The presence of the family lawyer hung over the room like an dark cloud. Victoria turned her fierce gaze away from her husband and fixed her cold blue eyes directly on the lawyer, stepping toward him with heavy, threatening steps that made the old lawyer take a small step back.
Victoria: Arthur, tell me what is inside those legal documents right now.
Arthur: Mrs. Sterling... these are private estate matters ordered directly by Richard.
Victoria: Private? I am his wife! I signed a prenup to protect this family's wealth!
Husband: Give her the papers, Arthur. She is going to find out today anyway.
Arthur hesitated for a brief second before reaching into his leather briefcase and pulling out a thick set of legal documents bound with a red seal. He handed them carefully to Victoria, whose hands were shaking with pure anger as she snatched the papers from the lawyer's grip.
She flipped through the first few pages quickly, her eyes scanning the complex legal terms, searching for numbers and names. But as she reached the third page, her movements suddenly stopped completely. Her breath hitched in her throat as her eyes locked onto a single paragraph typed in bold black ink.
Victoria: What... what is the meaning of this? Why is fifty percent of the estate trust assigned to Clara Vance?
Grandmother: Because it was never yours to begin with, Victoria.
Victoria turned around slowly, looking at her mother-in-law with total confusion and absolute shock. Eleanor walked over to Clara, placing a tender, loving hand on the young maid's shoulder, pulling her close as if protecting her own child from a storm.
Grandmother: Clara is not just a maid, Victoria. She is my granddaughter. Richard’s biological daughter.
Victoria: No... No! That is a lie! Richard and I have been married for seven years!
Husband: It is the truth, Victoria. Clara was born twenty-two years ago, long before I ever met you.
The room seemed to shrink as the massive secret was finally brought into the open light. Clara lowered her head, fresh tears falling down her bruised face as the heavy burden of her hidden identity was lifted after months of staying silent inside the grand house.
Victoria: You brought a bastard child into my home? You made her clean our floors?
Husband: Her mother kept her hidden from me for twenty years! I only found her six months ago after her mother passed away from illness!
Victoria: And you put her in a maid uniform? You made my son call his half-sister a servant?
Husband: I brought her here to get to know her safely! I knew how you would react if I told you the truth straight away!
Victoria threw the heavy legal trust papers onto the hardwood floor, the white pages scattering across the room like fallen leaves. She took a step toward Clara, her eyes burning with a cruel mixture of deep embarrassment, jealousy, and extreme hatred.