"Mommy, are we going for ice cream?" Maya's sweet voice broke the silence.

The woman sitting next to her averted her eyes from the car window and smiled kindly at her. "No, honey, we are going to a fancy restaurant," she said.

"The one that has delicious food?" Maya asked, her excitement palpable. Her eyes, the same shade of blue as her father's, sparkled with anticipation as she looked at him driving the car.

"Yes, my dear," her father replied, and his eyes also sparkled with a smile.

"Yay!" Both parents beamed with happiness when they saw Maya's excitement.

Maya moved closer to the car window when the splashing of the rain caught her attention. She put her little hand on the window.

Before Mia could comprehend what was happening, the car went off the road and a loud noise was heard. The car crashed into the roadside with tremendous force.

Maya's eyes widened in shock. She heard her mother's scream, and everything around her blurred, and her beautiful eyes could only focus on red.

Her azure eyes opened wide, her breathing heavy, her gaze fixed on the ceiling above her.

Maya rolled over to the other side of the bed, but no matter what she did, she could not fall back asleep. She just could not stop thinking about the accident, her eyes sank to the floor and she swallowed the bitterness in her heart.

She would never forget that day, it had been 17 years and her life had not improved. Realizing that it was pointless to continue sleeping, she rolled to the edge of her bed and stood up.

Maya went to the bathroom; it was small, but adequate for a servant. She no longer cared about such details, although she should have.

After the accident, she woke up in the hospital, all alone. Hours later her uncle came to take her home, and at that moment Maya learned of her parent's death.

She agreed to go with her uncle to her parent's house, believing that everything would be fine. At first, it seemed that her expectations would be met, but perhaps it was because of her still-present grief that she did not notice the evil looks around her.

However, when her uncle's family came to visit them at her parent's house, her life took a drastic turn.

Since she no longer had any say in her uncle's family, she watched as everything she called her own slipped from her hands. Her uncle's children took over everything that belonged to her, from her room, which her mother had decorated with much love, to the clothes her parents bought.

As a child who can not say anything or fight for herself, Maya had no choice but to accept everything that came her way, she could not fight back or save herself or wait for someone to come and save her.

When she was made a slave to the family at a young age, she was hurt trying to learn the tasks her parents would not have allowed her to do, and she cried, but soon learned that this is how her life had to be.

So she began to follow the rules.

Maya's POV

I washed my face at the sink, and with a sigh, I raised my eyes to the mirror above me. I stared at myself and felt empty, it was no different from the feeling I get every day. I reached out and pulled my ginger hair into a small bun.

Another sleepless night for me, I noticed that my lips had become a little chapped and I ran my wet tongue over them, after that I decided to turn away and go downstairs. It had become a habit to do chores in the middle of the night, and that was the only way I could avoid suicidal thoughts, no matter how hard life is, I had promised my parents that I would live.

I walked out of my little hut, it was very chilly outside. A shiver ran down my spine, not caring about the darkness, I hurried to the door that led to the kitchen, took the key that I always carried with me, and hurried into the house.

Everywhere was dark, I went to where I knew the switch might be and turned on the light. I stood in the middle of the kitchen and looked around, until now nothing had changed in this place, not even after the death of my parents.

What had changed was that they were no longer here and I was forced to sleep in the hut outside that had been made up for the servants, but what the hell, I'm a servant too, there was no point in talking about it so I decided to get to work.

I looked around and decided to start cleaning up the whole house because running around in the middle of the night moving things around was nothing new in this house and everyone was used to it.

It's not like they'd ask what was going on because they didn't care, no one in this house cares what I do or don't do, I didn't like getting in their way either so I'd do my best to stay away from them.

But they wouldn't leave me alone, not a day went by that they didn't say hurtful things or find a way to torment me. I decided to let go of the past, took the bucket from the corner of the kitchen, and went back outside to fill it with water, then I hurried back inside, away from the wind.

I took the mop and decided to start with the top floor of the house, after all, it was my job. I took the stairs and did my best not to spill the water because I'm a clumsy person and the soap suds are slippery.

