Chapter 1 - The Noise Behind the PaintThe Montgomery estate looked like the kind of place that existed outside ordinary life.
On that warm autumn afternoon, sunlight poured through enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, turning the polished hardwood floors into sheets of gold. Crystal chandeliers glittered above hundreds of wealthy guests. A string quartet played softly near the grand staircase while waiters moved through the crowd carrying champagne.
At the center of it all hung a massive American flag.
Tonight was the annual Montgomery Foundation charity gala, an event attended by CEOs, politicians, celebrities, and socialites. Millions of dollars were raised each year for children's hospitals and orphanages.
For Sarah Miller, however, none of that mattered.
She had come because her rent was two weeks late.
Her dark-gray server uniform was clean but worn. Her green gloves were slightly too large. Her shoes pinched her feet, but she ignored the pain.
She carried a silver tray through the mansion, keeping her eyes lowered.
Rich people laughed.
Music played.
Champagne flowed.
And nobody noticed the woman struggling to survive among them.
Then Sarah heard something.
A sound so faint that she almost dismissed it.
Thump.
She stopped.
A second sound followed.
Scratch... scratch...
Sarah slowly turned toward a massive gold-framed painting hanging on the hallway wall.
She frowned.
The music was loud here, but beneath it she could hear something else.
A tiny voice.
"Please..."
Sarah's blood went cold.
She stepped closer.
"Hello?"
Nothing.
Then—
"Please help me..."
The voice was unmistakably a child.
Sarah's hand trembled as she touched the painting.
"Is someone in there?"
A frightened whisper answered.
"It is so cold."
Sarah's heart slammed against her ribs.
She looked toward the ballroom.
Everyone was laughing.
Nobody was listening.
Sarah stared at the wall.
Then she whispered:
"Hang on, buddy."
She put down her tray.
May you like
And for the first time that night, she stopped being a waitress.
She became the only person in the mansion who was listening.
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