The grand foyer of the Vance mansion was cold despite the bright morning light stream through the glass doors.
Richard Vance stood near the bottom of the grand staircase, holding a thick stack of employment contracts in his hand.
His ten-year-old daughter, Lily, stood in the center of the polished marble floor wearing a simple white dress.
In front of her stood three young women in crisp blue uniforms, all smiling nicely hoping to be chosen as her personal nanny.
Off to the side, standing near the shadows of the hallway, was an elderly woman named Miss Benedict.
Miss Benedict wore a faded black dress that had seen better days, her hands folded neatly in front of her apron.
Richard cleared his throat and looked down at his young daughter with a faint smile.
He asked Lily to pick the person she felt most comfortable with to guide her through the coming school year.
The three women in blue straightened their backs and broadened their smiles to look more appealing.
Lily did not even glance at the candidates her father had carefully lined up for her.
Instead, her small hand pointed directly past them toward the dark corner of the foyer.
She raised her voice clearly and said she wanted Miss Benedict to be her companion.
The smile instantly faded from Clara, the head nanny who stood at the front of the line.
Richard frowned and took a slow step down the marble stairs toward his daughter.
He told Lily that Miss Benedict was not one of the choices he had arranged.
Miss Benedict stepped forward slowly, her wrinkled face showing deep worry as her eyes filled with tears.
She whispered to Lily that she should not say such things in front of her father.
Lily ignored her father completely and ran straight into the elderly woman's arms.
She wrapped her arms tightly around Miss Benedict's waist and buried her wet face in the dark apron.
Miss Benedict held the young girl close, weeping softly as she patted Lily's back with trembling hands.
Clara took a step forward, her voice laced with patronizing pity as she looked at the child.
She told Lily that the old woman belonged in the kitchen handling dirty dishes, not taking care of a wealthy heiress.
Lily turned her head around, her cheeks wet with tears and her eyes burning with pure anger.
Clara reached out a hand to pull Lily away from the elderly kitchen worker.
Lily aggressively slapped Clara's hand away before it could touch her shoulder.
She shouted at Clara to keep her hands off Miss Benedict and back away immediately.
Clara gasped and stepped back, looking up at Richard for immediate support.
Richard stared at his daughter in utter shock because Lily was usually quiet and shy.
He looked closely at Miss Benedict, who was holding a small silver chain tucked under her collar.
A sudden memory crossed Richard's mind as he studied the old woman's tearful face.
He murmured softly that Miss Benedict had arrived at the estate on the exact night Lily was born.