In the adjacent play area, little Lily heard the loud, heavy thud of her father falling in the main hall. She dropped her colored pencils onto the rug, her small heart instantly dropping into her stomach as a cold wave of fear washed over her. She ran toward the doorway, peering into the sunlit hall to see her father collapsed on the light marble floor, clutching his chest desperately as he struggled for air. His face was pale, his lips turning a dangerous shade of blue as he gasped for oxygen under the shadow of the large American flag hanging above the grand corridor. Standing right beside the doorway of the study was Victoria, holding a key in her hand, her expression entirely cold and devoid of any human pity.
Lily: Daddy! What happened to Daddy?
Victoria: Stay back, Lily! He is having a severe attack. Do not touch him.
Lily: He needs his doctor kit! He needs his emergency shot!
Victoria: It is too late for that. Go to your bedroom right now.
Lily did not obey the cruel command. She knew exactly where her father kept his emergency epinephrine syringe because he had carefully taught her how to use it in case of a medical emergency. She sprinted toward the side cabinet near the parlor where the backup medical kit was kept in a small locked box. She remembered seeing Victoria lingering around that exact cabinet earlier that morning. With her small fingers shaking violently, Lily pulled open the lower drawer, finding the clear plastic emergency syringe tucked beneath a stack of folded linens where someone had tried to hide it out of sight.
Lily: I found it! Daddy, I am coming!
Victoria: Drop that right now, you foolish child!
Lily clutched the life-saving syringe tightly in her right hand and turned around to run back into the main hall. She saw her father's eyes rolling back, his hands weakly scratching at the cold marble floor as his chest barely rose and fell. Panicked tears filled Lily's eyes, running down her cheeks, but she pushed her fear down with pure courage. She gripped the plastic casing of the shot, running as fast as her small legs could carry her across the slippery polished floor toward the spot where her father lay dying in the bright daylight.
Lily: Hold on, Daddy! Hold on!
Victoria: Stop right there, Lily!
As Lily neared her father's motionless body, Victoria rushed forward with terrifying speed, her black off-shoulder gown rustling loudly against the quiet hall. Her face was twisted into a mask of pure fury as she reached out her long fingers, grabbing Lily's tiny wrist with a brutal, crushing grip right under the US flag. The sheer force of the pull nearly knocked the small girl off her feet, but Lily held onto the syringe with all the strength in her body.
Victoria: Let him die! He deserves this!
Lily: No! Let go of me! You are hurting me!
Victoria: Give that to me right now!
Victoria squeezed Lily's wrist harder, trying to pry the child's fingers away from the medicine one by one. Lily cried out in pain, but she looked down at her father's pale, motionless face on the floor. She knew that if she dropped the shot for even a single second, her father would be gone forever, leaving her completely alone with this monster of a woman in this vast, cold house.