The bright white hallway of the grand estate sat completely quiet on Sunday afternoon.
Sunlight poured through the high arched windows near the entryway.
A massive American flag hung neatly against the marble wall near the office doors.
Ten-year-old Lily pounded her small fists against the heavy glass door of the study.
Little Lily: Mommy, please open the door!
She coughed as a thin haze of warm grey dust filled the back corner of the room.
An old heater near the bookshelf had begun to smoke softly.
Her stepmother Evelyn stood right outside the glass frame with her hands folded.
Evelyn wore a crisp beige designer dress and looked completely unbothered.
Her teenage daughter Chloe stood two steps behind her in total silence.
Little Lily: Please, it is getting hard to breathe in here!
Evelyn: Leave her right there, Chloe.
Chloe: Mom, should we maybe unlocked it?
Evelyn: No, she needs to learn some respect in this house.
Lily pulled her knee up to her chest on the hard hardwood floor.
She tugged frantically on the zipper of her brown boot to free her stuck foot.
Her small chest heaved as she took another dusty breath.
Little Lily: Daddy is going to be home soon!
Evelyn: Your father trusts me completely, Lily.
Evelyn adjusted her gold bracelet without even looking through the glass panel.
She believed she was in total control of the entire house.
She did not know that Lily had picked up a small black digital audio device.
The tiny red light on top of the recorder was blinking quietly.
Lily held the recorder close to her blue dress under her folded arms.
Every harsh word from the hallway was being saved on the memory chip.
The haze in the room grew thicker near the ceiling light fixture.
Lily tried to stay low near the floor as her eyes watered.
She heard rapid footsteps echoing from down the main marble corridor.
Her heart jumped with hope as the sound grew closer.
She recognized the heavy leather dress shoes immediately.
Her father was finally home from his weekend business meeting.