Julian: Your... your daughter?
Emma: Don't you dare touch her again!
Julian: What is a maid's child doing sitting at my private family dinner table?!
Emma stood up abruptly, placing her body directly between Julian and the weeping girl.
The sound of the slap cracked through the dining room. Julian's head snapped to the side as Emma's palm landed hard across his jaw.
Julian: Ah!
Emma: You monster! How dare you lay a hand on an eight-year-old girl!
Julian stumbled back against the mahogany table, holding his bright red cheek. His eyes went wide in absolute shock and disbelief.
Julian: You... you hit me? You're a servant in my house!
Emma: I don't care if you own the whole city, Julian!
Julian took a deep breath, staring closely at the little girl who was hiding behind Emma's apron. He noticed the soft brown curls, the shape of her jaw, and the deep blue eyes that mirrored his own.
Julian: Wait... is she OUR daughter?!
Emma: Now you notice? After nine years?
Julian: Nine years... Emma, you vanished nine years ago without a word!
Emma: I didn't vanish! Your arrogant mother paid off the security team and threw me out on the street the night I told her I was pregnant!
The dinner guests gasped, turning their heads to look at Julian's mother, Victoria, who sat at the head of the table sipping her wine.
Victoria: Julian, don't listen to this liar! She was a nobody back then, and she's a nobody now!
Emma: I worked three cleaning jobs a day just to pay for her shoes, Julian!
Lily: Mommy... my cheek hurts real bad.
Emma: I know, sweetie. Mommy's got you. Stand right behind me.
Julian took a step forward, his voice trembling as he looked at the little girl.
Julian: Is... is her name Lily?
Emma: Yes. Her name is Lily. The daughter you just shoved onto a cold floor like trash.
Julian: I didn't know, Emma! I swear I didn't know she was mine!
Emma: That doesn't give you the right to strike a child! You haven't changed at all!
Victoria: Julian, call security right now! Have this girl and her brat removed from our estate!
Julian: Shut up, Mother!
Victoria gasped, dropping her crystal glass onto the white tablecloth.
Victoria: How dare you speak to me like that!
Julian: Did you fire Emma nine years ago while I was overseas at business school?
Victoria: She was a distraction! She was a low-class girl trying to trap my heir with a pregnancy!
Julian: She was the woman I loved!
Emma let out a cold, bitter laugh, wiping the tears from her face.
Emma: Loved? You didn't love me, Julian. You loved your family's money and your precious trust fund.
Julian: I looked for you for two years, Emma!
Emma: Your mother told me you knew about the baby and didn't care. She handed me five thousand dollars and told me to get an abortion or end up in prison!
Julian: She told you what?!
Julian turned toward his mother, his face turning pale with sudden realization.