Marcus: Can you stand up, Clara? We need to get you out of the cold.
Clara: My knees are shaking too much. Give me a second.
Marcus: Here, lean on me. Take it slow.
Marcus wrapped his arm firmly around Clara's waist, lifting her up off the snow-covered balcony floor.
Elena: The living room fireplace is burning. I brought some warm blankets.
Marcus: Put the heavy bar across the oak door, Elena. Nobody steps foot in this house tonight.
Elena: Was it Richard? Did Richard come back to the estate?
Clara: I didn't see his face... but he wore black leather gloves. The same ones Richard bought last week.
Marcus: That cowardly snake wouldn't come out here himself. He hired one of his security thugs to do it.
They stepped inside the warm, wood-paneled living room, the heavy oak door slamming shut behind them.
Elena wrapped a thick wool blanket around Clara's shivering shoulders and handed her a mug of hot tea.
Elena: Drink this, Clara. Your lips are practically blue.
Clara: Thank you, Elena. I still can't stop shaking.
Marcus: Tell me everything that happened before I ran out to the balcony.
Clara: I was standing in the study looking for my mother's will. I heard a noise behind the curtain.
Marcus: Did you call out to them?
Clara: I thought it was you, Marcus! I said your name, but nobody answered.
Elena: And then what happened?
Clara: Someone grabbed my veil from behind and shoved me through the French doors toward the ledge.
Marcus: Damn it! He knew the lock on those doors was broken.
Clara: I tried to grab the railing, but the ice was too slippery. If you hadn't come out when you did...
Marcus: Don't think about that. You're here. You're safe.
Elena: Marcus, we need to call the sheriff right now. This is attempted murder!
Marcus: Sheriff Miller is in Richard's pocket, Elena. You know that as well as I do.
Elena: So what are we supposed to do? Sit here like sitting ducks until Richard sends another man?
Marcus: No. We take what we came for and we leave for the city before sunrise.
Clara: Did you find the documents in the floor safe, Marcus?
Marcus pulled a thick manila envelope from inside his leather jacket, tossing it onto the coffee table.
Marcus: The original trust fund papers, the property deed to this estate, and the life insurance policy.
Elena: Is Richard's name on any of them?
Marcus: Not a single line. Your stepfather forged the entire inheritance structure after your mother died.
Clara: He stole twenty million dollars from my family... and now he's trying to kill me to cover it up.
Marcus: He won't get another chance, Clara. I swear it on my life.
Suddenly, the glass in the front window shattered with a loud crack, showering the carpet with ice and glass fragments.
Elena: Ahhh! They're inside the courtyard!
Marcus: Get behind the sofa! Right now!
A heavy boot kicked the front door, making the iron hinges groan against the wooden frame.
Richard: Open the door, Clara! Let's settle this like family!
Marcus: You aren't family, Richard! You're a trespasser on private property!
Richard: The court gave me control of this house yesterday! You have ten seconds to step out with those papers!
Clara squeezed her eyes shut, holding Marcus's hand tightly as the door rattled again.
Clara: He won't stop until he gets those documents back, Marcus.
Marcus: Then we give him something else instead.