Victoria: You grabbed my neck, Marcus! You put your hands on me in front of hired help!
Marcus: You threw an infant into the deep end of a swimming pool, Victoria!
Victoria: I told you, my heel slipped on the wet pool coping!
Elena: She didn't slip at all, Mr. Sterling! She shouted at him and let go!
Victoria: Shut your mouth, servant! You are a common maid who cleans toilets for minimum wage!
Marcus: Do not speak to Elena like that in my presence, Victoria!
Victoria: Look at my dress! Look at my bruised cheek! You slapped your lawful fiancee!
Marcus: There is no wedding, Victoria. The wedding is canceled forever.
Victoria: You cannot cancel our wedding! We have five hundred high-society guests arriving on Saturday!
Marcus: Tell every single one of them to stay home, because you will be in a jail cell.
Elena wrapped Toby in a dry lounge towel, rocking him back and forth on the stone bench.
Elena: His little chest is cold, Mr. Sterling. He swallowed pool water.
Marcus: Hand him to me, Elena. Let Daddy hold him.
Marcus took his shivering boy into his arms, wrapping his dark suit coat over the damp towel.
Marcus: Breathe, Toby. Daddy has you, buddy. Keep crying so I know you're breathing.
Toby let out a loud, shuddering wail, his wet face pressed deep into Marcus's collar.
Victoria: Marcus, listen to reason! Why would I intentionally throw my future stepson into a pool?
Marcus: Because you wanted him gone before our marriage certificate was finalized.
Victoria: That is an insane accusation! I love this family! I gave up my life in New York for you!
Marcus: You gave up nothing, Victoria. Your New York boutique went bankrupt two years ago.
Victoria's hands froze against the wet flagstones, her eyes widening in sudden panic.
Victoria: Who told you about my boutique?
Marcus: The forensic auditors I hired three weeks ago, Victoria.
Victoria: You hired private auditors to spy on my personal finances?!
Marcus: When fifty million dollars of corporate escrow vanished from our accounts, I started asking questions.
Victoria: That money was an authorized loan for our joint maritime fuel expansion!
Marcus: Vance Maritime doesn't have any fuel expansion, Victoria.
Victoria: What are you talking about?! My father runs forty cargo vessels out of Galveston!
Marcus: Your father sold those cargo vessels three years ago to pay off illegal debts in Macau.
Victoria staggered to her feet, her blue sequin dress dripping water onto the patio tiles.
Victoria: That is slander! My father is a respected commissioner on the Dallas commerce board!
Marcus: Your father was arrested at his private hangar forty minutes ago by federal marshals.
The quiet afternoon air hung heavy over the pool, broken only by the boy's quiet whimpers.
Victoria: Arrested...?! You're lying! You're making up wild stories to break our engagement!
Marcus: Look at your phone sitting on the patio table, Victoria.
Victoria lunged for her gold smartphone, her hands shaking violently as she tapped the glass.
Her display lit up with forty-eight missed calls, urgent text messages, and breaking news banners from the local press.
Victoria: 'Vance Maritime raided by federal task force... Chairman Arthur Vance detained on wire fraud charges'...
Marcus: Your father took a plea bargain at ten o'clock this morning, Victoria.
Victoria: A plea bargain?! Arthur would never plead guilty without consulting our family lawyers!
Marcus: He traded you to federal prosecutors to save himself from life imprisonment.
Victoria dropped the phone onto the stone pavers, the glass cracking with a sharp pop.
Victoria: No... No! Everything we built! My trust fund! My luxury penthouse in Austin!
Marcus: Every asset linked to your social security number was seized under federal forfeiture orders.
Elena: Take Toby into the nursery, Mr. Sterling. The wind is picking up, and his lips are blue.
Marcus: Call Dr. Reynolds on his private cell, Elena. Tell him to meet us inside the house immediately.
Marcus turned his icy glare back onto Victoria, pulling a thick manila folder from his inner pocket.
Marcus: Now, Victoria... Let us talk about why you threw my son into eight feet of water today.