The expensive crystal chandeliers of the Vance estate cast a bright light over the marble hallway. Gold statues lined the walls, and soft piano music echoed from the living room. But the air inside the grand entrance was thick with tension.
Evelyn: You useless girl!
A sharp slap echoed through the corridor. The force of the strike spun Clara around, her cheek burning with instant pain.
Clara: Mother, please!
Evelyn: Don't call me mother!
Evelyn pushed Clara backward with all her strength. Clara lost her footing on the polished floor and crashed into the massive glass cabinet near the entrance, shattering the decorative frame against the wall.
Julian: Stop it! Both of you!
Evelyn: Stay out of this, Julian! Look at her!
Servants rushed out from the kitchen, stopping in terror at the end of the hallway. Julian stood frozen near the staircase, his face pale as he watched his mother loom over his wife.
Evelyn: You are a barren woman! You brought nothing to this family!
Clara: I loved your son. I gave five years of my life to this home!
Evelyn: You gave us nothing! You are nothing more than a servant living under my roof!
Clara lay on the cold marble floor, holding her bruised cheek. Blood trickled down her lower lip, dripping onto the clean stone. Tears burned her eyes as she looked up at the woman in the gold power suit who had ruined her life.
Evelyn: If you walk out those doors today, don't ever think about coming back!
Julian: Mother, let her speak...
Evelyn: Silence! She has no right to speak in this house!
Clara wiped her mouth with a shaking hand. She stared at Julian, hoping for a single sign of support, but he looked away in fear of his mother's rage.
Evelyn: Go ahead, run! You will crawl back to the gutter where we found you!
Clara slowly pulled herself up from the floor. She locked eyes with Evelyn, her voice trembling but filled with ice.
Clara: I won't crawl back, Evelyn. But your entire family will end up there.
Clara turned her back on them and walked straight toward the grand entrance as the heavy oak doors slammed shut behind her.