Victoria: Ethan! You struck me in front of the help!
Ethan: You poured freezing water over an infant in diapers!
Victoria: It was an accident! The pitcher slipped while I was carrying water to the dining room!
Clara: She held that glass pitcher two inches above his face, Mr. Sterling!
Victoria: Shut your mouth, maid! You shoved me onto the floor!
Clara: I shoved you to keep you from freezing a defenseless baby to death!
Ethan dropped to his knees beside Clara, his hands trembling as he reached for his son.
Ethan: Give him to me, Clara. Let me hold him.
Clara: Be gentle with his ribs, sir. His skin is ice-cold and turning pale blue.
Ethan pulled off his dark navy suit jacket, wrapping the thick wool tightly around Toby's shivering chest.
Ethan: Toby, look at Daddy. Open your eyes, buddy. Daddy has you.
Toby let out a ragged, trembling wail, burying his wet face into Ethan's neck.
Victoria: Ethan, look at my cheek! Look at the red mark you left on my skin!
Ethan: You are fortunate that is all I did, Victoria!
Victoria: I am your legal fiancee! We are announcing our marriage date at the country club tomorrow!
Ethan: There is no marriage, Victoria. There is no wedding at all.
Victoria pushed herself up onto her elbows, her royal blue satin gown soaked with melting ice.
Victoria: You cannot cancel our wedding! We have five hundred high-society guests arriving!
Ethan: Tell your guests to stay home, because you will be sitting in a jail cell.
Victoria: On what possible criminal charge?! You have zero proof of anything that happened!
Clara: I saw every second of it, Victoria! I heard you tell him he didn't belong here!
Victoria: A judge will never take the word of a cleaning lady over a Vance family member!
Ethan: Clara has worked for my family for seven years, Victoria. She doesn't lie to me.
Victoria: She wants to tear us apart because she knows I will run this household with real discipline!
Ethan: You call torturing a seven-month-old baby discipline?!
Victoria: He was screaming for three hours straight, Ethan! I have a severe migraine!
Ethan: He is a baby, Victoria! Babies cry when they need care!
Victoria: I tried to soothe him! I brought him a cool drink to calm his nerves!
Clara: Look at his legs, Mr. Sterling. Unbutton his onesie and look at his thighs.
Ethan pulled back the damp cloth, his breath catching in his throat as raw fury tightened his chest.
Three deep purple bruises were dug into Toby's tender skin where adult fingernails had gouged him.
Ethan: Did you pinch my child, Victoria?
Victoria: He was kicking his feet while I tried to adjust his blanket! He bruised himself!
Ethan: Babies do not leave adult fingernail gouges on their own legs!
Victoria: You're blaming me for everything! What about the stress I have been under moving into this house?
Ethan: You moved into this house because your father's shipping firm was drowning in fifty million dollars of debt.
Victoria froze on the floor, the royal blue satin rustling as her mouth fell open.
Victoria: What did you just say?!
Ethan: You heard me, Victoria. The forensic audit from Vance Maritime landed on my desk at dawn.
Victoria: That audit was supposed to remain private between our corporate tax attorneys!
Ethan: It stopped being private when federal marshals raided your father's downtown office thirty minutes ago.
Victoria gasped, her hand flying to her throat as all the color drained from her face.
Victoria: Federal marshals...?! You are lying to scare me!
Ethan: Unlock your phone on the console table, Victoria. See how many calls you missed from your defense lawyers.
Victoria scrambled forward on her hands and knees, snatching her gold smartphone with shaking fingers.
Her screen lit up with forty-eight missed calls, urgent text alerts, and breaking news banners from the local press.
Victoria: 'Vance Maritime raided by federal task force... Chairman Arthur Vance detained on wire fraud charges'...
Ethan: Your entire house of cards collapsed before lunch, Victoria.
Victoria: No... No! Everything my father built! My trust fund! My penthouse in Austin!
Ethan: Every asset linked to your social security number was seized under federal forfeiture orders.
Victoria dropped the phone onto the floor, the screen cracking against the stone as sirens rose in the distance.