Evelyn: Arthur, please let go of my arm!
Arthur released her wrist, stepping back beside Chloe. He folded his arms across his suit jacket, his expression completely devoid of warmth.
Arthur: Speak. Right now.
Evelyn: My brother Marcus was in severe trouble... real trouble, Arthur.
Chloe: So you stole from my grandfather's medical fund to save a degenerate gambler?
Evelyn: Shut up, Chloe! You don't know what those dangerous people were threatening to do to him!
Arthur: How much did you take, Evelyn?
Evelyn: It was... it was just a temporary loan.
Arthur: I asked you a direct question! How much did you drain from the trust?
Evelyn: Two point four million dollars.
Chloe gasped, putting her hand over her mouth as she looked at her father.
Chloe: Dad... that was the entire scholarship fund Grandpa set up for the hospital.
Arthur: Two point four million... that was my mother's life work, Evelyn.
Evelyn: Marcus promised he would pay every single dollar back by the end of the month!
Arthur: Marcus hasn't had a job in six years! Where is he getting two million dollars?
Evelyn: He had a business deal closing in Miami! A real estate development project!
Chloe: Dad, Marcus filed for personal bankruptcy two weeks ago. I looked up the county records yesterday.
Evelyn stared at Chloe with absolute hatred in her eyes, her teeth grinding together.
Evelyn: You've been digging into my personal life behind my back this whole time!
Chloe: I started digging the day I caught you taking Grandpa's gold watch out of his study!
Evelyn: That watch was left to me in his verbal wishes!
Chloe: Grandpa hated you, Evelyn! He told me a month before he died that you were only after his estate!
Arthur: Enough!
Arthur's voice boomed through the master bedroom, causing the crystal chandelier overhead to hum softly.
Arthur: Evelyn, where are the corporate stock certificates?
Evelyn: They're safe in the home vault downstairs.
Arthur: Open the vault.
Evelyn: Arthur... there's no need to go downstairs right now. Let's sit down and talk like adults.
Arthur: I said open the vault, Evelyn!
Arthur grabbed one of the leather briefcases he had brought into the room, setting it hard on the edge of the bed.
Chloe: Dad, what's in those briefcases?
Arthur: The complete audit report from our forensic accounting team in New York.
Evelyn took two steps backward, her legs hitting the edge of the vanity table.
Evelyn: You... you hired forensic accountants?
Arthur: They've been going through every single account, wire transfer, and property deed connected to this family for three weeks.
Chloe: You knew, Dad?
Arthur: I suspected something was wrong when your grandfather's medical bills went unpaid last month.
Evelyn: Arthur, I was going to replace that money! I swear to God I was!
Arthur: You didn't just steal the money, Evelyn. You forged my signature on a second mortgage against this very house.
Chloe: What?! She mortgaged our home?!
Evelyn: We needed liquid cash for Marcus! They were going to hurt him, Arthur!
Arthur: You put my daughter's roof at risk for a criminal brother who doesn't give a damn about you!
Evelyn: He's my blood family!
Arthur: And what were we, Evelyn? What was I to you?
Evelyn stood silent, her lips trembling as she failed to find a single word to answer him.