The morning light came through the glass door.
It fell on the grand white floor of the foyer.
Elena dropped her sponge into the blue bucket.
The water turned gray from the dirt.
Her knees ached from sitting on the hard stone.
She had been cleaning since five in the morning.
Every corner of the hallway had to shine brightly.
Victoria stood at the top of the grand stairs.
She wore a bright dress that sparkled softly.
She held a cold glass of fresh juice.
Her eyes were cold as she watched Elena work.
Victoria: Work faster or no breakfast today.
Elena did not look up from the wet floor.
She kept scrubbing the white tiles with her towel.
Elena: Yes, Miss Victoria.
Victoria smiled and took a quiet sip of juice.
She liked having total power over the big house.
She had moved in six short months ago.
She told everyone she was the master of the home.
Julian was away on a long business trip abroad.
He ran a very successful company in the city.
He was supposed to stay away for three weeks.
That left Victoria in complete charge of the mansion.
She treated the quiet staff like modern day slaves.
She gave them hard chores without any rest time.
Elena received the worst treatment of them all daily.
Victoria forced her to scrub every hallway alone daily.
She made Elena sleep in a small attic room.
Elena never complained or raised her soft voice once.
She simply did her work without making any sound.
She carried a heavy secret deep in her heart.
No one in the house knew the real truth.
They thought Elena was just a simple hired worker.
Victoria leaned against the smooth wooden handrail above stairs.
Victoria: I want this floor clean enough to eat off.
Elena: I will make sure it is clean.
Victoria: See that you do it right now.
Victoria threw a paper cup down the white stairs.
It landed right next to Elena's wet bucket.
Elena swallowed her quiet tears and kept scrubbing on.
Her back hurt with a deep dull pain today.
She placed her hand gently over her warm stomach.
She was three months pregnant with a healthy child.
She needed to protect her growing little baby carefully.
She could not afford to lose this simple job.
She wiped the marble tiles until they sparkled brightly.
The big grandfather clock ticked in the quiet hallway.
It was almost ten in the bright sunny morning.
A loud sound came from the heavy front doors.
The lock clicked with a sharp metal noise suddenly.
Victoria froze on the tall marble staircase above quickly.
Elena paused her soapy sponge on the polished floor.
The massive dark doors opened wide into the sunshine.