The silence in the foyer grew suffocating as Evelyn stared at Carter in disbelief.
Evelyn: What are you talking about? Who else would your mother leave her private jewels to? You don't have any other family!
Carter: That's what you assumed when you agreed to sign our prenup.
Evelyn: I signed that prenup because I love you! I agreed to waive alimony because I believed in our partnership!
Carter: You signed that prenup because you thought you could find loopholes in my mother's trust fund accounts once the ring was on your finger.
Sarah stepped back toward the archway, holding her purse tightly against her ribs.
Sarah: Mr. Vance, I should probably wait outside in the garden until you two finish talking.
Carter: No, Sarah. Stay right where you are. This conversation involves you directly.
Evelyn: Involves her? Carter, have you lost your mind? She cleans toilets for fifteen dollars an hour!
Carter: Watch your mouth in my house, Evelyn.
Evelyn: I will not be silenced over a servant! Tell me why you're defending her!
Carter reached into his leather briefcase and pulled out a thick manila folder tied with red string.
Carter: Do you recognize this legal seal, Evelyn?
Evelyn: It's just court paperwork. Why do you keep playing these childish games?
Carter: This is the official decree from the New York probate court. My mother spent the final three years of her life searching for someone she lost twenty-four years ago.
Sarah froze. Her knuckles turned white against her purse strap.
Sarah: Twenty-four years...?
Evelyn: Carter, don't change the subject! We have three hundred guests flying into Manhattan on Friday. The catering deposit alone was sixty thousand dollars!
Carter: The wedding coordinator received my cancellation notice at noon today.
Evelyn gasped, clutching her throat as if she couldn't breathe.
Evelyn: You canceled the venue? Without telling me?!
Carter: And I instructed my bank to freeze all auxiliary credit cards issued in your name.
Evelyn: You bastard! My father will sue you for breach of contract! He will drag your entire hedge fund into bankruptcy court!
Carter: Let him try. Your father's firm is already under federal investigation for securities fraud. Did you really think my corporate lawyers didn't run a full background audit before the ceremony?
Evelyn stumbled back against the white pillar, her makeup smudging as sweat formed along her hairline.
Evelyn: You... you knew all along?
Carter: I knew your family was facing massive debt. I knew your father needed my capital injection to save your penthouse from foreclosure. But I was willing to overlook his mistakes because I thought you were honest.
Evelyn: I am honest! I love you, Carter!
Carter: An honest woman doesn't plant a stolen heirloom into a poor girl's bag just to get her thrown in jail before the weekend.
Sarah: Why would she want me arrested, Mr. Vance? I never did anything to hurt her!
Carter: Because she saw your birth certificate on my private desk yesterday, Sarah.
Sarah's eyes shot wide, her breath catching in her throat.
Sarah: My birth certificate? How did you have my birth certificate?
Carter: Because private investigators found your adoption records two weeks ago.
Evelyn let out a bitter, venomous laugh that bounced off the marble walls.
Evelyn: Look at her! You really think that ragged little charity case shares your bloodline? She doesn't have a single drop of Vance blood in her!
Carter: The DNA lab confirmed a ninety-nine point nine percent match yesterday afternoon.
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