Eleanor: Stop touching that painting! That portrait cost fifty thousand dollars at an auction in London!
Mover: Ma'am, this item is listed on the inventory seizure form. Please step back.
Eleanor stood in the middle of the grand living room, her hands trembling as workers stripped the expensive artwork off the silk-covered walls. Boxes were stacked high in the hallway, and the luxurious estate was quickly being emptied of everything that gave it value.
Eleanor: Chloe! Please! Leave me my clothes and my grandmother's silver set!
Chloe: Your grandmother's silver set was bought with embezzled funds from my father's charity foundation last year, Eleanor.
Eleanor: I didn't know where the money came from! Oliver handled the accounts!
Chloe: Ignorance isn't a defense in court, Eleanor. You signed the tax returns right alongside him.
Two deputy sheriffs walked through the front doors, checking their watches as they approached the center of the room.
Deputy Smith: Mrs. Sterling? It's 5:58 PM. You have two minutes to step outside the gate.
Eleanor: Just give me another hour! I haven't even found my coat!
Deputy Smith: Ma'am, the property owner has instructed us to enforce the court order strictly at six o'clock. Grab your handbag and step outside.
Eleanor looked around the vast, echoing hallway that had once been the symbol of her social status. The crystal chandeliers were dark, the furniture was covered in plastic wrap, and the servants she had spent years belittling were standing near the kitchen door watching her downfall.
Eleanor: Thomas! Help me carry these suitcases to the street!
Butler Thomas: I'm sorry, Mrs. Sterling. My employment with your family ended at four o'clock. I now work directly for Miss Vance.
Eleanor: You ungrateful traitous servant! I paid your salary for ten years!
Butler Thomas: Miss Vance paid my back wages that you withheld for three months, ma'am. Good luck finding a taxi.
With a sob of pure humiliation, Eleanor grabbed her purse and shuffled out the double doors, her designer heels clicking weakly against the driveway as the heavy iron gates slowly rolled shut behind her, locking her out forever.
Marcus: Well, that's the last of them. How do you feel, Chloe?
Chloe: I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest, Dad. What happens to the house now?
Marcus: The estate will be sold at auction next week. All proceeds will go directly into the shelter for domestic violence survivors that you wanted to set up.
Chloe: That's perfect, Dad. Truly perfect.
Lawyer Hayes: Miss Vance, the district attorney just called. Oliver's arraignment is set for tomorrow morning at nine. They are charging him with three counts of felony fraud, two counts of aggravated assault, and money laundering.
Chloe: I'll be in the courtroom, Hayes. I want to look him in the eye when the judge reads his charges.