David stepped through the front doors of his family mansion after months away on business.
He expected a warm welcome from his stepmother after his long flight back home to Dallas.
Instead, the foyer was cold and quiet, except for the harsh sound of scrubbing on marble.
A woman in a grey maid uniform was crawling on the wet floor near a plastic bucket.
David set his leather bag down and frowned at the heavy silence in the grand hallway.
Two large bodyguards stood near the wall, keeping their eyes fixed firmly on the ground.
The maid trembled as she dragged a wet cloth across the cold white marble tiles.
Her hands were red and raw from the harsh cleaning chemicals in the bucket.
David felt a strange knot form in his stomach as he watched her small shoulders shake.
He stepped closer to the working woman, feeling an odd sense of familiarity in his chest.
The maid dropped her rag and buried her face in her bruised hands, sobbing softly.
Elena: I'm sorry, sir!
David froze in his tracks as that soft voice echoed through the high ceiling of the foyer.
He rushed forward and dropped to his knees right beside the trembling woman on the floor.
David: Elena?!
He gently lifted her chin, and his heart shattered into a million sharp pieces instantly.
Her face was pale and dirt-smudged, with visible cuts and bruises across her soft cheek.
This was his missing wife, the woman who had vanished without a trace six months ago.
His family had told him that Elena abandoned him and fled the country with stolen cash.
David had spent months searching the globe, heartbroken and completely desperate for answers.
Yet here she was, locked inside his own home and forced to clean like a servant.
A sharp pair of high heels clicked rhythmically down the sweeping marble staircase above them.
Vivian descended slowly, wearing a dark burgundy velvet dress and holding a wine glass.
Vivian: She was here all along.
David looked up at his stepmother, his eyes burning with absolute shock and rising fury.
David: What did you do to my wife, Vivian?
Vivian took a calm sip of her red wine and smiled down at them cruelly.
Vivian: I simply put her in her proper place, where a penniless girl belongs.
David pulled Elena close to his chest, feeling her frame shake with terrifying fear.
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