Chapter 1. The Golden Cage of Hunger
The house was very big. It was a mansion made of gold and glass. But inside, it was very cold.
Elena sat at a long table. She had four children: two boys and two girls. They were all sitting in the dark because their father, Marcus, had turned off the lights to save money.
The children looked at their plates. The plates were empty.
"Mommy, I am so hungry," said little Maya. She was only five years old. Her voice was very small.
Elena felt a big pain in her heart. She was the Vice CEO of a huge company. She was a boss. But today, she had no money. Her husband Marcus had frozen her bank cards. He had locked the food away.
"I know, my baby," Elena whispered. "Daddy will be home soon. Maybe he will bring bread."
Suddenly, the front door opened. Marcus walked in. He was wearing a suit that cost thousands of dollars. He smelled like expensive perfume. But he was not alone.
His secretary, Lydia, was with him. She was wearing a red dress and laughing. She was holding a bag of hot food. The smell of fried chicken filled the room. The children’s eyes went wide. They were so hungry they wanted to cry.
"Marcus," Elena said, standing up. "The kids have not eaten all day. Did you bring food for them?"
Marcus did not look at his children. He looked at Lydia and smiled.
"Lydia made me a great lunch at the office," Marcus said. "She is a much better cook than you, Elena. She knows how to take care of a man."
Lydia looked at Elena with an evil smile. "Oh Marcus, it’s okay. Maybe Elena was too busy being a 'boss' to learn how to fry chicken for her own kids."
Elena felt like she was going to explode. "Marcus! I built that company with you! We are billionaires! Why are our children hungry?"
Marcus stepped closer to her. His face was cold. "You are not a boss anymore, Elena. I fired you today. Lydia is the new Vice CEO. You have no job. You have no money. You are just a housemaid now."
The children started to cry. The boys, Malachi and Ethan, stood up to protect their mother.
"Don't talk to Mommy like that!" Ethan shouted.
Marcus laughed a mean laugh. "If you want to eat, Elena, you must sign these papers. Give me all your shares of the company. If you don't sign, nobody in this house eats."
He took the bag of hot chicken and threw it into the trash can in front of the hungry children.
"If I don't give it to you, nobody gets it," Marcus said.
He walked out with Lydia. They were going to a fancy hotel to sleep. Elena stood in the dark kitchen. She looked at the trash can. She looked at her crying children.
She felt a fire starting inside her soul.
"Don't cry," Elena told her kids. "I will find a way. I will work three jobs if I have to. I will feed you."
She went to her room and found an old phone. She had one secret contact left.
"It is time," she said into the phone. "He thinks I am poor. But I am going to take everything back."
Just then, Elena heard a noise. Someone was standing at the door. It was a man in a black suit. He was one of Marcus’s guards."Madam," the guard said quietly. "I saw what he did. I want to help you, but you must leave the house now before the police arrive."
