The amber silk dress made a sharp, hissing sound against the cold marble floor as Evelyn stormed across the high grand foyer.

Down by the foot of the curving double staircase, twenty-three-year-old Clara remained on her knees, her trembling arms locked tight around six-year-old Lily.

Evelyn: Get your filthy hands off that child right now, you worthless maid!

Clara: Please, Mrs. Vance, don't scream at her. She is terrified. Just let me take her upstairs to her room.

Evelyn: You don't tell me what to do under my own roof! You touched something that didn't belong to you, didn't you?

Lily: Clara didn't do anything wrong! Stop it, Evelyn!

Evelyn raised an open hand, her diamond bracelet glinting brightly under the crystal chandelier, her face twisted in rage.

Evelyn: Shut your mouth, Lily! I run this estate now, and both of you will learn your place before sundown!

Clara: Hit me if you want, but do not lay a finger on her. I took an oath to protect this girl.

Evelyn: An oath? You're a minimum-wage orphan who cleans my toilets! You are fired from this house!

Clara buried her face into the little girl's curls, swallowing back the lump of bitter tears, praying that someone, anyone, would walk through the heavy front entrance.

Outside, the harsh rattle of a luxury car pulling up against the driveway gravel cut through the stormy silence, followed immediately by the violent rattle of a brass door lock.