Julian: You wouldn't dare. Your name is on the vendor contracts. If this wedding is canceled, the venue fee of thirty thousand dollars comes out of your bank account!
Clara: Is that a threat, Julian?
Julian: It's a fact! You signed the liability waiver with the hotel manager because your credit score was cleaner for the vendor booking!
Clara: I signed it because you said your business credit card was locked during the corporate audit!
Julian: It doesn't matter why you signed it! The point is, if you walk out that door right now, you are legally broke, unemployed, and facing tens of thousands in debt!
Clara: You really thought you trapped me in a neat little cage, didn't you?
Evelyn: You have no power here, Clara. You have no family backing, no high-powered divorce lawyer, no money. Just put on the dress, smile for the cameras, and fulfill your contractual part of this family!
Clara stood near the mirror, staring at her own reflection. She was wearing a gorgeous thousand-dollar designer silk gown, but inside she felt completely stripped bare. Then, her eyes fell on the brass handle of her phone sitting next to her purse on the vanity.
Clara: You know, Evelyn... you're right about one thing. I don't have a high-powered corporate lawyer.
Julian: So stop fighting and let's go.
Clara: But my older brother does.
Julian froze. His eyes darted to the wedding invitation sitting on the table, where her family list was printed in gold ink.
Julian: Your brother is a high school football coach in Ohio.
Clara: My stepbrother, Marcus. The one who couldn't make it to the rehearsal dinner last night because he was flying in from Washington, D.C.
Evelyn: What are you talking about? Who is Marcus?
Clara: Marcus Vance. Senior Partner at Vance & Sterling Estate Law. The firm that handles probate, custody fraud, and high-net-worth estate litigation for the entire Tri-State area.
Julian's face lost every ounce of color. He stepped backward, almost tripping over his own long trousers.
Julian: Marcus Vance? The guy who represented the trust fund dispute for the Harrison estate last year?
Clara: The very same. You see, Julian, when you asked me to sign those venue liability forms last month, I sent a copy to Marcus just to make sure everything was legal.
Julian: You... you showed him our pre-nuptial agreements?
Clara: I showed him everything. The pre-nuptial agreement, the custody clause, the joint account authorization forms, and the trust fund secondary signature paperwork you asked me to sign last Tuesday.
Evelyn: Julian, what is she saying?! Did you let an outside lawyer review the estate filings?!
Clara: Marcus told me three days ago that something smelled wrong with the wording of your custody clause. He said you were setting up a legal framework where I would take full personal liability for Lily's care while you siphoned the monthly payout from her mother's trust into your failing construction company!
Julian: That's a lie! My company is profitable!
Clara: Is it? Then why did you get three foreclosure notices on your commercial property in Newark last month? I found them in your study cabinet when I was organizing your tax documents!
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