Ryan stood in the bright hallway of his newly renovated suburban home.
The sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows and illuminated the polished hardwood floor.
He held two clean coffee mugs in his hands while listening to the morning birds outside.
His three-year-old daughter Lily was kneeling down on the runner rug near the baseboard.
She was clutching a tiny turkey sandwich she had taken from the kitchen counter earlier.
Ryan smiled softly as he leaned against the doorframe to watch his young child play.
He thought she was setting up a picnic for her stuffed animals like she usually did.
However, Lily was not placing the sandwich on a plastic play plate today.
She was carefully pushing small pieces of bread through the metal slats of a wall vent.
Ryan set his coffee mug down on the side table near the hall mirror.
He walked closer to his daughter with slow and gentle steps on the soft carpet.
Ryan: Lily, sweetie, what are you doing with your breakfast down there?
Lily: I am feeding her because she gets hungry during the night, Daddy.
Ryan chuckled softly because he believed his daughter was talking about a little toy.
He bent down on one knee to help her pick up the dropped crusts.
Ryan: Who gets hungry under the floorboards, little sweetie?
Lily: The girl who lives inside the wall behind my bedroom closet.
Ryan stopped moving and looked at the metal return air grate very carefully.
The vent was unusual because it was located along an interior drywall cavity wall.
He placed his hand flat against the cool metal surface of the air vent cover.
A sudden metallic rattle echoed from deep inside the dark wall cavity right then.
Ryan froze instantly as his heart began to beat much faster in his chest.
He pressed his face closer to the narrow metal openings of the floor cover.
Ryan: Is someone down inside there right now?
A tiny pale hand reached out from the darkness inside the wall vent.
The small fingers quickly snatched the piece of sandwich away from Lily's hand.
Ryan gasped loudly and pulled his young daughter back away from the baseboard immediately.
His eyes widened in utter disbelief as he stared at the dark metal opening.
He heard the clear sound of soft breathing coming from inside the dark space.
The small vent cover vibrated again as something moved behind the thin plaster wall.
Ryan: Hey, who is hiding inside my house right now?
He stood up quickly and placed Lily safely behind his large boots.
The entire house was completely silent except for the faint sound of footsteps coming down.
His wife Sarah was walking down the hallway holding a basket of fresh laundry.
She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Ryan kneeling near the wall.
Her face lost all its color and her hands began to shake very violently.
The heavy plastic laundry basket fell out of her hands and hit the floor.
Sarah: Ryan, what are you doing down on the floor over there?
Ryan: Sarah, call the police right now because someone is inside our wall cavity!
Sarah rushed forward in sheer panic and grabbed Ryan by his heavy leather jacket sleeves.
Her fingernails dug deep into his coat as she tried to pull him away.
Sarah: Ryan, do not look in there, please step back right now!