The bright Texas sun poured through the kitchen windows of the grand Dallas estate.
Lily stood over the marble sink with tears quietly streaming down her face.
Her small hands were bright red from hours of scrubbing dirty dishes in hot water.
She was only sixteen years old and should have been at school with her friends.
Instead she was wearing a cheap maid uniform that felt itchy against her skin.
Sitting at the kitchen island was Victoria, her father's new wife.
Victoria swirled a glass of expensive red wine and watched Lily with a cold smile.
She enjoyed seeing the young girl forced into hard manual labor.
For weeks Victoria had been planning this quiet punishment while her husband was away.
Richard had left for a major business conference in New York four days ago.
The moment his plane took off, Victoria took away Lily's phone and computer.
She locked up Lily's normal clothes and forced her to clean the entire mansion.
Victoria: You missed a spot on that glass bowl, Lily.
Lily wiped her tear-stained cheek with the back of her wet sleeve.
Lily: I have been scrubbing for three hours without a break.
Victoria: You will scrub until I say you are finished.
Lily bit her lip and turned back to the steaming sink full of dishes.
Her lower back ached from standing on the hard marble floor all morning.
She missed her mother, who had passed away three years earlier.
When Richard married Victoria, he believed she would be a gentle second mother.
Victoria had put on a perfect performance whenever Richard was present.
She baked cookies, spoke in a sweet voice, and gave Lily expensive gifts.
But behind closed doors, Victoria treated Lily like a servant.
Victoria: Don't look at me with those bitter eyes, girl.
Lily: My dad will be furious when he finds out what you did.
Victoria laughed softly and took another sip of her wine.
Victoria: Your father is five hundred miles away in Manhattan.
Victoria: He believes you are safely studying at your boarding school prep class.
Lily knew that Victoria had forged emails to convince Richard that Lily was busy.
She felt trapped inside her own home with no way to call for help.
The heavy silver faucet ran continuously as Lily washed another heavy serving plate.
Her raw knuckles stung as detergent seeped into tiny cuts on her fingers.
She looked up at the framed American flag hanging proudly on the white kitchen wall.
Her father loved that flag because it represented strength, duty, and honor.
She prayed that his strength would somehow protect her right now.
Suddenly, heavy leather footsteps echoed down the high-ceilinged hallway.
The grand entryway doors had just opened with a deep metallic click.
Victoria froze with her wine glass held halfway to her lips.
Her confident smirk began to waver as the footfalls grew closer and faster.