Victoria: Stop this instant! What do you think you are doing to my house?
Victoria rushed down the stairs, her silk robe billowing behind her as her eyes widened in pure fury. She grabbed Elena's arm with a tight, painful grip, trying to pull the maid away from the damaged wall.
Victoria: Get your hands off that wall right now! You are fired!
Elena: Let go of me! There is a child inside this wall!
Victoria: You've lost your mind! Close it up! He isn't allowed to be here!
Elena: I'm not closing anything! You locked him in there!
Elena yanked her arm free from Victoria's grasp, ignoring the woman's harsh demands as she turned back to the jagged hole. She reached in deep, her hands catching small, dust-covered fingers that clung to her with terrifying strength.
Elena: Grab my hand, sweetheart! I've got you!
Victoria: Step away from there! You have no idea what you are messing with!
Elena: I know exactly what I'm looking at, you monster!
With a slow, careful pull, Elena helped the tiny seven-year-old boy climb out through the narrow opening. His clothes were torn, covered in white plaster dust and insulation fibers. Tears streaked through the dirt on his pale face as he fell against Elena, trembling hysterically in her arms.
Leo: She locked me in... she put me in the dark...
Elena: It's okay, Leo. You're safe now. I've got you.
Victoria: Shut your mouth, you foolish boy! Don't you dare speak to her!
Elena: Do not scream at him! Look at what you did to your own stepson!
Victoria: He is a liar! He crawled in there himself to get attention!
Elena: The hatch was latched from the outside! I saw the sliding bolt!
Victoria's face turned pale for a brief second before hardening back into a cold, contemptuous mask. She stepped closer, reaching out to grab Leo's arm, but Elena shielded the boy with her body, standing firm between the terrified child and the wealthy mistress of the house.
Victoria: Give him to me right now, or I will call the police and have you arrested for trespassing and property damage!
Elena: Go ahead and call them! Let the police see where you've been keeping him!
Victoria: You don't know who you're dealing with, Elena. My family owns this city's top legal firm. No one will believe a maid over me.
Elena: They will believe the bruises on his wrists. They will believe the truth.
Before Victoria could respond, the heavy front doors swung open, the sound echoing loudly across the vaulted foyer. A man in a sharp black suit stepped into the hall, carrying a leather briefcase, his expression shifting instantly from calm to complete bewilderment as he took in the scene of destruction and tears.
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