Elena adjusted her clean linen apron as she walked through the polished marble foyer.
The sunlight filtered brightly through the towering front windows of the grand estate.
She had worked for the Vance family for less than two quiet months.
Arthur Vance was a successful businessman who spent long hours managing his firm.
His wife Victoria kept a strict eye on every single household detail.
Elena wiped the golden light fixtures along the expansive main hallway.
The mansion was usually completely silent during the warm middle of the afternoon.
Little Timmy was supposed to be resting upstairs in his spacious bedroom suite.
Victoria had mentioned earlier that the young boy was taking an extended nap.
Elena paused near the framed artwork hanging near the central courtyard wall.
A faint tapping sound echoed somewhere deep behind the painted drywall.
She froze in place and held her breath to listen more closely.
The rhythmic sound seemed to come directly from inside the hollow structural frame.
She pressed her right ear flat against the cool plaster surface.
Elena: Is somebody in there?
A muffled sob answered her query from the small void behind the paneling.
Timmy: Help me, it is so dark in here!
Elena gasped out loud as horror washed over her entire body.
She ran toward the utility closet at the end of the bright corridor.
Her hands shook violently while she reached for a heavy framing tool.
She carried the iron hammer back to the exact spot on the wall.
She raised the tool overhead and swung it directly into the sheetrock.
A loud crack echoed across the spotless marble floor of the mansion.
Dust flew into the air as the first piece of plaster collapsed inside.
She struck the paneling a second time with every ounce of her strength.
The sound of heavy structural impacts filled the high ceiling above her.
Rapid footsteps sounded nearby as someone sprinted down the long hallway.
Arthur rounded the corner, his necktie loosened from a long workday.
Arthur: What on earth are you doing to my home?
Elena: Sir, I heard your son's voice crying from inside this wall!
Arthur stared at her in utter disbelief as plaster dust landed on his suit.
Arthur: Timmy is sleeping safely upstairs in his room right now.
Elena: He is not upstairs, sir!
Timmy: Daddy, please get me out!
Arthur turned pale as the tiny muffled voice reached his ears clear as day.
He snatched the heavy iron hammer directly out of Elena's shaking hands.
He struck the center of the interior framework with immense force.
Large pieces of dry wall crumbled outward onto the clean white floor.
A dark hidden compartment appeared behind the broken wooden studs.
Arthur reached his long arms inside the narrow hollowed space.
He wrapped his fingers gently around his terrified young son.
He pulled the small boy out into the bright afternoon sunlight.
Timmy wrapped his arms tightly around his father's broad shoulders.
Timmy: Daddy, I was trapped in the wall!
Arthur: I have you now, son, you are safe with me.
Elena backed away slowly to give the father and son space.
Sharp heels clicked loudly against the marble behind them in the foyer.
Victoria stood at the entrance of the corridor with a furious glare.