Arthur: What is the meaning of this? Get your hands off my son right now!
Arthur marched across the room, his leather shoes clicking sharply against the marble floor. The crowd parted around him, whispers rippling through the wealthy onlookers like wildfire.
Evelyn: Did that child just call the caterer his mother?
Victoria: Oh my goodness, Arthur, who is this woman?
Clara: Toby, baby, please don't cry. Shh, Mommy's right here. I'm right here.
Clara wrapped her arms around the trembling boy, burying her face in his hair while tears ran down her un-rouged cheeks. She didn't look up at the guests or the cameras; her entire world was the little boy sobbing into her shoulder.
Arthur: Clara, release him this second. You are a hired employee in this house, nothing more. Security, escort this woman out!
Toby: No! Don't touch her! She's my real mommy! She lives in the room under the stairs!
A collective gasp echoed through the grand hall. Several board members exchanged wide-eyed looks, while photographers began raising their cameras toward the scene.
Arthur: Shut those cameras off! Right now! This is a private family matter!
Clara: It stopped being a private matter the moment you locked the trust fund documents in your safe, Arthur. You told everyone I abandoned him eight years ago.
Arthur: Keep your mouth shut if you value your job!
Clara: My job? I don't care about this job! I stayed in this house for six years wiping floors just so I could put him to bed every night without you throwing me out on the street!
Clara stood up slowly, keeping Toby firmly behind her back. Her hands were raw from cleaning chemical burns, but her posture was straight and rigid as she faced the man in the designer tuxedo.
Arthur: You have no legal rights here, Clara. You signed the agreement. You accepted the settlement eight years ago and walked away.
Clara: I never signed a settlement! You forged my signature on those divorce papers while I was in the hospital after having Toby!
Evelyn: Forged signature? Arthur, what is she talking about?
Arthur: She is a lunatic! She's a former servant who was fired for instability! Security, why are you standing there? Grab her!
Two heavy-set security guards in black suits stepped forward, but before they could reach Clara, an elderly man in a dark gray bespoke suit stepped out from the crowd, holding up a hand to stop them.
Judge Vance: Hold on a second, Arthur. Let the woman speak.
Arthur: Judge Vance, this is ridiculous. This is my private estate and my charity gala. You have no jurisdiction in my ballroom.
Judge Vance: I am the senior trustee of the Sterling Family Foundation, Arthur. And if there is even a fraction of truth to what this child just said, your estate is in very serious trouble.
Toby: She reads me stories every night, Judge man! She has a picture of me in her small room under the kitchen!
Clara: Show them the safe, Arthur. Show them the original adoption paper and my medical records from eight years ago that you swore were destroyed in the fire.
Arthur's knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists. Sweat began to glisten along his hairline under the bright chandeliers.
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