Veronica: Stay back! Don't come near me!
Veronica grabbed a heavy bronze paperweight off the desk, raising it high above her head.
Julian: Do you really think you can hit me and walk out of here? Look around you, Veronica. This entire building belongs to my holding firm.
Veronica: The doorman saw me come in! The nanny saw you slap me!
Julian: The doorman works for my security company, and Martha has signed an NDA that pays her mortgage every month.
Veronica: You can't silence everyone, Julian!
Julian: I don't need to silence everyone. I only need to keep you in this room until the notary finishes the stock filing tomorrow morning at nine.
Julian lunged forward, grabbing Veronica's wrist and twisting it until the bronze weight clattered onto the hardwood floor.
Veronica screamed, using her free hand to scratch across Julian's neck, leaving three sharp red lines along his collar.
Julian: You crazy bitch!
Julian shoved her backward, sending her crashing into the leather armchair near the window.
He snatched the passports and the photograph off the floor, sliding them into his suit jacket pocket.
Veronica: You are going to spend the rest of your life in federal prison for fraud, identity theft, and forgery!
Julian: Only if someone presents actual physical evidence to a judge. And right now, all the evidence is in my pocket.
Veronica wiped the sweat from her forehead, her eyes darting toward the heavy glass door leading out to the penthouse balcony.
Veronica: You think you've won because you have a couple of fake passports?
Julian: I've won because I own seventy percent of the voting board, and nobody in this city will take the word of a bitter, broke sister over the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar firm.
Veronica: What about Toby? What are you going to tell your son when he grows up and finds out you used his dead mother as a bargaining chip?
Julian's face twitched slightly, a brief flash of guilt passing through his dark eyes before he hardened his expression again.
Julian: Toby will inherit a four-billion-dollar company. He will thank me for protecting his legacy.
Veronica: He will hate you just like I hate you.
From the living room outside, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed off the tile floor, followed by a loud, authoritative voice.
Detective Miller: Mr. Julian Vance! This is the New York Police Department! Open this door immediately!
Julian froze, his head snapping toward the hallway in total shock.
Julian: What... who called the police?
Veronica slowly stood up from the armchair, a cold, triumphant smile spreading across her bruised face.
Veronica: My phone wasn't just tracking your location, Julian. It was livestreaming every word spoken in this apartment to my attorney's cloud server since the moment I stepped out of the elevator.