Elena: Please, hold still. I am going to get you out of there right now.
Ethan: Help me! Please, it’s so dark in here!
The heavy gold frame scraped roughly against the wallpaper as Elena pulled the oversized oil painting away from the wall[cite: 1]. Sunlight poured through the grand windows of the Dallas luxury mansion, but inside the dark void behind the wall, a child was trapped[cite: 1].
Elena: Ethan, keep talking! I’m getting you out!
Ethan: Maid Elena! Hurry! I can't breathe!
Elena dropped her dusting cloth and grabbed the heavy iron poker tool from the brick fireplace[cite: 1]. Her hands shook violently as she wedged the metal point into the screws holding the ventilation grill in place[cite: 1]. Small, dirty fingers poked out through the steel slats, wiggling in sheer terror[cite: 1].
Ethan: She locked me in! She said my dad would never find me!
Elena: I’ve got you, sweetheart. Just hold on for two seconds.
With a loud metallic pop, the bottom screw gave way[cite: 1]. Elena jammed her fingers under the grate, yanking the heavy metal door completely off its frame[cite: 1]. She reached into the narrow, dark brick alcove and pulled out six-year-old Ethan, who was shivering in his torn pajamas[cite: 1].
Ethan: She lied to me! She said my dad left me forever!
Elena: Hush now, you’re safe. Nobody is hurting you ever again.
Elena pulled the boy tight against her grey maid uniform, feeling his heart pounding like a trapped bird against her chest[cite: 1]. She stroked his messy hair, her own eyes filling with furious tears[cite: 1]. But before she could even stand up, the quiet rustle of a expensive silk gown echoed across the marble hallway[cite: 1].
Isabella: Put him back right now, Elena. Do it, and I might just let you keep your job.
Elena turned her head slowly to face the stepmother standing in the doorway, key in hand, cold as ice[cite: 1]. But right behind her, stepping into the sunlight, was Ethan’s father[cite: 1].