Toby: Mommy, where are we going now?
Claire: Up to your room, sweetie. We're going to put your cold potato away and clean up your toys.
Toby: Is Grandma really leaving?
Claire: Yes, Toby. She won't be living with us anymore.
They walked down the long marble hallway toward the grand staircase. Downstairs, the sound of Evelyn franticly dialing her phone echoed through the walls.
Evelyn: Richard! Answer the phone right now!
Claire paused at the top of the stairs, listening to her mother-in-law's panicked voice below.
Evelyn: Richard, she has the deed! She has the original property trust! How did David get around the family prenup?!
Claire smiled softly to herself and kept walking toward Toby's bedroom.
Toby: Who is she talking to, Mommy?
Claire: Her lawyer, Toby. But he can't help her now.
Claire opened the door to Toby's bedroom. Boxes were stacked near the closet, half-packed with his action figures and storybooks.
Claire: Look at this mess she tried to make.
Claire began pulling toys out of the cardboard boxes, placing them back on the wooden shelves where they belonged.
Toby: Grandma told the ladies in the kitchen that I wasn't a real Vance.
Claire froze, her heart breaking into a thousand pieces as she looked at her little boy.
Claire: She said what to you?
Toby: She said Daddy adopted me so I wasn't real family, and that real family gets the house.
Claire dropped to her knees, taking Toby's hands in hers and looking straight into his eyes.
Claire: Listen to me very carefully, Toby. Your father loved you more than life itself. The day he signed those adoption papers was the happiest day of his life.
Toby: Really?
Claire: Really. He made sure this house was yours so no one could ever make you feel small again. Do you understand me?
Toby: Yes, Mommy.
Suddenly, the heavy front doors downstairs slammed open with a loud thud.
Richard: Evelyn! Stop screaming into the phone, I'm already here!
Claire stood up, wiping her hands on her green dress as she stepped out onto the upper balcony.
Claire: Hello, Richard. I see you made quick time from your law office.
Richard, an older man in a gray suit, looked up from the foyer, his briefcase clutched tightly in his hand.
Richard: Claire... we need to review these documents immediately. Evelyn claims there's been a breach of the original estate agreement.
Claire: There is no breach, Richard. You drew up the documents yourself when David asked you to transfer the property title.
Evelyn: Richard! Tell her she's wrong! Tell her my late husband's original will overrides whatever David did!
Richard: Evelyn... be quiet for a moment and let me look at what she has.
Claire walked slowly down the stairs, holding a folder containing the court-certified copies of the deed transfer and property trust.
Claire: Here you go, Richard. Read section four very carefully.