The morning sun poured through the high arching windows of the luxury Dallas estate.
Clara knelt on the cold white marble floor of the grand foyer with a bucket.
Her hands were red and raw from hours of scrubbing tough stains without proper gloves.
She had taken this job three months ago to pay her mother's medical bills.
The house was enormous and required constant attention from early morning until late at night.
Every surface had to sparkle, or Victoria Sterling would throw a massive public scene.
Victoria was the wife of a prominent Texas real estate developer named Richard Sterling.
She took great pride in displaying her immense wealth to anyone who walked inside.
A framed American flag hung on the pristine white wall above the curving grand staircase.
Clara lowered her head and squeezed dirty water back into the heavy plastic bucket.
Her tired shoulders pained her deeply, but she could not afford to lose this job.
She dipped her sponge back into the soap solution to clean the remaining corner.
Clicking high heels echoed loudly across the hard polished surface of the spacious entrance.
Victoria stood at the top of the stairs, wearing an expensive designer red dress.
She glided down the steps with a look of utter disdain on her polished face.
Victoria: Why is this floor still damp, Clara?
Clara: I am finishing the final section right now, Mrs. Sterling.
Victoria: Look at these water marks near the baseboard!
Clara: I will dry them immediately with a towel.
Victoria stepped closer and towered directly over the exhausted younger woman with anger.
She kicked the plastic bucket with her designer shoe, spilling grey water everywhere.
The soapy water flooded across the newly cleaned marble floor toward the wooden baseboards.
Clara gasped in shock and tried desperately to contain the wet messy spill.
Victoria: Look at the mess you just made on my floors!
Clara: You kicked the bucket, Mrs. Sterling!
Victoria: Do not dare talk back to me in my house!
Clara pulled her hands back as Victoria stomped her foot right near her fingers.
Tears welled up in Clara's eyes as she backed away on her knees quickly.
She had never been treated with such disrespect in any household she cleaned before.
Victoria crossed her arms and pointed a sharp painted fingernail at Clara's face.
Victoria: You will clean this entire hall again before lunch!
Clara: Please, my shift ends in thirty minutes.
Victoria: You stay until I say you can leave!
Clara wiped a tear from her cheek and bowed her head down again silently.
She knew she needed the paycheck for her mother's daily prescription medication expenses.
She picked up her wet cloth and began wiping the spilled water off the floor.
Victoria watched her with a cruel smile, pleased with her display of absolute power.