Victoria: You hit me, Marcus! You laid hands on an heiress in front of the servants!
Marcus: You are fortunate that is all I did, Victoria!
Victoria: That maid is lying to save herself! She dropped a hot tea kettle on the floor!
Rosa: The grill spatula is lying right beside her feet, Mr. Sterling!
Marcus knelt beside Rosa, gently taking the shrieking infant into his arms.
Marcus: Let Daddy hold you, Toby. I've got you, my sweet boy.
He inspected the child's heel, his hands trembling as he saw the raised white blister and raw red tissue.
Marcus: God in heaven... He is only seven months old!
Victoria: It was a total household accident, Marcus! The child crawled into the kitchen path!
Rosa: Toby was in the center of the foyer, sir! She carried that spatula inside from the patio terrace on purpose!
Victoria: Shut your mouth, servant! You are fired from this estate!
Marcus: Rosa isn't going anywhere, Victoria. But you are leaving in chains.
Blood dripped steadily from Rosa's temple, staining the white lace of her collar.
Marcus: Rosa, take a clean towel from the table and press it against your head.
Rosa: I am fine, sir. Just protect the baby from that wicked woman.
Victoria: Marcus, listen to reason! We have five hundred guests arriving for our wedding gala on Saturday!
Marcus: There is no wedding gala, Victoria. The wedding is canceled forever.
Victoria pushed herself up from the marble floor, clutching her burning cheek as her royal blue gown rustled.
Victoria: You cannot cancel our wedding! We signed our prenuptial agreement on Friday!
Marcus: That prenuptial agreement was never ratified by the probate court, Victoria.
Victoria: My corporate lawyers filed the contract with the county clerk this morning!
Marcus: Your corporate lawyers were stopped in the courthouse parking lot by federal marshals.
Victoria's arrogant sneer began to falter, her eyes darting toward the open front entrance.
Victoria: Federal marshals...? Why would federal marshals care about a family prenuptial contract?!
Marcus: Because your father used our pending marriage to secure twenty million dollars in fraudulent bank credit.
Victoria: That was a legitimate bridge loan to fund our Gulf Coast shipping terminals!
Marcus: Vance Maritime doesn't own any shipping terminals, Victoria.
Victoria: What are you talking about?! We run sixty cargo freighters out of Houston!
Marcus: Your father sold those freighters three years ago to pay off illegal debts in Macau.
Victoria took a fast step back, her high heels clicking loudly against the polished marble.
Victoria: That is slander! My father is a senior member of the Dallas commerce commission!
Marcus: Your father was arrested at his private hangar forty minutes ago, Victoria.
The grandfather clock in the corner chimed once, filling the sudden, heavy silence of the foyer.
Victoria: Arrested...?! You're bluffing! You're making up wild stories to break our engagement!
Marcus: Look at your smartphone sitting on the console table, Victoria.
Victoria lunged for her gold phone, her hands shaking violently as she tapped the screen.
Her display lit up with forty-eight missed calls and breaking news alerts from the Dallas Morning News.
Victoria: 'Vance Maritime raided by federal task force... Chairman Arthur Vance detained on wire fraud charges'...
Marcus: The Department of Justice unsealed the indictment at noon today.
Victoria dropped the phone onto the floor, the screen cracking against the marble.
Victoria: Arthur promised me our offshore funds were completely untouchable!
Marcus: Your father lied to you, just like you lied to me about loving my child.
Toby buried his tear-stained face into Marcus's suit jacket, his small body shuddering with quiet whimpers.
Marcus: Rosa, take Toby into the nursery. Put a cool compress on his heel and call Dr. Reynolds immediately.
Rosa: Right away, Mr. Sterling. Come with Nana, precious angel.
Rosa took the infant carefully, keeping a sterile cloth over his heel as she hurried down the hall.
Marcus turned his lethal gaze back onto Victoria, pulling a thick manila folder from his briefcase.
Marcus: Now, Victoria... Let us talk about why you took a hot spatula to my son's foot today.