Veronica: Get away from me!
Veronica slammed the mahogany study door behind her, locking the brass deadbolt just as Julian threw his body against the outside frame.
Julian: Open this door right now, Veronica! You have no right to search my personal office!
Veronica ignored his heavy pounding, turning around to face the wide glass desk sitting under the window.
On top of a stack of financial ledgers lay a single glossy photograph, fresh from a printing machine.
She picked it up with shaking hands, her eyes scanning the image under the dim desk lamp.
The photo showed Julian standing at JFK international airport, holding the hand of a young woman with short black hair wearing a simple coat.
It wasn't Claire.
Veronica: Who... who is this girl?
Julian continued to beat his fist against the heavy oak door from the hallway.
Julian: Veronica, open the door! Let me explain before you make a massive mistake!
Veronica backed away from the desk, turning the photo over to read the handwritten note penned on the back in red ink.
"Subject transferred from Zurich facility. Identity verified as Evelyn Reed, age 24. DNA match with Claire Vance: 0 percent."
Veronica felt her breath catch in her throat, a cold wave of terror washing over her entire body.
Veronica: A zero percent match? She isn't Claire...
She grabbed the desk drawer handle and pulled it open with all her strength, breaking the flimsy lock.
Inside lay three different passports, all featuring the same girl's face under different names, alongside a stack of medical intake forms from a private psychiatric ward in upstate New York.
Veronica: He hired an actress... He hired someone to pretend to be Claire so he could claim the stock transfer before the board meeting on Monday!
The door lock snapped with a loud, metallic crack as Julian forced his way into the room, his eyes dark with rage.
Julian: Put those documents back on the table.
Veronica: You fake monster... My sister really is dead, isn't she?
Julian stepped into the room slowly, shutting the door behind him and turning the key in the lock from the inside.
Julian: Claire died five years ago in that hospital room, Veronica. She never woke up from the coma.
Veronica: You buried her in secret... you never even gave her family a real funeral!
Julian: If the public knew she died before our son turned eighteen, her father's trust fund would have reverted entirely to her brother's estate!
Veronica: To my brother? You stole my family's entire inheritance!
Julian: Your brother is a gambling addict who would have liquidated Sterling Enterprises within six months!
Veronica: It wasn't your money to save, Julian! It belonged to us!
Julian walked toward her, holding his hand out in a calm, controlled gesture that terrified her even more than his anger.
Julian: Hand over the passports, Veronica. We can work out a financial settlement for you and your brother.
Veronica: I am calling the police. I am bringing the federal prosecutors straight to this penthouse.
Julian: You won't make it to the elevator with those papers.