Arthur did not pause to look closer or listen to the desperate urgency ringing in the maid's trembling voice. In his panicked, grief-stricken mind, he believed the new servant was vandalizing his family home or trying to steal valuable hidden heirlooms from behind the walls. Years of paranoia, high-stakes corporate legal battles, and recent threats to his vast inheritance had made him suspicious of every outsider in his home. Before Elena could turn around to show him the boy's tear-stained face, Arthur lunged forward and delivered a furious, open-handed slap directly across her cheek. The sharp crack echoed through the wide marble hallway like a gunshot, sending a shockwave of pain through Elena's head. The force of the sudden impact threw her off balance, causing her feet to slide on the polished floorboards. She stumbled backward, gasping in shock as her back hit the opposite wall, her hands flying up to cover her stinging face. Red heat bloomed across her cheek, and tears of humiliation instantly filled her eyes as she stared at her employer in complete disbelief. She had only wanted to save his little boy, yet she was being treated like a dangerous criminal in the middle of his house. Arthur stood over her, his breathing heavy and his fists clenched tightly at his sides as he pointed a trembling finger at the damaged plaster frame.
Arthur: How dare you destroy my property! You are fired immediately!
Elena: You do not understand... Please, just look inside the opening!
Arthur: Keep your mouth shut and get out of my house before I call the police!
Ethan: No! Stop it! She saved me!
The shrill, crying scream came directly from inside the dark wall cavity, freezing Arthur dead in his tracks. The billionaire stopped breathing, his sharp eyes widening in absolute horror as the familiar sound of his missing son's voice echoed out from behind the plaster. From the low angle of the small wall hole, Ethan's dusty face pushed forward into the sunlight, his small tear-filled eyes looking up at his father with deep panic and emotional pain. The little boy was sobbing violently, his body shaking from the emotional trauma of being trapped in the dark for so long.
Ethan: Daddy, stop hurting her! She was pulling me out!
Arthur: Ethan? Is that really you? Oh God, my baby!
Ethan: I got stuck! It was so dark, Daddy! She found me!