm is drowning in debt! We need this deal!
Julian: Then your father should have taught his daughter how to act like a human being instead of a wild animal.