Upon realizing that there is indeed an unwanted person inside the house, Irene instantly froze at the thought of these men possibly causing harm to Valerie.
Inside her mind, Irene thought. 'I should have brought her with me!' She blamed herself ahead of time for whatever bad thing may happen to Valerie.
At that very moment, Irene heard a series of footsteps coming her way. Out of shock, Irene accidentally lets go of the broken piece of wood she was holding earlier.
The burglars may have already known that she has arrived since the car is already outside so all that Irene could do is hide inside the old creaky cabinet and hope that the burglar would not find her inside.
The number of burglars inside is completely unknown to her. With that, Irene can't really go inside and just try to save Valerie.
