David rushed through the front entrance of his expensive estate.
The heavy dark doors slammed shut behind him with a loud thud.
He had lived in Dallas for five years without any trouble.
His stepmother Sarah had managed the large household since his father passed.
She kept every room spotless and perfectly arranged every single day.
Yet David felt an uneasy tension in the quiet air today.
He walked quickly down the main hallway toward his private office.
A sudden movement near the baseboard caught his sharp eye.
A small girl stood silently beside the framed wall art.
She wore a simple dress and had light freckles on her nose.
She held a white ceramic plate filled with small sandwich halves.
David stopped in his tracks and stared at the young child.
He had never seen this little girl in his house before.
She looked up at him with wide and terrified blue eyes.
Without saying a single word, she lowered her small frame.
She placed the plate of food directly onto the hardwood floor.
David: Lily, what are you doing?
The child flinched slightly when he spoke her name aloud.
She backed away toward a decorative wooden panel in the wall.
David took two quick steps forward to reach her side.
Sarah walked into the grand hallway with a sharp gasp.
Her face turned pale as she saw the little girl.
Sarah: David, get away from her right now!
David: Who is this child, Sarah?
Sarah: She is just a local intruder who snuck inside!
David did not believe the cold tone in Sarah's voice.
The little girl pointed a trembling finger toward the lower wall.
David knelt down on the cold floor near the white baseboard.
He touched the edge of the smooth white paneling gently.
A hidden cabinet latch clicked open with a faint creak.