Detective Reed: Mr. Vance, we will need you and your maid to come down to the station tomorrow morning to sign official statements.
Charles: We will be there at nine o'clock sharp, Detective. Thank you for your swift action tonight.
Detective Reed: Take care of yourself, sir. You had a narrow escape tonight.
Detective Reed nodded respectfully and walked out through the double pantry doors, leaving Charles, Maya, and Thomas in the quiet dining room. Charles walked over to the dining table, looking at the young maid whose cheek was still red from the slap.
Charles: Maya... come sit down in this chair.
Maya: Oh, no, Mr. Vance! I couldn't possibly sit at your formal dining table. I'm just staff.
Charles: You are not just staff, Maya. You saved my life tonight. Sit down, please.
Maya sat down nervously on the plush dining chair, her hands resting on her apron. Charles pulled a chair out beside her and sat down, leaning his cane against the table.
Charles: Why were you watching Victoria in the kitchen earlier, Maya?
Maya: I saw her talking on her phone in the pantry yesterday, sir. She was arguing with a man about money and mentioned your wine decanter. I knew something was wrong, so I kept my camera ready when she went near the drinks tonight.
Charles: You risked your job and your own physical safety to protect an old man you've only worked for for four months.
Maya: You treated me with kindness, Mr. Vance. When my mother was sick last month, you gave me a week off with full pay. Nobody in this city has ever been that kind to me.
Charles smiled warmly, a tear glinting in his eye under the bright crystal chandelier.
Charles: Good deeds are never forgotten in this house, Maya. Tomorrow morning, my legal team is filing papers to establish a permanent education and housing trust under your name.
Maya: Mr. Vance... I can't accept that! That's too much!
Charles: You are going to nursing school, just like you always wanted. The Vance Foundation will pay for your tuition, your apartment, and your living expenses until you graduate.
Maya: I... I don't know what to say... Thank you so much, Mr. Vance!
Charles: And starting tomorrow, you are no longer a maid in this house. You are my family's personal estate administrator, with a salary three times what you earn now.
Maya covered her face with her hands, crying tears of relief and happiness under the bright room lights. Thomas smiled proudly from the doorway, clapping his hands softly for the brave young girl.