Sarah looked around the grand hallway for another way out.
The heavy front door was locked tight from the inside.
She remembered the small kitchen exit leading toward the driveway.
Sarah turned around quickly and ran down the side corridor.
Elena shouted angrily and gave chase down the long hall.
"Stop right there before I call the security guards!"
Sarah pushed through the swinging wooden doors of the kitchen.
The chef looked up in surprise from his preparation counter.
"Sarah, what is going on back here?" the chef asked.
"Help me, please!" Sarah cried out as she kept moving fast.
She sprinted past the stainless steel tables toward the back door.
Elena burst through the kitchen doors right behind them.
"Do not let her leave with that girl!" Elena demanded loudly.
The chef stepped into the path, looking confused and stressed.
Sarah grabbed the metal door handle and pulled it open wide.
Bright afternoon daylight flooded into the quiet back kitchen.
Sarah ran out into the courtyard toward the open driveway.
Lily held on tight and whimpered softly against Sarah's neck.
"We are safe now, sweetie," Sarah whispered while running fast.
A dark sedan pulled into the driveway near the front gates.
Sarah stopped in her tracks as the car door opened up.
A tall man in a dark suit stepped out into the light.
It was Mr. David Sterling, the late owner's younger brother.
David looked surprised to see the maid running with a child.
"Sarah? Why are you running out here like this?"
Elena ran out onto the stone porch, looking flustered.
"David, stop her! She is trying to kidnap the child!"
Sarah shook her head rapidly and stood behind David's car.
"That is not true, Mr. Sterling! Look at this child!"
David looked down at Lily's small face and froze instantly.
He recognized the child's bright brown eyes right away.
"This is my brother's daughter, Lily," David said softly.
"Elena told the whole family that Lily went to live abroad."
Sarah pointed back toward the open second-story window above.
"She was locked inside a hidden wall compartment today."
David turned his gaze toward Elena with deep suspicion.
"Is this where you have been keeping her, Elena?"