Victoria: You... you hit me! You filthy little servant actually struck me!
Claire: I should have done that the second you tried to ruin my life tonight!
Victoria: Julian! Are you going to stand there and let this woman assault your fiancee?! Call the police right now!
Julian: Shut up, Victoria.
Victoria gasped, her hand still pressed against her burning cheek. She looked at Julian, her red hair wild around her shoulders.
Victoria: What did you just say to me?
Julian: I said shut up!
Julian's voice cracked with raw emotion. He held the smartwatch closer to his eyes, his body shaking as he replayed the video clip.
Julian: I watched the video, Victoria. I watched the whole thing.
Victoria: That video is a fake! She must have edited it! You know how easy it is to alter footage these days!
Claire: It's a live feed from the mansion's secondary security server, Victoria! You can't edit a live stream!
Julian: You stood at the corner bar near the staircase. You pulled a small glass vial out of your clutch purse. And you poured it straight into my glass.
Victoria: Julian, no! It was medicine! You told me earlier you had a headache!
Julian: I never told you I had a headache, Victoria. I haven't spoken to you alone all evening!
Claire took a step closer to Julian, her voice steady despite the tears on her face.
Claire: Look at the screen again, Mr. Vance. Watch who walked up to her right after she put the vial back in her purse.
Julian tapped the screen with his thumb. The timestamp on the video moved forward by five seconds.
Julian: Is that... is that my uncle Arthur?
Claire: Yes. Arthur handed her that specific crystal glass two minutes before she walked into the bar area.
Victoria: Arthur was just asking me about the catering menu! This is insane! You're letting a bitter waitress destroy our wedding engagement!
Claire: I'm not a bitter waitress, Victoria. I'm the person who caught Arthur taking five thousand dollars out of the estate safe two hours ago!
Julian raised his head, his face pale, his eyes wide with shock as he looked at Claire.
Julian: You saw Arthur at the safe?
Claire: I was restocking the linens in the study. Arthur came in with Victoria. They didn't see me behind the privacy screen.
Victoria: She's lying! She's making up stories to cover up her own theft!
Claire: That's why you scratched my face, isn't it, Victoria?! Because I tried to stop you from taking the ledger!
Claire pointed to the deep red mark near her hairline. Victoria backed away, her heel catching on the hardwood floor.
Victoria: I didn't touch you! You fell down the stairs earlier!
Claire: I didn't fall. You shoved me against the wall in the pantry when I told you I was going to tell Julian the truth!
Julian: Victoria... why was Arthur at my estate safe?
Victoria: I don't know! I have nothing to do with Arthur's business dealings!
Julian: You've been meeting him privately for three weeks, haven't you?
Julian's voice was deathly quiet now. The anger in his eyes had turned into a cold, terrifying calm.
Victoria: Julian, darling, listen to me... I love you. Why would I ever want to hurt you?
Julian: Because if I die before our wedding, my entire life insurance policy and estate trust revert directly to Arthur as my primary executor.
Victoria's mouth opened, but no sound came out. She took another step back toward the ballroom entrance, but two large security guards stepped out from the hallway shadows, blocking her exit.