A Florida woman being held hostage inside of her home by her boyfriend sent a cry for help through an online pizza order.

Highlands County deputies say that Cheryl Treadway of Avon Park and her three children were being held hostage on Monday by Ethan Nickerson, 26, who was armed with a knife.

After being held all day, Treadway seized the opportunity to call for help when he allowed her to place an online order at a Pizza Hut around 3:40 p.m. In addition to ordering a pizza, she left a note in the comment section that read: "Please help. Get 911 to me. 911hostage help!"

Workers at the Pizza Hut took the note seriously and immediately alerted police.

"We've never seen that before. I've been here 28 years and never, never seen nothing like that come through," Pizza Hut manager Candy Hamilton told ABC affiliate WFLA-TV .

When deputies arrived at the home, they escorted Treadway and a child to safety. The two other children in the home were not harmed.

However, Lt. Curtis Ludden, who talked with Nickerson, said that it took him about 20 minutes to convince him to come out of the home peacefully.

"His first words were, of course, 'I'm not coming out because I know I'm going to jail,'" Ludden said.

Upon his arrest, Nickerson was taken to the Highlands County Jail and charged with aggravated assault with a weapon without intent to kill, battery, false imprisonment and obstructing justice by depriving communication to law enforcement. His bond has been set at $45,000.

Authorities credit Treadway's quick-thinking and the fast response by deputies for a peaceful conclusion.

"I don't know if I would have thought of it, I mean it's just something she did so naturally," Ludden said of the message in the pizza order. "The boyfriend never knew about it until he saw us coming around the corner," ABC affiliate WFTS reports.