Before Evelyn's hand could strike, a massive sound shattered the tense atmosphere of the room. The heavy double wooden doors at the end of the office burst open violently, slamming against the interior walls with a deafening thud that shook the glass light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Standing in the doorway was Julian, Clara’s older stepbrother and Evelyn’s only son. He was wearing a sharp grey three-piece suit, holding a leather briefcase in his right hand. He stood completely frozen in shock, his eyes wide as he took in the horrific scene before him: his sister bruised and crawling on the floor, the maid bruised and bleeding near a overturned wheelchair, and his mother standing tall with her fist raised in the air like a villain.
Julian: What on earth is happening in here?! Mother, what are you doing?!
Evelyn: Julian! What are you doing back from the New York office so early?!
Julian: I came back to check on Clara... but what is all this? Why is she on the ground?
Clara: Julian... please help us! She tried to make me drink something evil!
The leather briefcase slipped from Julian's hand, hitting the floorboards hard as he rushed across the room. He completely ignored his mother's demands as he dropped to his knees right beside Clara. He pulled his sister up gently into his arms, supporting her weak back while looking at the severe bruises covering her arms and face. Julian had spent the last month working at the head office in New York, completely unaware of what his mother was doing back home at the family estate. Every time he had called on the phone, Evelyn told him Clara was sleeping peacefully and recovering well from the car crash that took their father's life.
Julian: Clara, look at me! Who did this to your face? Was it the accident or something else?
Clara: It wasn't the crash, Julian... She locked me in my room! She wouldn't let me see a lawyer or a real doctor!
Evelyn: Don't listen to her, Julian! She is confused! She took too many of her prescription pain medications!
Maria: That is a lie, Mr. Julian! Your mother has been switching her pills! Look at the carpet floor!
Julian looked down at the white and blue pills scattered across the rug. He reached out and picked up one of the small blue capsules, holding it up close to the natural light coming from the window. His forehead wrinkled with deep concern. He recognized those capsules immediately; they were powerful sedatives that his mother had been prescribed years ago for her severe insomnia, drugs that could cause permanent memory loss and organ damage if taken in heavy daily doses by someone already recovering from a major brain concussion.
Julian: Mother... these are your pills. Why are your pills mixed in with Clara's post-surgery medicine?
Evelyn: I was just trying to help her sleep! She was screaming every night from nightmares about the car crash!
Julian: You are lying to me, Mother. I can see it in your eyes.