The bright morning sun shone across the marble floor of the grand estate in suburban Atlanta.
Little seven-year-old Lily stood inside the locked glass sunroom near the rear patio.
Her small palms pressed flat against the thick glass pane as tears streamed down her cheeks.
The air inside the glass room was hot and sticky from the high summer moisture.
She could see her father standing just a few feet away near the swimming pool edge.
He was dressed in a crisp navy suit while holding a dark leather briefcase.
Beside him stood Victoria, her new stepmother, who wore a shiny silver sequin dress.
Victoria held the gold key to the heavy glass door right in her right hand.
Lily: Daddy, please unlock the door! It is getting so hot in here!
Marcus turned his face away from the glass door and refused to meet her eyes.
He adjusted his red necktie with a trembling hand while staring at his expensive shoes.
Victoria: Stop looking at her, Marcus. She needs to learn her proper place.
Marcus: Victoria, this is going too far. My mother will be here soon.
Victoria: Your mother does not control this house anymore. I make the rules now.
Lily banged her small fists against the glass door with all her remaining strength.
She wiped her sweaty forehead with the sleeve of her little white cotton dress.
Her late mother had given her that white dress on her last happy birthday party.
Ever since her mother passed away, everything in this grand house had completely changed.
Victoria had moved into the master bedroom only three short months after the funeral.
She wanted all of the family fortune for herself and her own greedy plans.
Lily: Please, Daddy! I promise I will be quiet! Just open the door!
Victoria: She was snooping through my jewelry box again today, Marcus.
Marcus: Lily, why did you go into Victoria's personal room upstairs?
Lily: I was only looking for my mother's heirloom gold ring!
Victoria: That ring belongs to me now as the new wife of this household.
Lily felt her tiny heart pounding fast inside her chest as panic filled her body.
She could hear the distant sound of a car engine pulling up the long drive.
A shiny black sedan stopped right in front of the main stone front steps.
Lily knew that car belonged to her loving grandmother, Evelyn.
Evelyn was a sharp businesswoman who loved Lily more than life itself.
Victoria: Put your sunglasses on, Marcus. Do not act nervous in front of her.
Marcus: She is going to notice that Lily is missing from the living room.
Victoria: We will tell her Lily is taking a long nap upstairs in her bedroom.
Lily started kicking the glass door as hard as her little shoes could manage.
She called out her grandmother's name at the top of her little lungs.
The glass was thick, but her high voice echoed across the quiet rear courtyard.
Victoria reached over and gripped Marcus tightly by his navy jacket sleeve.
Victoria: Stand still and let me do all the talking when she walks out here.
Marcus: I do not think this plan is going to work, Victoria.
Victoria: It will work if you just keep your mouth completely shut.
Lily wiped her nose and pressed her face tight against the warm glass frame.
She prayed that her grandmother would check the garden before walking inside.