Two large security guards stepped forward, grabbing Clara firmly by her silk-clad arms. She kicked her high heels and screamed, but they dragged her through the double doors of the banquet hall without hesitation.
Arthur immediately knelt down on the floor next to Maya, wrapping his arms around her trembling shoulders.
Arthur: I am so sorry... I am so, so sorry, my little girl.
Maya: I thought I was all alone in the world, Dad.
Arthur: You are not alone. You will never be alone again.
Arthur helped Maya stand up, pulling a white linen napkin from the table to gently wipe the tears from her red cheek.
Arthur: Everyone, please excuse us. The gala is over.
The guests watched in awe as the powerful billionaire held the young maid close to his side, guiding her out of the main hall toward his private study at the back of the mansion.
Once inside the quiet office, Arthur closed the heavy oak doors and sat Maya down in a soft leather armchair.
Arthur: Tell me everything. How did you end up in an orphanage? How did you end up working here?
Maya: When I was born, the doctor told my mother that I didn't survive the birth...
Arthur: Yes... that's what they told me too. My first wife, Sarah, died three days later from a broken heart.
Maya: It was a lie. A nurse stole me from the nursery and sold me to a woman in another town.
Arthur buried his face in his hands, letting out a ragged sob.
Arthur: I spent nineteen years thinking my entire original family was gone.
Maya: The woman who raised me was kind, but she was very poor. She worked as a cleaner. Before she died six months ago, she gave me a box of old papers.
Arthur: And the photograph was inside?
Maya: Yes. Along with a birth certificate that had your name and Sarah's name on it.
Arthur: Why didn't you come straight to me with it?
Maya: I tried to! I applied for the cleaning job here three months ago just to get close to you. But Clara... she was always around.
Arthur: She treated you terribly from the start, didn't she?
Maya: She made all the maids work sixteen-hour days without breaks. If we made a single mistake, she docked our pay or threatened to ruin our rental references.
Arthur stood up, walking behind his massive mahogany desk and opening his laptop.
Arthur: That ends tonight. Every single thing she took from you, from me, and from the staff will be paid back tenfold.