Victoria: You are trying to blackleg me in my own home! I will not be extorted by a plumber and a maid!
Thomas: It's called collecting wages, lady. And it's the only thing keeping me from tearing this whole place apart right now.
Victoria: Get out of my face! Both of you! Security! Where are those useless men?
Victoria began screaming toward the back hallway, her voice cracking with pure desperation. The facade of the elegant, refined billionaire woman was entirely gone, replaced by a frantic, angry person losing control of her environment.
Lily: Papa, let's just go. I don't want the money anymore. I just want to leave this house.
Thomas: We are leaving, sweetheart. But she needs to learn that her actions have immediate consequences.
Victoria: The only consequence here is that your daughter will never find another job in this city! I will blacklist her name from every luxury estate, every hotel, and every restaurant group in the state!
Thomas: You don't have that kind of power anymore, Victoria. Your board of directors is already looking for a reason to replace you after the last boardroom disaster.
Victoria: I am the primary shareholder! They cannot replace me!
Thomas: They can if you're arrested for assault and labor violations against an underaged worker's family member.
Victoria stepped forward, her face twisted in a mask of pure venom. She ignored the warning signs, her pride completely taking over as she raised her hand, pointing it directly at Lily's face once again.
Victoria: She just needs to work harder—
Before she could finish the sentence, Thomas moved with blinding speed. The sound of his heavy, working-class hand striking Victoria across the face was twice as loud as the first slap. The impact sent her stumbling sideways against the heavy console table, her phone flying out of her hand and shattering on the marble tiles.
Thomas: Don't you ever raise your voice at my daughter again.
Victoria clutched her cheek, her eyes wide with total, paralyzing shock as she stared up at the man standing protectively in front of Lily. The grand foyer fell into a heavy, ringing silence under the bright natural daylight.