The heavy oak doors of the ballroom slammed open, and Eleanor Montgomery marched inside.
She was sixty years old, draped in expensive black silk and diamond jewelry, her face set in a cold, murderous glare.
Eleanor: Julian! What is the meaning of this outrage?!
She pointed a thin, manicured finger toward the hallway outside.
Eleanor: Evelyn Vance is crying in her limousine outside with a bloody lip! She says you assaulted her in front of fifty people!
Julian: She laid her hands on Victoria first, Eleanor.
Eleanor looked at Victoria sitting in the armchair, her eyes narrowing in pure disgust.
Eleanor: She is a servant! She is paid to take orders and keep her mouth shut!
Julian: Speak to her like that again, and you can pack your bags and leave this estate today.
Eleanor let out a sharp, mocking laugh that echoed through the empty room.
Eleanor: Leave my own house?! Are you out of your mind, boy? I am the matriarch of this family!
Julian: This house belonged to my father. And now it belongs to his heirs.
Eleanor: Exactly! To YOU! Not to some illegitimate bastard girl your father made in a motel room!
Victoria flinched at the harsh word, but Julian stood up smoothly, stepping between Eleanor and his half-sister.
Julian: Careful, Eleanor. Your legal status in this family is hanging by a very thin thread.
Eleanor: What are you talking about? I was your father's lawful wife for thirty years!
Julian: Yes. And for twenty of those years, you were secretly transferring funds from the company's charity account into a private Swiss bank account.
Eleanor's smug smile instantly vanished. Her face drained of all color.
Eleanor: That... that is a complete lie! Who told you such rubbish?!
Julian: My lawyer, Arthur Vance. He finished the forensic financial audit this morning.
Julian pulled a thick blue binder from the side table and tossed it onto the glass coffee table with a loud thud.
Julian: Twelve million dollars, Eleanor. Stolen directly from the estate's tax-exempt foundation.
Eleanor: Your father knew about those transfers! He authorized them!
Julian: Father didn't know anything because you forged his signature on every single wire transfer document!
Eleanor took a step back, her hands beginning to shake against her black silk skirt.
Eleanor: Julian... we are family. You can't do this to me.
Julian: Family? You treated Victoria like garbage for six months while she worked here as a maid!
Eleanor: I didn't know who she was!
Julian: You DID know! That's why you hired her as a maid instead of letting her get a real job! You wanted her miserable and under your thumb!
Victoria looked up at Eleanor, her eyes wide with fresh shock.
Victoria: You... you knew who I was when you hired me?
Eleanor: Shut your mouth, girl!
Julian: DON'T YOU DARE SHOUT AT HER!
Julian's voice boomed through the high ceiling, making Eleanor jump back in terror.
Julian: The police are already on their way, Eleanor. I handed the forensic audit directly to the district attorney an hour ago.
Eleanor: You reported your own stepmother to the police?! Have you lost your mind?! Think of the family name!
Julian: The family name was ruined the day my father let you control this house. Today, the cleanup begins.