Julian quickly walked back down the stairs to the main floor of the estate.
Mr. Davis, the family lawyer, hurried over to meet him near the white columns.
Mr. Davis: Are you and the baby okay, Julian? That looked terrifying!
Julian: We are safe, but she tried to physically snatch Clara from my arms!
Mr. Davis: That is unacceptable behavior, especially in front of dozens of legal witnesses.
Julian: Did you see the papers that fell from her silver folder just now?
Mr. Davis: I managed to pick up three of those pages from the floor.
Mr. Davis handed Julian three crumpled sheets of white paper with official blue stamps.
Julian looked at the top line of the document and gasped in complete disbelief.
It was an old codicil to his father's will that had been hidden for months.
Julian: This is my father's handwriting! Where did she find this document?
Mr. Davis: She must have hidden it in the study safe right after your father died.
Julian: What does it say about the estate trustee appointment, Mr. Davis?
Mr. Davis: It states that if Victoria remarries or attempts to change custody, she loses control.
Julian: She loses total control of the trust fund immediately upon that action!
Mr. Davis: Exactly. She was hiding this page so she could keep taking the money.
Julian felt a surge of hope and relief wash over his entire tired body.
The truth was right here in his hands, written clearly by his late father.
Victoria had been stealing monthly payments from the child's trust fund for almost a year.
She knew that if Julian ever found this hidden document, her easy life was over.
That was why she was trying so desperately to prove Julian was an unfit parent.
If Julian was deemed unfit, she could appoint a new legal guardian under her control.
Julian: She knew this document would destroy her entire financial scheme!
Mr. Davis: Yes, and now we have the original legal paper with your father's seal.
Julian: Is this enough to strip her of all power over the mansion?
Mr. Davis: It is more than enough to remove her as trustee right this second.
Julian looked across the room where Victoria was talking to several wealthy donors.
She was pretending to wipe away fake tears with a small white silk handkerchief.
She was telling the guests that Julian was mentally unwell and needed urgent help.
Julian felt a powerful wave of anger rise up inside his beating chest again.
He bounced baby Clara gently in his arms as she finally stopped crying completely.
Julian: It is time to end her lies in front of every single guest here.
Mr. Davis: Be careful, Julian. Do not let her provoke you into any violence.
Julian: I won't give her that satisfaction. I am going to expose her truth.
Julian held the legal papers firmly in his right hand and walked forward confidently.