The morning sun cut through the tall windows of the grand foyer in Dallas.
Clara knelt on the cold marble floor with a heavy scrub brush in her hand.
She dipped the brush into the bucket of warm soapy water beside her knee.
Her hands were red from scrubbing the vast entryway for three straight hours.
She washed every inch of the white marble until her arms felt weak.
Victoria stood at the top of the marble stairs looking down with cold eyes.
She wore a bright red silk dress that rustled with every small step.
Her family had married into great wealth just two short years ago.
She enjoyed giving orders to the house staff every single morning.
Victoria: You missed a spot right near the grand staircase, Clara.
Clara: I am wiping that section right now, Mrs. Sterling.
Victoria: Do not use that defensive tone with me in this house!
Clara lowered her head and kept scrubbing the shiny stone surface.
She needed this job to pay for her younger sister's college tuition.
She could not afford to lose her position over a small argument.
An elderly woman walked slowly out of the bright sitting room nearby.
It was Evelyn Sterling, the true owner of the massive family trust fund.
Evelyn leaned heavily on her polished wooden walking cane with every step.
She looked at Clara with deep kindness in her tired blue eyes.
Evelyn: Please take a short break, Clara. You have worked enough today.
Victoria: She will stop working when I tell her she is finished!
Evelyn: This is still my home, Victoria. You will treat staff with respect.
Victoria walked down the stairs quickly with a angry look on her face.
She stepped directly into Clara's bucket of water and kicked it hard.
Soapy water splashed across the white marble floor and Evelyn's canvas shoes.
Clara gasped and tried to clean the spilled water with her towel.
Clara: I am so sorry, ma'am! I will dry it up immediately!
Victoria: Look at the mess you just made on this imported marble!
Evelyn: You kicked the bucket yourself, Victoria! I saw you do it!
Victoria took a quick step toward the old woman and raised her voice higher.
Her face turned red as she towered over her elderly mother-in-law.
Victoria: Nobody asked for your opinion about how I run this house!
Evelyn: You do not run this house, Victoria. My son Marcus does.
Victoria: Marcus is away on a business trip until late tonight!
She stepped closer to Evelyn and reached for the heavy silver cane.
Evelyn stumbled back toward the hard wall in complete shock and fear.
Clara saw the dangerous look in Victoria's cold eyes from the floor.
She knew she had to protect the kind old woman immediately.