Little Lily took another brave step toward the large dining room table.
She looked up at the warm morning light filling the bright room.
Her small hand hugged her brown teddy bear even tighter against her chest.
She looked directly at Victoria sitting in her bright red dress.
Lily: Can I sit with you?
Lily: The table looks so pretty today.
Victoria stared down at the young girl with a look of harsh disgust.
She waved her hand dismissively in the air toward the child.
Victoria: Absolutely not!
Victoria: Go back to the kitchen where you belong!
Victoria: You should not even be walking around in this room!
The sharp words echoed loudly off the hard glass penthouse windows.
Lily froze in her steps as her small face turned pale.
Her eyes filled up with heavy tears that spilled down her cheeks.
She squeezed her little teddy bear close and looked down at her shoes.
Julian felt a shock run through his chest at Victoria's terrible behavior.
He could not believe his wife would speak so cruelly to a child.
Sarah rushed out from the kitchen doorway with wide, frightened eyes.
Her face looked pale as she dropped to her knees beside Lily.
She pulled her weeping daughter gently into her protective arms.
Sarah: I am so sorry, ma'am!
Sarah: I turned my back for one second to grab the teapot!
Sarah: She did not mean to disturb your morning meal at all!
Victoria: Keep your daughter locked away while we are eating, Sarah!
Victoria: This is a luxury home, not a cheap daycare playground!
Sarah wiped a tear from her own eye and held Lily close.
Sarah: Yes, ma'am, I am so very sorry.
Sarah: It will never happen again, I promise you.
Victoria turned back to her breakfast as if nothing important had happened.
She picked up her silver fork without showing a single shred of regret.
Julian felt a sudden, deep anger burning deep inside his chest.
His hands gripped the edge of the dark dining table tightly.
He looked at Sarah holding her crying little girl on the floor.
He looked at Victoria, who was eating silently without any care.
The contrast between the two women was blindingly clear to him now.
He realized that money had completely ruined his wife's heart and mind.
Julian slowly stood up from his high wooden dining chair.
The silence in the grand dining room became heavy and absolute.
Sarah looked up from the floor with fear in her eyes.
Victoria finally looked up, surprised by Julian's sudden movement from his seat.
Julian: Stand up, Victoria.
Victoria: What are you talking about, Julian?
Victoria: I am trying to enjoy my morning meal right now.
Julian: I said stand up right now!
Julian slammed his hand hard onto the polished wooden tabletop.
The silver plates rattled loudly under the sudden force of his strike.
Victoria gasped in total shock and pulled back in her chair.
She had never heard Julian raise his voice like this before.
She slowly pushed her chair back and stood up on her feet.
Her red dress rustled softly as she stared at her furious husband.
Victoria: Why are you making a public scene over a maid's child?
Julian: Because you just showed me who you truly are inside!
Julian: And I will not tolerate cruelty in my house for another second!
Victoria's jaw dropped open as she stared back at him in silence.
The atmosphere in the room shifted completely in a single brief moment.