Innocent baby girl sobs uncontrollably while forced to eat from dirty dog bowl.

Inside the mansion, the afternoon light was fading into twilight.

Maria was in the kitchen, carefully preparing a small plate of peeled apple slices and sweet crackers, trying out Dr. Sarah’s advice to make food look fun and non-threatening. Up in the nursery, Lily was sitting on the floor, softly humming a lullaby her mother used to sing to her, clutching her plush bunny.

Suddenly, the lights in the entire mansion flickered once, twice, and went completely dark.

Downstairs, the emergency backup generators failed to kick in. Maria gasped in the dark kitchen, dropping the plate of apples to the floor with a sharp crash. "What on earth...?"

She pulled out her smartphone, turning on the flashlight beam, and rushed toward the main security panel in the hallway. The screen was dead. Red error lights were flashing rapidly.

Before Maria could reach the intercom to call Jackson, a sharp, heavy blow struck the back of her head. Maria let out a strangled cry and collapsed onto the marble floor, unconscious.

Standing over her was the man in the leather jacket, holding a heavy iron pipe. Behind him stepped Evelyn, her eyes gleaming with dark triumph in the flashlight beam.

"Check the security booth outside," Evelyn ordered cold-heartedly. "Make sure Jackson and his men stay down."

"Got it," the man growled, stepping back out into the dark gardens.

Evelyn walked slowly, deliberately, up the grand staircase. Her high heels clicked softly against the hardwood, sounding like a death knell in the pitch-black house.

In the nursery, Lily heard the heavy footsteps approaching. Her tiny heart began to race wildly. The darkness already terrified her, but those sharp, rhythmic steps sent an icy shock of recognition straight through her soul.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Lily scrambled backward into the small space between her white wardrobe and the wall, squeezing her tiny body into the tightest corner possible, holding her breath, tears silently streaming down her face.

The nursery door swung open with a slow, agonizing creak.

The beam of a high-powered flashlight cut through the darkness, sweeping across the pink rug, the white crib, and the plush toys scattered on the floor.

"Lily...?" Evelyn’s sweet, sickening voice echoed through the dark room. "Where are you, my sweet little doggie? Mommy’s home."

Lily pressed her hands over her mouth to stop herself from screaming, her tiny frame shaking so hard her knees knocked together.

"You know you can't hide from me," Evelyn purred, stepping closer to the wardrobe. "Your daddy isn't here to save you this time. He’s away, playing the big important CEO. He doesn't really love you, Lily. If he loved you, he wouldn't have left you alone again, would he?"

Evelyn’s flashlight beam suddenly stopped, aiming directly into the narrow gap between the wardrobe and the wall.