Julian backed away until his spine bumped against the edge of the tall marble pillar.
He looked around the massive hall and noticed that four heavy security guards stood ready.
None of the guards moved to help him when he pointed toward the locked front doors.
Julian: I am paying your salaries, so open those doors right now!
Guard Leader: Our contracts belong to the estate owner, Mr. Vance, not to you.
Julian: I have the signed transfer papers inside my leather briefcase upstairs!
Clara: You mean the briefcase that my father's legal team reviewed an hour ago?
She reached into her small clutch purse and pulled out a clean white envelope.
She opened the paper and held up a photocopy of a bank transfer statement.
Clara: You transferred three million dollars from the charity fund into an offshore account.
Julian: That money was earmarked for corporate investments in foreign real estate markets.
Clara: The account belongs to a shell company registered under your brother's name.
The guests began talking loudly among themselves as anger spread through the room.
Investor 1: We trusted you with our family investments for over two years, Julian!
Investor 2: You told us Arthur was too sick to manage his own bank accounts!
Julian: Listen to me, everyone, this family is setting me up to take the blame!
Clara: You ruined my family's name and tried to destroy our lifelong business.
Julian: Your father was weak and this company was going broke before I stepped in!
Clara: My father built this company with honesty, something you know nothing about.
Julian reached into his pocket and pulled out a small set of silver keys.
He sprinted toward the private elevator hidden behind the grand silk curtains.
He pressed the call button repeatedly, but the digital display screen remained dark.
Arthur: Power to the elevators was cut the moment the main doors slammed shut.
Julian turned around with a look of pure desperation on his sweaty face.
Julian: You cannot do this to me in front of all these prominent people!
Clara: You chose to humiliate my family in public, so you suffer in public.
Julian: I will sue you for illegal confinement the second I get out of here!
Clara: You will not be seeing a courtroom as a plaintiff, Julian.
Julian: What is that supposed to mean, Clara?
Clara: You will be sitting in the defense chair facing twenty years of federal prison.
She walked closer to him, her shoes tapping steadily on the polished white stone.
Julian pressed his back hard against the elevator doors with nowhere left to run.
Julian: I made this company famous across the entire country with my marketing strategy!
Clara: You made yourself famous by stealing the hard work of honest people.
Julian: Give me the master key and we can settle this matter in private upstairs.
Clara: There will be no private deals made in dark rooms ever again.