Vanessa’s father, Richard Vance, pushed through the front row, his face crimson with embarrassment.
Richard: Julian, calm down! We can resolve this quietly in the boardroom! Don't create a public scandal!
Julian: A scandal, Richard? Your daughter kidnapped my son!
Richard: We don't know that for certain! Papers can be forged!
Leo: She visited the farm three weeks ago! She told Mr. Henderson that after the wedding, she wanted me moved out of the country to Mexico!
Julian: Is that true, Leo? Did she come see you?
Leo: Yes! She was wearing that exact same perfume... it smells like bitter roses. I smelled it the second she walked down the aisle!
Julian stepped directly into Vanessa’s personal space, his towering frame casting a shadow over her veil.
Julian: You went to see him. You looked my boy in the eye while you planned our honeymoon in Paris.
Vanessa: I was making sure he was safe! I didn't want him wandering the streets!
Julian: Safe in a locked attic with a drunkard?
Vanessa: He was taken care of! He had food! Henderson was supposed to send him to a boarding school in Europe once the trust fund transferred!
Julian: What trust fund?
Vanessa clamped her hands over her mouth, realizing what she had just admitted aloud.
Julian: Marcus, call the district attorney. Call the chief of police. Call the federal marshals.
Marcus: Already on the line, Julian. Officers are three minutes away.
Vanessa: Julian, no! Think of our families! Think of the company stock! If you arrest me, the Vance-Sterling merger collapses!
Julian: I don't care if the entire corporation burns to the ground. I have my son.
Vanessa lunged forward suddenly, trying to snatch the yellow birth certificate from Julian's hands.
Vanessa: Give that to me!
Julian caught her wrist with effortless precision and shoved her back.
Julian: Touch him or his papers again, and you won't make it to the police cruiser in one piece.
Vanessa: You can't prove I ordered the crash! It was an accident! The brakes failed on their own!
Julian’s eyes widened with dark revelation.
Julian: Nobody mentioned the brakes, Vanessa. The police report classified it as severe hydroplaning.
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