The heavy front doors of the hall swung open. A tall man in a dark grey suit walked in, carrying a leather briefcase and accompanied by two uniformed police officers.
Mr. Vance: Good afternoon, Mr. Sterling. I am attorney Robert Vance, representing Sarah Sterling and her daughter, Lily.
Arthur: Mr. Vance. My daughter-in-law says you have documents regarding my son's estate.
Mr. Vance: I do, sir. Along with a federal warrant to secure all financial records currently held on this property.
Victoria: A warrant?! On what grounds?! This is a private residence!
Mr. Vance: On the grounds of grand larceny, bank fraud, and corporate embezzlement, Miss Sterling.
Victoria: Arthur, tell these police officers to leave! You own this town's board of commissioners!
Arthur: I will do no such thing. Mr. Vance, show me what you found.
Mr. Vance opened his briefcase on a marble side table, pulling out a thick folder of stamped legal papers.
Mr. Vance: Four years ago, after your son David married Sarah, he established a trust fund for his future heirs. Upon his tragic death last year, that trust was meant to transfer automatically to his daughter, Lily.
Arthur: I was told the trust was empty due to David's bad business investments.
Mr. Vance: That is what your sister told you, Mr. Sterling. In reality, the trust contained forty-two million dollars in liquid stock assets.
The crowd of guests gasped loudly. Several people whispered behind their hands.
Arthur: Forty-two million? Where is that money now?
Mr. Vance: Over the past twelve months, thirty-five million of those dollars were transferred into offshore shell accounts registered under Victoria Sterling's name.
Victoria: That's a complete lie! Those transfers were authorized corporate management fees!
Sarah: Management fees for what, Victoria? Buying luxury yachts and funding your gambling debt in Monaco?
Victoria: Shut your mouth, Sarah!
Arthur: Victoria, is this where you got the money for your new real estate projects in Florida?
Victoria: Arthur, listen to me! I was investing the money to grow the family fortune! I was going to put it back!
Sarah: You weren't going to put anything back. You were planning to sell this mansion out from under your brother next month.
Arthur: Sell my house?! What are you talking about?!
Mr. Vance: We discovered a pending deed transfer filed three weeks ago, Mr. Sterling. Your sister forged your signature on a secondary mortgage application using this property as collateral.
Arthur turned slowly toward Victoria, his face growing red with fury.
Arthur: You mortgaged my home behind my back?
Victoria: It was a temporary bridge loan! The private equity firm promised me a high return within ninety days!
Arthur: You risked everything my father built! You risked my son's daughter's future!
Victoria: I did it for us, Arthur! You've become soft in your old age! You were letting Sarah take over David's company shares!
Sarah: Those shares were legally left to David's child, Victoria. You tried to starve us out so we wouldn't have the money to hire a lawyer to check the books.
Victoria: You should have stayed in the trailer park where you came from!
Sarah: My father worked thirty years in a steel mill to give me an education, Victoria. He taught me honesty and respect. Things your money clearly never bought you.
Lily: Mommy, is Aunt Victoria going to go away now?
Sarah: Yes, sweetie. She's going to answer for everything she did.
Victoria: I am a Sterling! No police officer in this city is going to put handcuffs on me!
Police Officer: Miss Sterling, please step forward and place your hands behind your back.
Victoria: Get your hands off me! Arthur, do something!
Arthur: I have done enough for you, Victoria. I paid your debts for twenty years because you were my sister. But hurting my granddaughter was the last mistake you will ever make in this house.
The police officer grabbed Victoria's arm, clicking steel handcuffs around her wrists in front of all fifty guests.
Victoria: Arthur! Sarah! You will pay for this humiliation!
Sarah: You humiliated yourself the moment you touched my daughter.