The bright morning sun streamed through the tall glass windows of the grand lakeside mansion.
Elena adjusted her clean white apron as she polished the heavy mahogany dining table.
She had worked as a live-in housekeeper for the wealthy Vance family for nearly two years.
Her daily routine was quiet and steady, but her heart always belonged to little Leo.
Leo was seven years old and possessed the sweetest blue eyes in the world.
His biological mother had passed away when he was just a small toddler.
His father, Richard Vance, was a busy CEO who traveled constantly for his global corporation.
Six months ago, Richard had married a glamorous high-society woman named Victoria.
Victoria wore expensive designer dresses and demanded perfection from everyone around her.
She rarely spoke to the household staff unless she was giving a strict order.
Elena had noticed that little Leo had grown quiet ever since the wedding.
The cheerful boy who used to run through the hallways now hid in his bedroom.
He stopped playing with his favorite toy cars in the spacious living room.
Whenever Victoria entered a room, Leo would freeze and stare down at his shoes.
Elena tried to ask him if everything was okay during breakfast each morning.
Leo would simply smile weakly and push his pancakes around his plate without eating.
Suddenly, the heavy double doors of the living room swung wide open with a bang.
Panicked footsteps echoed across the polished white marble floor toward the kitchen.
Leo ran into the room with tears streaming down his small, pale cheeks.
His shoulders were shaking as he gripped his long sleeves tightly in his hands.
Leo: Mom! Help me! She hurts me every day!
Elena instantly dropped her polishing cloth onto the floor and rushed forward.
She fell to her knees and pulled the trembling boy into a warm hug.
Elena: Oh my sweet boy... What did she do to you?!
Leo sobbed softly against her shoulder as he slowly pulled back his sleeves.
Elena gasped in horror as she saw dark purple bruises and fresh red scratches.
The marks covered his tiny forearms from his wrists all the way to his elbows.
Elena: Who did this to you, Leo?
Leo: Victoria got angry because I dropped a glass juice box on the rug.
Elena felt a sudden wave of hot anger rush straight through her chest.
She wrapped her arms around the boy to comfort him as he wept.
Before she could speak another word, sharp high heels clacked loudly on the marble.
Victoria marched into the living room with a look of cold fury on her face.
Victoria: Keep your hands off my stepson, you useless maid!
Elena: He is covered in marks! I am calling his father right now!
Victoria: He will never believe a word you say!
Victoria stepped forward with her hand raised high in a sudden threat.
Elena stood up quickly and shielded the young boy behind her own body.