Victoria: Who allowed you to walk into my home without ringing the service bell?
Thomas: What happened to my daughter's face?
Victoria: Your daughter is an employee of this estate, and she is currently failing to meet the standards of her contract. I suggest you step outside.
Thomas: I asked you a question, lady. Why is her face red?
Thomas dropped his heavy metal toolbox onto the marble floor, the loud clattering sound echoing off the high ceilings. He walked past the polished columns, his eyes fixed entirely on Lily. The bright natural daylight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows showed every detail of his daughter's exhausted state—the dark circles under her eyes, her pale skin, and the distinct mark of a handprint on her left cheek.
Lily: Papa... please, don't make a scene. I need this job to help pay the apartment mortgage.
Thomas: You don't need to say a word, sweetheart. Papa is here now.
Victoria: This is a private residence, sir. If you do not leave immediately, I will have the estate security team remove you for trespassing, and I will ensure your daughter is fired without a single cent of compensation.
Thomas: You think your money gives you the right to put your hands on a child?
Victoria: She is a legal adult who signed an employment agreement. She just needs to work harder instead of crying every time she is corrected.
Thomas ignored the woman, kneeling down on the polished floor right next to Lily. He took her small, trembling hands in his large, calloused ones. They were freezing cold and covered in chemical soap residue from the cleaning bucket.
Thomas: When was the last time you had a meal, Lily?
Lily looked down, unable to meet her father's eyes as a fresh wave of tears rolled down her cheeks, dripping onto her faded uniform.
Lily: Yesterday afternoon, Papa. Before I started the night shift cleaning the boardroom upstairs.
Thomas: Yesterday afternoon? You've been working all night on an empty stomach?
Lily: She locked the pantry, Papa. She said the servants were stealing the luxury groceries. She won't feed me until I finish all the work in the mansion.
Thomas felt a wave of icy rage wash over his chest, tightening his throat. He stood up slowly, his tall frame towering over Victoria, who stepped back slightly, her hand instinctively rising to the diamond pendant at her throat.
Victoria: Don't look at me like that. I provide her with room and board as part of her wages. If she cannot complete her daily tasks, she doesn't earn the perks.
Thomas: Perks? Feeding a human being who is working for you is a perk?
Victoria: This is how a high-end estate operates. If you don't like the rules of the Davis family corporation, you should have sent her to college instead of letting her beg for a maid position.
Thomas: My daughter doesn't beg anyone for anything. Especially not a monster like you.
Victoria: Call me what you want, but I own this property, and I own her time until the shift ends. Now tell her to get back to work or get out of my sight.