Arthur walked down the quiet hallway of his suburban house after a long day at the office.
He noticed a faint light coming from the walk-in pantry room near the dark kitchen area.
He stopped near the doorway and pushed the wooden door open very slowly and quietly.
A young woman in a grey maid uniform was sitting directly on the polished floor.
Her name was Elena, and she had worked for his family for only three weeks.
She was holding a small silver fork over a cracked plate glued back together.
Arthur felt a sudden wave of confusion wash over his entire mind and body.
Arthur: What are you doing in here on the floor?
Elena flinched hard and dropped her utensil onto the cold white marble tile floor.
She looked up with wide eyes full of fear and deep shame and worry.
Elena: I am sorry, sir. I was just extremely hungry tonight.
Arthur took a deep breath to calm his own shocked and rising inner emotions.
He lowered himself down to crouch directly in front of her small frame.
Arthur: Why are you eating broken leftovers in the dark pantry?
Elena: My shift ended late, and I missed the evening bus back home.
Arthur: Do you not have enough money to buy your own proper meals?
Elena lowered her gaze toward her lap and swallowed her tears very quietly.
Elena: Times have been very hard for my little family this past winter.
Arthur knew he paid his corporate staffing agency a large amount for house maintenance.
He pulled out his smartphone to check the contract details stored in his email.
Arthur: How much is the agency paying you every month for this job?
Elena: Fourteen hundred dollars a month, sir. That is my fixed salary.
Arthur stared at her face in absolute silence as his blood ran completely cold.
He tapped his phone screen quickly to view his monthly corporate banking record statements.
The system clearly showed four thousand dollars sent for her position every month.
Arthur: Someone is stealing from my employees, and it stops right now.
Elena shrank back against the shelving because she thought she was in big trouble.
Elena: Please do not fire me, sir. I really need this job bad.
Arthur stood up quickly and gently offered his right hand to help her.
Arthur: You are not fired, Elena. You are the victim of a crime.
He led her out of the pantry toward the main dining room light.
He pulled out a heavy wooden chair for her to sit down safely.
Arthur: Sit here while I call the owner of that agency directly.