The bright sunroom was full of warm sunlight on a quiet Sunday afternoon.
An American flag stood proudly near the large glass windows.
Adrian adjusted his white shirt while sitting at the wooden dining table.
His young daughter Mia played near the large stone fireplace.
His new wife Brenda smiled while drinking her morning coffee.
Everything seemed perfect for the small family in their big suburban home.
Mia was running her small fingers over the smooth fireplace stones.
She stopped near a small piece of decorative brass trim.
Adrian watched his daughter with a calm and happy smile.
Then Mia pressed a tiny metal spot near the mantel.
Brenda suddenly dropped her coffee cup onto the marble floor.
The glass did not break, but the dark liquid spilled quickly.
Brenda jumped up from her chair with a pale face.
She rushed across the room and grabbed Mia's small arm.
Adrian frowned as he watched his wife's sudden panic.
Mia looked up with big, confused eyes at her stepmother.
Mia: Look, Daddy!
Mia: The wall moves when I press here!
Brenda: Mia, stop touching things that do not belong to you!
Adrian: Brenda, why are you yelling at her?
Brenda: She could hurt herself on the heavy stone, Adrian.
Adrian: It is just a stone decorative wall.
Brenda: Children should not play near the fireplace at all.
Adrian stood up slowly from the long wooden table.
He noticed that Brenda was trembling very hard.
Her hands were clutched tightly around Mia's shoulders.
Adrian walked closer to the fireplace wall with curiosity.
He had lived in this house for only three months.
Brenda had owned the property long before they were married.
She had always told him the house was an old family inheritance.
He reached out his hand toward the polished brass button.
Brenda quickly stepped directly between Adrian and the stone wall.
She placed both of her hands flat against his chest.
Brenda: Adrian, please just leave it alone!
Adrian: Why are you acting so nervous right now?
Brenda: There is nothing behind that stone wall!
Mia: She goes inside there every single night!
Adrian stopped and looked down at his young daughter.
The room became completely quiet for a long moment.
Brenda let out a small, terrified gasp of breath.
She pulled Mia back toward the dining table quickly.
Adrian stared at the brass button with deep suspicion.