The grand estate of the Sterling family stood high upon the rolling green hills of Lakeview.
Light poured through the massive floor-to-ceiling glass windows and warmed the bright white marble floors.
To anyone driving past the iron gates, the mansion looked like a peaceful paradise built on success.
Inside those polished white walls, however, a deep and bitter darkness had been quietly growing for months.
Richard Sterling was a hardworking businessman who spent long hours managing his massive real estate company.
His young daughter, Maya, was a sweet two-year-old toddler with giant brown eyes and golden curls.
After losing his first wife two years ago, Richard thought he had found love again with Victoria.
Victoria was a tall, fair-skinned woman who always wore expensive peach dresses and high designer heels.
She spoke with a smooth and delicate voice whenever Richard was standing anywhere near her.
Behind closed doors, her warm smile vanished into a cold and distant stare.
Elena was the house maid who wore a simple slate-gray uniform and worked hard every day.
She dusted the tables, scrubbed the marble floors, and kept a watchful eye on little Maya.
Elena had noticed how Victoria looked at the little girl when Richard was away at work.
Victoria never held the toddler with love or spoke to her with genuine kindness.
She viewed the small child as an annoying obstacle standing between her and a vast fortune.
Richard had recently created a legal trust fund that guaranteed his entire inheritance to Maya.
If anything ever happened to the young girl, the entire fortune would pass directly to Victoria.
Elena knew this secret because she had overheard Victoria whispering to a divorce lawyer on the phone.
The brave maid decided to keep her eyes wide open every single second of the day.
She promised herself that no harm would ever touch the sweet toddler under her care.