After a few minutes, I arrived at the top floor and looked at the light in the hallway with a frown. It's a real surprise that the lights are still on because my uncle made sure all the lights were off before they went to bed, but I decided not to give it a second thought, maybe they just forgot.

I put the bucket down, and cleaning the hallways was one of the things I hated the most, but my uncle said I had to do it every day no matter what. I got ready and put the mop in the water, then started my work.

Most of the rooms here are locked up tight, which is a good thing because I don't like seeing these people. They disgust me, who would take advantage of a kid and try to take his stuff, but it's not like I've any chance of survival, and even though it looks like I've freedom, I don't.

My uncle has cameras on me, even in the hut where I live, he'd do anything to stop me from trying to leave. I was his trump card because it was only. After all, I existed that the old men who had shares in my father's company allowed him to take it over.

Knowing that when I grew up I might turn against him, he denied me education from a young age. He made sure that I was allowed to enter my father's company only during the year-end celebrations so that the old men could see that I was alive and well.

Once I tried he would interfere and warn me against it, one time I tried to escape from the party and he caught me, and when we got home he whipped me so hard that every part of my body hurt, my skin cracked, and I bled profusely

I remember how he dragged me out of the house into the backyard and left me there to bleed to death. He made a habit of telling me that my status had sunk to that of a slave and that I should be more careful in everything I did.

Slowly I straightened up and dragged myself to the hut where I was staying because I knew there was no point in escaping, so I stopped and decided to follow his instructions.

I sighed, there's no point in remembering all this. It makes no sense at all, so I decided to concentrate on mopping the floors, but as I approached his study, I heard certain voices from inside and wondered who it could be, because at this hour my uncle would be asleep.

The closer I got, the clearer the voices became and I realized that one of them was my uncle's, while the other came from a certain man I had never heard before. I didn't listen to them, but as I moved along, I heard my name coming from my uncle's mouth, so I stopped listening further and moved closer to the door of the study.

Curiosity got the better of me and my nerves were shot. I looked around to see if anyone would notice anything, but the whole hallway was empty, but my worry didn't stop even for a moment. I walked closer to the door, my breathing deepened and I held the mop so tightly that my knuckles almost turned white.

Something kept telling me to leave this place and never look back, but I couldn't muster the courage to leave either.

" I'd get the contract if Maya is in your hands?" My uncle asked, and I could hear the contempt in his voice.

Hearing what he just said, I froze, not realizing that I had been holding my breath until now.

"Yes," replied the unknown voice,

Too bad the door is closed, I wanted to look at the person.

" The contract is good, but I don't know how to benefit from it," replied my uncle, "I don't know whether to be happy or rather worried about it.

" I'll adjust my budget for the contract, you just have to get me your niece," replied the unknown voice. My uncle was silent for a while.

I waited anxiously for his reply, hoping that he wouldn't agree. My heart pounded violently in my chest and I lowered my gaze to the floor waiting for him,

After a few minutes of silence, he replied, "Okay, when do you want her delivered?"

My heart pounded to the pit of my stomach and I took a step back. The mop almost slipped out of my hand, but I held it back, I couldn't let him know I had heard everything.

I looked at the door and was so sad. He wants to trade me for a contract, but what good am I to him, I can clean anything, so why does he want to sell me to a stranger?

A single tear ran down my cheek and I reached out to wipe it away immediately, it hurt so much in my heart. I looked at the closed door and turned away. I didn't have the strength to continue cleaning, but then I wanted to leave too.

I couldn't let him know that I had heard everything, so I took my bucket and went up the stairs. Even though he was so heartless, I couldn't believe he'd sell me out, but why should I be disappointed after knowing his true colors for so long?

After taking away all my parents' property and treating me like a slave, should not he be a little ashamed of what he was doing? He owes me too much more than he thinks. I took the bucket into the kitchen and didn't care any further, I just went back to my pain, feeling empty and drained, despair dragging me down.