Clara pulled a small brass key from her dress apron and unlocked the side entry door without noise.
They stepped into a long white hallway that smelled strongly of harsh floor cleaner and cold food trays.
The lights along the low ceiling flickered softly while footsteps echoed from distant rooms further down the hall.
Clara: Follow me quietly toward the end of room four corridor.
Arthur walked on his toes while keeping his back close to the cold painted walls of the hallway.
They passed several empty sitting rooms filled with plain brown furniture and small old television sets on tables.
A nurse walked past the far end of the hallway without looking back toward their hidden positions.
Clara stopped in front of a heavy wooden door marked with the bronze number four on top.
Clara: She is inside this room resting right now sir.
Arthur stood in front of the door while his breathing stopped completely in a wave of deep emotion.
He raised his hand and pushed the wooden door open slowly so it did not make a sound.
The room was simple with a single bed near a high window overlooking the dark pine trees outside.
A young woman sat on the edge of the bed looking at a small red book in her lap.
Her long hair fell over her shoulders, and her posture was identical to Arthur's late mother long ago.
Arthur: Lily, is that really you my sweet little girl?
The young woman turned her head quickly while her blue eyes widened in sudden confusion and surprise.
She stood up from the bed and took a step back toward the open window frame behind her.
Lily: Who are you and how did you get inside my room?
Arthur pulled the small silver locket from his pocket and held it out inside his shaking open palm.
Lily looked down at the shiny metal object while her hand moved up toward her own empty neck.
Lily: That belongs to me, but the head nurse took it yesterday!
Arthur: I gave you this locket on your tenth birthday at home.
Lily stared into Arthur's eyes while small tears began to form along her dark eyelashes in the light.
A tiny memory seemed to spark inside her mind as she looked at the silver chain in his hand.
Lily: Daddy, you came back to find me after all these years?
Arthur stepped across the room and wrapped his strong arms around his grown daughter in a tight hug.
Lily cried softly against his shoulder while Arthur held her head close to his chest in total relief.
Twenty years of deep pain and sadness melted away inside the small white room of the private facility.
Arthur: I never stopped looking for you my sweet angel child.
Lily: The lady in the red car told me you died in a fire.
Arthur felt a surge of cold fury return to his heart at the mention of his wicked wife Victoria.
He pulled back slightly to look at Lily's healthy face while brushing away her wet tears softly.
Arthur: We are leaving right now, and you will never return here.
Clara: Hurry sir, I hear footsteps coming down the hallway fast!
The heavy footsteps grew louder as a tall man in a dark suit appeared at the room doorway.
It was the chief administrator of the facility holding a small black phone close to his ear.