Vanessa kicked frantically against the slick stone, her designer shoes flying off as she was pulled past her guests.
Vanessa: Let go of me! Julian, you're hurting my arm!
Julian: You didn't care about hurting a starving child when you slapped him across this room!
Richard Vance: Unhand my daughter right now, Julian!
Vanessa's father bolted from the third row, his expensive tuxedo rumpled as he tried to grab Julian's shoulder.
Julian: Touch me, Richard, and I'll have federal marshals freeze every bank account Vance Logistics owns.
Richard: You cannot drag my daughter through a church based on a street urchin's lies!
Julian: That street urchin is my blood, Richard! He is the sole heir to the Sterling estate!
Leo: I have the papers in my coat, Dad! I didn't let him burn them!
Leo ran forward, digging into his torn lining and pulling out three folded, yellow sheets of paper.
Julian stopped dragging Vanessa, dropping her arm onto the floor as he took the papers from his son.
Julian: Marcus, get over here right now.
Julian's best man and corporate attorney, Marcus, rushed down the aisle, adjusting his glasses as he took the top page.
Marcus: Julian... these are certified wire transfer confirmations from Vance Logistics' offshore account in Belize.
Vanessa: That was legitimate corporate consulting! Henderson worked on supply chain security for my father!
Marcus: Twenty-five thousand dollars every month for sixty months straight. Memo line: Attic ward maintenance, Waco location.
The entire hall erupted into angry shouts and horrified whispers.
Julian: Ward maintenance? You kept my son locked in an attic like stolen property?
Vanessa: Julian, please... you don't know what you were like after the crash!
Julian: What I was like? I spent two years drinking myself to death while visiting an empty grave!
Vanessa: You were completely obsessed with Claire! You would have spent every dime of your trust fund on pointless searches!
Julian: So you paid my own investigator to keep him hidden so you could step into Claire's shoes?!
Vanessa: I loved you, Julian! I was the one who pulled you out of the dark!
Julian: You didn't love me! You loved my name, my money, and the Sterling family board seats!
Leo: She told Mr. Henderson that after today, she was going to have me moved to a farm across the Mexican border.
A collective gasp filled the venue as guests looked at Vanessa in complete revulsion.
Julian: You were going to traffic my ten-year-old child out of the country so he would never be found?
Vanessa: Henderson said it was getting too dangerous to keep him in McLennan County!
Julian: So you approved it! You signed off on human trafficking!
Richard: Vanessa, be quiet! Not another word without our criminal attorneys!
Marcus: Julian, look at the bottom document in this folder.
Marcus handed Julian a folded legal contract covered in Henderson's jagged handwriting.
Marcus: It's a blackmail agreement. Henderson made Vanessa sign it three months ago when she threatened to cut his payments.
Julian: Read what she wrote, Marcus. Read it loud enough for the whole room to hear.



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