Victoria: No! Stop her![cite: 1]
The heavy white double doors creaked loudly as they slowly swung open, revealing a dark, dusty room filled with covered furniture and forgotten relics[cite: 1]. Cold air rushed out of the doorway, smelling of damp stone and old paper[cite: 1].
Julian: You stupid girl... you have no idea what you've just done[cite: 1].
Maya: Is... is someone in there?[cite: 1]
Maya took a step inside, her eyes adjusting to the dim light filtering through the stained-glass window at the back of the room[cite: 1]. In the center of the space sat a small iron crib, surrounded by dusty wooden toys and empty picture frames[cite: 1].
Victoria: Get out of that room right now, Maya! That is private family property![cite: 1]
Maya: Look at this room, Mrs. Sterling... this isn't a storage room. This was a nursery[cite: 1].
Julian: My sister died here fifteen years ago when she was just a baby[cite: 1]. We sealed the room to honor her memory![cite: 1]
Maya: Then why is there fresh food on the small wooden table next to the crib?[cite: 1]
Julian froze in his tracks[cite: 1]. Victoria gasped, her eyes wide with terror as she stared at the small wooden table inside the hidden room[cite: 1]. On it sat a glass of fresh water and a plate with a warm slice of bread[cite: 1].
Maya: You didn't seal this room to honor a dead baby... you've been keeping someone locked in here![cite: 1]
Victoria: That's absurd! Who would we keep locked up in our own mansion?![cite: 1]
Maya: Where is the child, Victoria?! Where is she?![cite: 1]
A soft rustling sound came from behind a large velvet curtain in the corner of the room[cite: 1]. A tiny, pale hand reached out from behind the fabric, clutching the dark cloth with trembling fingers[cite: 1].
Voice: Help... please...[cite: 1]
Maya rushed across the dusty floor and pulled the velvet curtain aside[cite: 1]. Sitting on a small cushion was a young girl, no older than ten years old, wearing a thin white dress[cite: 1]. Her hair was tangled, and her large blue eyes were filled with tears as she looked up at Maya[cite: 1].
Maya: Oh my God... you're alive![cite: 1]
Girl: Are you... are you the new helper?[cite: 1]
Maya: Yes, sweetie. My name is Maya. What is your name?[cite: 1]
Girl: My name is Lily... Lily Sterling[cite: 1].
Maya's blood ran cold[cite: 1]. She turned around slowly to face Julian and Victoria, who were standing in the doorway with pale, horrified expressions[cite: 1].
Maya: Sterling...? She has your last name![cite: 1]
Julian: She... she isn't supposed to exist[cite: 1].
Maya: Who is she, Julian?! Tell me right now![cite: 1]
Victoria: She is my late husband's illegitimate daughter![cite: 1]
The words bounced off the stone walls of the dark nursery like a physical slap[cite: 1]. Victoria stepped forward, her teeth clenched in bitter hatred as she pointed at the small girl cowering behind Maya[cite: 1].
Victoria: Her mother was a waitress who tried to ruin our family's reputation ten years ago! When my husband passed away, his secret will left half of his billion-dollar estate directly to this little mistake![cite: 1]
Maya: So you hid her in this locked room so she could never claim her inheritance?![cite: 1]
Julian: If the trust fund lawyers found out she was alive, Mother and I would lose control of the company board! We would be forced to give up the estate![cite: 1]
Maya: You monsters! You locked a little girl in a hidden room for ten years just for money![cite: 1]
Victoria: We fed her! We kept her safe! She had everything she needed in this room![cite: 1]
Maya: She had nothing! She was living like a prisoner in her own father's house![cite: 1]
Julian reached into his tuxedo coat and pulled out a heavy metal flashlight, his jaw set in a cold, ruthless grimace[cite: 1].
Julian: Nobody can ever find out about this, Maya[cite: 1]. You should have just kept wiping the kitchen counters[cite: 1].