Chapter 2 - The Boy in the WallSarah pulled the enormous painting away from the wall.
It was heavier than she expected.
Behind it was an old metal ventilation grate secured with several rusted bolts.
Her stomach twisted.
This wasn't normal construction.
Someone had deliberately hidden it.
Sarah crouched down.
"Can you hear me?"
Two terrified eyes appeared behind the narrow metal openings.
The boy couldn't have been more than six or seven.
His face was pale.
His pajamas were covered in dust.
There were scratches across his tiny hands.
"What's your name?" Sarah whispered.
"Leo."
Sarah recognized the name instantly.
Leo Montgomery.
Arthur Montgomery's only son.
The boy the newspapers said had been sent overseas for specialized treatment after his mother's death.
Sarah looked at him in disbelief.
"Leo... how long have you been in there?"
The boy began crying.
"I don't know."
His breathing became shallow.
"The lady locked me here."
"What lady?"
He hesitated.
"The lady who lives here."
Sarah's pulse accelerated.
"Isabella?"
Leo nodded.
"She said Daddy forgot me."
Sarah felt anger rise inside her.
"Listen to me, Leo. Your father didn't forget you."
"He did."
"No."
Sarah reached through the grate.
"He didn't."
Leo grabbed her hand.
His fingers were freezing.
"Please don't leave."
Sarah swallowed hard.
"I won't."
She pulled a small metal tool from her apron.
It was normally used to open wine crates.
Tonight, it would become the key to a child's freedom.
She attacked the first bolt.
It refused to move.
Sarah tried again.
Nothing.
Behind her, music continued.
People laughed.
The clock on the wall ticked.
And somewhere inside the darkness, a little boy was running out of strength.
Sarah clenched her jaw.
"Come on."
She pressed harder.
The bolt finally snapped loose.
Leo gasped.
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Three to go.
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