Alice drove back home, getting inside, she was welcomed by silence. She felt the oddity of her home like a wave of shivers to sink her heart. She swallowed hard, tears streaming down her cheeks, followed by anxiety. The home that's always bright and beautiful was totally quiet; no maid was coming to welcome her, and there was no movement around the house, and the beautiful fragrance that lingers around the air seemed to be fading. She shook her head in protest.

" This can't be our downfall," she said as the fear gripped her, " I can't be poor; I won't be poor."

She rushed upstairs to her room;...