Sarah sat inside her small sedan three blocks away from the massive mansion.
Her heart pounded heavily against her ribs as she stared at the glowing dashboard clock.
She had arrived forty minutes early for her job interview at the downtown law firm.
Yet she could not stop thinking about the cold expression on Evelyn's face.
Evelyn had never liked Sarah or the child from Victor's previous marriage.
She constantly complained about the inheritance money Victor had set aside in his official will.
Sarah placed her hands on the steering wheel and took a deep, steadying breath.
Sarah: Why do I feel like something is terribly wrong?
She pulled out her smartphone and checked her camera monitoring app.
She had slipped a small portable baby monitor into Leo's diaper bag earlier that morning.
The screen connected slowly, showing a flickering black-and-white feed of the high-key living room.
She turned up the volume on her phone speaker to hear the indoor audio clearly.
At first, there was only the faint sound of classical music playing softly in the background.
Then, a sharp scraping noise echoed through her small car speakers.
Sarah leaned closer to the phone screen with wide, terrified eyes.
She heard her baby boy burst into loud, hysterical crying.
Evelyn: Stop your constant screaming right now!
Sarah froze in absolute horror as the audio feed picked up harsh, rapid foot shuffling.
She could hear her child gasping for air between continuous loud sobs.
Evelyn: You are going to learn how to obey the rules in this house!
Sarah did not hesitate for even a single second longer.
She threw her phone onto the passenger seat and slammed her foot onto the gas pedal.
Her car tires squealed loudly as she pulled away from the curb at high speed.
She ignored the job interview entirely as panic surged through her entire body.
Her hands gripped the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles turned completely white.
Sarah: Hold on baby, Mommy is coming right back!
She sped through two red lights while praying continuously for her son's safety.
The distance between the coffee shop and the house had never felt so painfully long.
Every second spent in traffic felt like an absolute eternity to her terrified mind.
She pulled up to the curb outside her father's gated mansion within four fast minutes.
She noticed her father's luxury car parked in the side driveway near the big garage.
He had evidently returned early from his morning board meeting to grab forgotten documents.
Sarah threw her car door open and ran up the front steps like a lightning bolt.
The front door was slightly unlocked, leaving a tiny gap in the doorway frame.
She pushed the heavy door open and rushed into the brightly lit entrance hall.