Charles pulled his study door wide open, his eyes fixed on Clara standing in the hallway.
Charles: Who is at the gate, Clara?
Clara: Two men in dark suits, sir. They claim they have court orders to take custody of the child!
Victoria let out a cold, sharp laugh from behind the mahogany desk.
Victoria: What a shame, Charles. It seems the legal system moves faster than your detective skills.
Charles: You called them here while I was driving home, didn't you?
Victoria: I signed the temporary custody papers this morning as legal guardian of the household.
Charles: You are not this boy's guardian! I am his blood uncle!
Victoria: But you were out of town, Charles. And I reported an unsafe environment for the infant.
Clara: She created the unsafe environment! She threw him onto the floor!
Victoria: Who will the judge believe? A billionaire's wife or an immigrant maid who desperately needs cash?
The sound of heavy boots echoed from the front foyer downstairs, followed by voices shouting.
Charles: Clara, take the doctor into the master suite through the back servant staircase.
Clara: What about you, Mr. Sterling?
Charles: I will handle the visitors at the door.
Charles stormed down the curved grand staircase, his velvet coat flaring behind him.
In the entry hall, two burly men stood next to the butler, holding clipboards and legal folders.
Agent Miller: Mr. Charles Sterling? We have an emergency protective removal order for the minor child, Leo Sterling.
Charles: Show me the judge's signature on that document right now.
Agent Miller: Signed by Judge Harrison two hours ago, sir. We are required to place the child in state care pending custody review.
Charles: Judge Harrison? The same judge who sits on the board of my wife's father's foundation?
Agent Miller: Sir, we just execute the warrants. Hand over the child peacefully or we will call local law enforcement.
Victoria glided down the stairs, her face restored to a calm, sorrowful expression.
Victoria: Officers, thank goodness you're here. My husband is experiencing severe emotional distress.
Charles: Stop this pathetic performance, Victoria!
Victoria: He refused to let the child receive medical attention. He has locked the infant away upstairs.
Agent Miller: Mr. Sterling, step aside. We are going up to retrieve the minor.
Charles: You will not take one step up those stairs without a warrant signed by a county magistrate.
Agent Miller: This order gives us full legal authority to enter the premises.
Just then, the front entrance opened again, and an elderly man in a gray three-piece suit entered, carrying a leather briefcase.
Arthur Vance: I suggest everyone freeze right where they are before multiple federal felonies are committed.
Victoria's eyes widened in sheer disbelief as she saw the newcomer.
Victoria: Arthur Vance? What is Julian's corporate lawyer doing here?
Arthur Vance: Protecting the true owner of this entire estate, Mrs. Sterling.
Agent Miller: Counsel, we have an emergency removal order.
Arthur Vance: That order was filed using fraudulent signatures on an outdated jurisdiction petition.
Victoria: That's absurd! I signed that petition under emergency guardianship!
Arthur Vance: You have no guardianship, Victoria. And you never did.
Arthur pulled a blue legal file from his briefcase and turned directly toward Charles.
Arthur Vance: Charles, your brother didn't just leave a trust fund. He left a video deposition recorded forty-eight hours before his death.
Victoria stepped back toward the wall, her knuckles whitening against the marble banister.
Victoria: That's impossible... He was locked in the clinic...
Arthur Vance: He gave it to me directly. And it names you, Victoria, as the primary beneficiary of a forged life insurance policy.
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