Victoria: It's not what you think, Father! Richard handled all those old accounts! I just inherited the paperwork!
Arthur: You paid monthly hush money to a suffering woman while she lived in poverty?!
Victoria: She was a threat to our family's reputation! If the media found out a Sterling was living in a run-down apartment working as a seamstress, our stock prices would have plummeted!
Elena: She didn't want your stock prices, Mrs. Sterling. She just wanted her brother!
Arthur: You monsters... you and my late son stole thirty-five years of my sister's life from me!
Victoria: We protected this family's wealth, Father! You are too soft! You would have given Rose half the company and ruined our standing in high society!
Arthur: High society? You slapped a young woman in front of fifty guests over a silver clutch! Is that your high society?!
Suddenly, a tall man in a navy suit stepped into the study, holding a thick leather briefcase.
Lawyer: Mr. Sterling, I came as fast as I could. Is everything alright?
Arthur: No, Charles. Everything in this house is rotten to the core. But we are fixing it tonight.
Victoria: Charles, tell my father he cannot make any changes to the family trust without my signature as corporate trustee!
Lawyer: Actually, Victoria, as long as Mr. Sterling is of sound mind, he holds one hundred percent voting power over the primary trust fund.
Victoria: He is not of sound mind! He's being manipulated by a maid holding a fake photograph!
Arthur: Charles, pull up the master deed for the Sterling estate and the corporate holdings.
Lawyer: Right here on my tablet, sir.
Arthur: I want a full audit of every transaction made from the Sterling primary account to any offshore holdings over the last fifteen years.
Victoria: You can't audit my personal accounts!
Arthur: They aren't your accounts, Victoria! They belong to the trust! And if I find one cent paid to keep my sister quiet, I will press criminal fraud charges against you before sunrise!
Elena stood up from the leather armchair, her hands still trembling slightly.
Elena: Uncle Arthur... I didn't come here to ruin anyone's life. I just wanted to bring my mother's photo back home where it belonged.
Arthur: You didn't ruin anything, my sweet girl. The rot was already here. You just turned on the light.
Victoria: Father, please! Think about your grandchildren! Think about our family name!
Arthur: My family name was dragged through the mud the moment you decided money was worth more than human decency.
Arthur turned to his lawyer, his voice steady and cold.
Arthur: Charles, draft an immediate amendment to my will. Remove Victoria Sterling as trustee and beneficiary completely.
Victoria: What?! You're cutting me out?!
Arthur: Everything that was set to go to my late son Richard will now be placed into a irrevocable trust solely managed by Elena Vance.
Victoria: You can't leave fifty million dollars to a servant!
Arthur: She is Rose's blood, Victoria. She is more of a Sterling than you will ever be.
Victoria gasped, staggering backward until her back hit the bookshelf. Her face turned bright red, tears of rage smearing her dark eye makeup.
Victoria: I will sue you for this! I will hire the best lawyers in the country and prove you are mentally incompetent!
Arthur: Try it, Victoria. My legal team will publish every single hush-money check you signed to keep Rose hidden. Let's see what your high-society friends think of that in the morning news.