Mark: Claire! Are you okay? Talk to me!
Claire: My baby... Mark, the baby!
Mark: I've got you. You're safe on solid ground now. Just breathe.
Mark pulled his trembling wife against his chest, his eyes fixed on the massive gaping hole in the center of their living room floor. Shards of safety glass still fell into the indoor garden below, ringing against the stone boulders.
Evelyn: You ruin everything, Mark. Look at what you've done to my villa.
Mark stood up slowly, stepping directly between his mother and his crying wife. His face was pale with controlled fury.
Mark: Are you out of your mind, Mother?
Evelyn: Don't you dare raise your voice at me in my own home!
Mark: You almost killed her! You almost killed your own unborn grandchild!
Evelyn: That child is not a Sterling heir! She made up the whole thing to secure her place in the family estate!
Claire: That's not true! I have the doctor's reports in my bag!
Evelyn: Silence, girl! I know your kind. You saw my son's name on the trust fund and decided to trap him.
Mark: I married Claire because I love her, Mother! Not because of a trust fund!
Evelyn: You married her because you are naive, Mark. Just like your father was before I saved him from his own foolish mistakes.
Maria crouched beside Claire, wrapping a warm blanket over her shaking shoulders.
Maria: Take slow breaths, Claire. The ambulance is on its way.
Claire: Thank you, Maria. If you hadn't brought that strap...
Maria: Don't think about that now. Just keep your eyes on Mark.
Evelyn: Maria, take your things and leave this property immediately. You are officially terminated without severance.
Mark: Maria stays right where she is! You don't have the authority to fire anyone in this house anymore!
Evelyn: I am the head of the Sterling family business, Mark! I own this villa, I own your company, and I own every cent you spend!
Mark: Then you can take your money and get out of our lives!
Evelyn gasped, clutching her cane tight against her navy suit.
Evelyn: You would throw away your entire inheritance for a waitress?
Mark: She is my wife. And you just assaulted her with a weapon.
Evelyn: I struck the floor, Mark! The glass was defective!
Claire: You slapped my face first! You shoved me onto the glass knowing it was already weakened!
Evelyn: Nobody will ever believe a word that comes out of your mouth, darling. It's your word against mine, and I have the best lawyers in the city on retainer.
Mark: We don't need your permission, Mother. The security cameras in this room record everything directly to the cloud.
Evelyn's eyes flicked upward toward the small black dome mounted in the corner of the high ceiling.
Evelyn: Those cameras are for security against intruders!
Mark: And today, they recorded a criminal assault on my pregnant wife. I'm calling the police right now.
Evelyn: You wouldn't dare put your own mother in handcuffs, Mark!
Mark: Watch me.
Claire clutched her stomach as a sharp cramp shot through her lower abdomen, causing her to gasp in pain.
Claire: Mark! Something's wrong!
Mark: Claire! Maria, help me get her to the couch!
Evelyn watched coldly as her son lifted Claire into his arms, completely ignoring her presence as he rushed toward the solid wing of the house.
Evelyn: You're making a massive mistake, Mark! If you call the cops, I will cut you off from the family fortune completely by sunset!
Mark: Keep the money, Mother. It's poison anyway.