The quiet morning inside the Sterling estate shattered into total chaos within a few seconds.
Sarah gripped the handles of the heavy stroller with all her strength.
Her bright green dress rustled loudly against the white marble steps as she hurried down.
The infant inside the stroller screamed loudly in sheer terror.
Sarah looked behind her shoulder twice to make sure nobody was following them down the grand staircase.
Her heart pounded wildly against her ribs with every step she took.
She reached the main lobby floor and dropped straight to her knees on the cold polished stone.
Her trembling fingers fought frantically with the stroller harness safety buckles.
Sarah: Hush now, little one, you are safe with me.
The baby continued to cry uncontrollably while twisting around under the soft blue blanket.
Heavy footprints suddenly echoed from the top floor balcony down into the echoing entrance hall.
Mark stepped into view at the top of the stairs with a deep frown on his face.
He wore his usual crisp grey button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
His eyes widened in shock as he took in the strange scene unfolding down below.
Mark: What is wrong down there?
Sarah: Please, help me! The baby needs you right now!
Mark bolted down the marble stairs three at a time without hesitation.
He reached the bottom of the staircase out of breath and knelt right beside her on the floor.
He placed his warm hands on the stroller frame to steady the rocking carriage.
Mark: What happened to him, Sarah?
Sarah: Don't worry, I've got the baby!
Mark: Everything will be okay, just tell me what happened up there.
Sarah wiped a tear from her cheek and pointed toward the eastern wing of the house.
Sarah: Someone was hiding in the nursery while you were in your home office.
Mark: That is impossible because the security system is fully active today.
Sarah: I saw them with my own eyes through the cracked nursery door.
Mark stood up quickly and pulled out his cell phone from his pocket.
He tapped the screen to view the live security camera feeds from around the estate.
The video screen for the upstairs hallway showed only static and black lines.
Mark: The upstairs cameras have been manually disconnected from the main feed.
Sarah: They tried to take his legal identification documents from the wooden crib drawer.
Mark felt a cold wave of fear wash over his entire body.
He looked at Sarah, who had worked as his son's nanny for only three months.
She had always been quiet, gentle, and extremely professional with the newborn child.
Now her hands were covered in dust from the unused back storage hallway.
Mark: Who did you see in the room?
Sarah: It was your sister Victoria and a man carrying a leather briefcase.
Mark: Victoria was supposed to be in New York until next weekend.
Sarah: She had a silver key to the rear entrance door downstairs.
Mark remembered giving his sister a spare key three years ago during holidays.
He looked back down at his crying son and took a deep breath.
The piece of paper tucked under the baby blanket caught his attention immediately.