Victoria: Where is my baby, Julian?! What did you do with my real child?!
Victoria's scream echoed through the high ceilings of the mansion, filled with pure agony.
Julian: Victoria, calm down! Keep your voice down!
Victoria: Tell me where my child is right now, or I swear to God I will kill you myself!
Julian backed away toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, his slick demeanor completely crumbling.
Julian: It was for us, Victoria! It was to save our family!
Clara: He swapped the infant at the private clinic three days ago, Mrs. Vance.
Victoria: Why?! Why would you swap our newborn child?!
Clara: Because your late father’s estate trust explicitly states that the family fortune only passes to a biological male heir bearing the Vance bloodline. But when your baby was born three weeks ago...
Victoria: I had a baby girl...
Clara: Exactly. A healthy, beautiful baby girl. But if you kept her, your father’s greedy brother and the corporate board would have seized control of the multi-million dollar corporation, leaving Julian with nothing.
Julian: They would have stripped me of my position as CEO! They would have liquidated all our assets! I did it to keep the money in our hands!
Victoria: You gave away my daughter for a corporate title?! You monster!
Victoria slapped Julian across the face with all the strength she had left. The crack echoed through the room like a gunshot.
Julian: I paid a surrogate mother two million dollars to trade her newborn boy for our girl! The girl is safe in a private nursery in Austin! She’s well cared for!
Victoria: Safe?! You stole my child and put her in a nursery with strangers for money?!
Clara: And today, he was going to force you to sign the legal guardianship papers for this boy so the trust fund transfer would be permanent and irreversible.
Julian: Nobody was supposed to get hurt! If you hadn't caught the carrier, Clara, I would have blamed the child's injuries on a tragic home accident, drawn the insurance money, and finalized the trust transfer without any questions!
Clara: You were willing to let a newborn suffer a terrible fall just to secure your stolen millions.
Julian: Shut up! Both of you, shut up!
Julian reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a heavy metal lockbox, grabbing a set of car keys.
Julian: I’m leaving. If either of you tries to follow me or call the police before I reach the airport, you'll never find out which private facility in Austin has your daughter!
Victoria: Julian, please... don't do this! Just tell me where she is!
Julian: Stay where you are! I’m taking the corporate jet to offshore accounts, and if I get away safely, I’ll mail you the address. If you call the cops now, you’ll never see her again!
He shoved Clara hard against the bookshelf and sprinted out of the study toward the side garage exit.
Victoria: Julian! No!
Clara: Mrs. Vance, don't let him intimidate you! He’s bluffing!
Victoria: I can't risk my baby girl's life, Clara! What if he really disappears forever?!
Clara: Look out the window, Mrs. Vance.
Outside the front gates, red and blue emergency lights flashed bright against the stone pillars. Sirens blared as three police cruisers blocked the driveway entrance.
Clara: I didn't just call Marcus. I dialed 911 the moment I stepped back through the kitchen door.
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