Chapter 1: The Little Girl Who Was Treated Like a Servant
“Lily?” Richard Hale shouted as he rushed through the front door. “Why are you on the floor?”
The little girl froze, her small hands still gripping the mop. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Daddy…” she cried.
Richard dropped his briefcase and knelt beside her. “Who made you do this?”
Lily shook her head quickly. “No one.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
Her lips trembled. “Aunt Monica said… if I didn’t clean the hall before you came home, I couldn’t eat dinner.”
Richard’s face turned dark. “Monica?”
From the staircase, Monica appeared in a silk dress, smiling too brightly. “Richard, you’re home early.”
He stood slowly. “Why is my daughter scrubbing the floor?”
Monica sighed. “She spilled juice. I was teaching her responsibility.”
Lily whispered, “I didn’t spill it.”
Monica’s eyes snapped toward her. “Lily.”
Richard noticed the fear in his daughter’s face. “Do not look at her like that.”
Monica laughed nervously. “You’re tired. You’re overreacting.”
Richard bent down and lifted Lily into his arms. “Her hands are red. Her knees are bruised.”
“She’s dramatic.”
Lily buried her face in his shoulder. “Daddy, please don’t leave again.”
Richard’s heart cracked. “What happens when I leave?”
Monica stepped forward. “Nothing happens.”
A maid named Rosa stood near the kitchen, shaking.
Richard saw her. “Rosa. Tell me the truth.”
Monica snapped, “The staff doesn’t need to speak.”
Richard’s voice dropped. “Rosa.”
Rosa’s eyes filled with tears. “Sir… this has been happening for weeks.”
Monica’s smile vanished.
Richard turned slowly. “Weeks?”
Rosa nodded. “Miss Monica makes Lily clean, skip meals, sleep in the storage room when she cries.”
Lily whispered, “I was bad.”
Richard hugged her tighter. “No, baby. You were not bad.”
Monica shouted, “That maid is lying!”
Rosa stepped forward. “Then show him the camera footage.”
Monica’s face went pale.
Richard looked at the ceiling camera.
“What did you do to the cameras, Monica?”
Before she could answer, Lily lifted her head and whispered, “Daddy… she said Mommy didn’t die in an accident.”
Richard stopped breathing.
“What did she say?”
May you like
Lily pointed at Monica.
“She said Mommy was removed.”
