Dominic rushed inside the small room and dropped to his knees.
Clara was lying weakly on top of a thin gray blanket.
Her face was pale and her eyes were dark from exhaustion.
Dominic: Clara, oh my god, what did she do to you?
Clara: She locked me in here two nights ago, Dominic.
Dominic gently lifted his wife up into a sitting position.
Harper jumped onto the mattress and wrapped her arms around Clara.
Harper: Mommy, I missed you so much!
Clara: Harper... Dominic... you saved my life...
Clara wept softly as she held her daughter very close.
Dominic felt tears burning behind his own tired eyes.
He wrapped his large arms around both of them on the floor.
Dominic: How could anyone do this to another human being?
Clara: She wanted me to sign over my legal inheritance trust.
Clara: She said I would stay here until I signed everything.
Dominic looked down at Clara's pale wrists and trembling hands.
She had been given only a small bottle of tap water.
Dominic: She will pay for every single second of this crime.
Dominic stood up and helped Clara stand up on her feet.
She was weak and swayed slightly against his strong chest.
Dominic held her waist tightly while keeping Harper by his side.
They walked out of the tiny cell into the main cellar aisle.
Evelyn was standing near the bottom of the concrete stairs.
She held a thick leather envelope tightly against her dark cardigan.
Evelyn: Clara was confused about our agreement, Dominic.
Evelyn: This was just a misunderstanding about the trust fund.
Dominic: Misunderstanding? You locked her behind a steel wall!
Evelyn: I was trying to protect our family business empire!
Dominic took three large steps toward the nervous old woman.
His shadow towered over her under the dim basement hallway light.
Dominic: You kept a mother away from her child for greed!
Evelyn: You don't understand how much money is at stake here!
Dominic: Money means nothing compared to my wife's safety!
Evelyn backed away until her shoulders hit the concrete staircase wall.
She looked around frantically for an escape path through the cellar.
Dominic: You are not going anywhere, Evelyn.
Evelyn: You cannot keep me down here in this cold room!
Dominic: I am calling the sheriff and our family lawyers immediately.
Dominic pulled his phone back out and dialed nine-one-one.
He pressed the speakerphone button so everyone could hear the dial tone.