While Sarah and Lily were holding each other near the service hallway, the heavy rain outside began to slam against the ballroom's massive glass windows.
Outside near the valet curb, Victoria was screaming at her fiancé in the downpour, her mauve silk dress ruined and soaked with muddy water.
Victoria: Do something, Julian! Call your father! Call the police!
Julian: I told you to shut up, Victoria! My father just blocked my calls!
Victoria: Why would he block your calls?! You're his only heir!
Julian: Because David Sterling just pulled forty million dollars in credit lines from our family firm! We're bankrupt, Victoria! Do you understand plain English?! We have nothing!
Victoria stumbled back against the wet concrete pillar, her hands shaking uncontrollably.
Victoria: Bankrupt...? But... my apartment lease is under your company's name!
Julian: They're seizing the apartment tomorrow morning! The cars, the country club membership, everything is gone!
Victoria: You lied to me! You told me you were invincible!
Julian: I WAS invincible until you decided to pick a fight with a helpless kid in front of the most powerful man in the state!
Victoria: How was I supposed to know he cared about a stupid florist's daughter?!
A black luxury sedan pulled up to the curb. The window rolled down slowly, revealing David Sterling's chief legal counsel, Thomas Vance.
Thomas: Mr. Vance. Miss Montgomery.
Julian: Thomas! Please, tell me Mr. Sterling is willing to negotiate!
Thomas: Mr. Sterling does not negotiate with people who commit fraud and public harassment.
Thomas slid a thick white envelope through the open window, dropping it onto the wet pavement at Julian's feet.
Julian: What is this?
Thomas: That is the official notice of foreclosure for your estate, along with a civil lawsuit for emotional distress filed on behalf of Sarah and Lily Jenkins.
Victoria: A lawsuit?! From a florist?! She doesn't have money for a lawyer!
Thomas: The Sterling Legal Group is representing them pro bono, Miss Montgomery. We are seeking five million dollars in damages for slander, harassment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Victoria's eyes rolled back slightly, and she almost fainted onto the wet asphalt.
Julian: Five million dollars?! We don't have five million dollars!
Thomas: Then the court will liquidate your remaining personal assets, including your jewelry, your art collection, and your trust fund accounts.
Julian: Thomas, please! I've known you for ten years! Talk to David for me!
Thomas: I gave you advice three months ago, Julian. I told you to curb your fiancée's arrogance before she dragged you into a ditch. You didn't listen.
The tinted window rolled back up smoothly, and the sedan pulled away into the night, splashing dirty water all over Victoria's expensive designer shoes.
Julian fell to his knees on the wet ground, staring at the legal papers lying in the puddle, his head buried in his hands as he let out a pathetic sob.
Victoria looked down at him with pure disgust, taking a step away from her ruined fiancé.
Victoria: You're pathetic, Julian. Absolutely pathetic.
Julian: Get away from me, Victoria. Don't ever speak to me again.
She turned on her heels and tried to walk away toward the street, but the heel of her designer shoe snapped in a sidewalk grate, sending her tumbling headfirst into a dirty puddle on the side of the road.