Ethan: My wife wouldn't violently throw a six-year-old child onto a marble floor.
Clara: I slipped! It was an accident during a moment of high stress!
The woman in the maroon dress slowly turned toward him, holding her slapped cheek in panic.
A sudden musical shift signaled the complete collapse of Clara's fragile facade.
Ethan: An accident? You called her a brat and threatened her physical safety.
Clara: I lost my temper! Every stepmother reaches her breaking point eventually!
Ethan: You aren't her stepmother, Clara. You are a legal guardian appointed under false pretenses.
Clara: False pretenses? We signed legal guardianship papers approved by the county court!
Ethan: Papers that were filed using forged signatures from my late father's true estate attorney.
Nora gently wiped the tears from Mia's cheeks, stepping back to let the father handle the confrontation.
Mia: Daddy, can we make her go away?
Ethan: She is going away permanently, princess. Right now.
Clara's breathing turned shallow and rapid as she stared at the cold determination in Ethan's eyes.
Will Clara's desperate appeals save her social standing, or is her empire built on sand?
Clara: You can't throw me out like common trash! I own half of this mansion!