Bishop Miller: Bring the boy to the vestry room. Mr. Sterling, bring your briefcase.
Marcus: I am not moving an inch until my personal security team arrives!
Bishop Miller: Then you will stand out here in the cold aisle while the truth is revealed.
Marcus clenched his fists, his jaw tight with rage as he followed the Bishop down the narrow hallway behind the altar.
Leo: It’s really warm in here... thank you, sir.
Bishop Miller: Sit down on the velvet bench, Leo. Take off your damp coat.
Marcus: Don't let him sit on that! That bench is an antique worth fifty thousand dollars!
Bishop Miller: Furniture can be replaced, Marcus. Human dignity cannot.
Mr. Sterling: Your Grace, if I may speak... the Vance estate includes over two hundred commercial properties, a mortgage firm, and a fifty-million-dollar life insurance policy.
Bishop Miller: I know exactly what the estate contains, Sterling. I was there when the late Cardinal signed the trust deed.
Marcus: Then you know my father was the rightful successor!
Bishop Miller: Your father was appointed as a temporary administrator because Arthur’s daughter was missing.
Marcus: Missing means legally dead! It has been over twenty years!
Bishop Miller: The court issued a declaration of legal death based on false testimony provided by your father’s law firm.
Marcus: That is slander! You can't prove that in a court of law!
Bishop Miller: I don't need to prove it. The original adoption record is kept in the secret vault under this very cathedral.
Leo looked between the three men, clutching a small brass medallion that hung around his neck.
Leo: Is this medallion important, Father?
Bishop Miller: Where did you get that, Leo?
Leo: My mom gave it to me on my tenth birthday. She said her father gave it to her before he disappeared.
Bishop Miller leaned in close, inspecting the weathered metal surface of the small pendant.
Bishop Miller: The seal of Saint Jude... with the initials A.V. engraved on the back.
Marcus: That could be a fake! You can buy those at any souvenir shop down the block!
Bishop Miller: Look closely at the engraving, Sterling. That is the family crest of Arthur Vance.
Mr. Sterling: Oh dear... this changes the entire legal structure of the trust fund.
Marcus: Sterling, keep your mouth shut! Remember who pays your retainer fee!
Mr. Sterling: Marcus, if this boy is the direct biological grandson of Arthur Vance, the estate automatically reverts to him. The prenuptial agreements and wills your father signed become null and void.
Marcus: I will fire you before I let a homeless kid take my fortune!
Bishop Miller: You cannot fire the law, Marcus. Nor can you fire the truth.
Leo: I don't want a fortune... I just want my mom to be able to pay the rent this month. Our landlord said he's going to evict us on Monday.
Bishop Miller: Nobody is evicting you, child. The Vance estate owns the building you live in.
Marcus: Not for long! I’m selling that entire block to a commercial developer next week!
Bishop Miller: You have no authority to sign any sales contract, Marcus. Not anymore.
Leave a Comment