Karina opened the mansion door, wincing at the biting cold wind that hit her face. She pulled the Marvin over her head to cover her ears and then pinched the black scarf around her neck to tighten it up. With quicker, suspicious steps, she walked to the main gate, where she asked the guard on duty to go back to her room and pick up her car keys, but the moment the guard turned his back on her, she practically sprinted out of the gates while looking at her surroundings to see if anyone had seen her.

"Jesus!" She screamed, startled by a figure standing behind her who had tapped her shoulder. "You? What are you doing here?" She scratched the back of her head while faking laughter.

"What am I doing here?" The person was confused. "Mother, are you sure you are okay? You have been looking around for the past minute as if you are afraid someone is following you. Is someone stalking you? Should I call dad?" It was Lakisha who cupped her mother's cheek and rubbed her chin gently, staring conspicuously at the fear gripping her mother's eyes.

She looked as if she were drained of energy because she looked rather pale. The healthy, milky white glow of her skin had vanished. There were also some claw marks around her neck, evident enough that someone had strangled her. They were wounds that looked deep and raw. Although she had successfully tied the scarf around her neck to cover her wounds, one could see blood sucking from the scarf.

"No, no, no, no! Don't call your dad," she half-yelled, half whisphering at the same time. "I mean, no one is stalking me. Absolutely no one," she said, waving her hands as a sign to show that no one was after her. ''Anyways, where are you coming from? Were you not inside?" She then asked her daughter while looking past her shoulder to nowhere in particular.

Seeing her mother's gaze glued behind her, Lakisha spun and shook her head when she saw nothing. She waved her hands in front of her mother's eyes to get her to blink and jar her from her half-conscious state of mind, but her mother never felt that.

"Mother." She called softly and then sighed deeply with her hands akimbo, "Mother!" She spoke loud enough for even their neighbors to hear, and that was when her mother came out of her trance. She looked around in panic, and after she came to her senses that her daughter had yelled her name to get her attention, she asked.

What?" Her voice was almost filled with anger. She still looked at her surroundings. Before Lakisha could respond to her, the guard on duty came through the gate with a key and a yellow purse in his hands.

"Luna Karina," he bowed slightly, handing over the keys and purse to her, which were taken by Lakisha instead because her mother had already drifted away from them again. Lakisha heaved and held her mother's hands as she guided her back to the house.

After making sure she was sitting comfortably on the couch, she took out her phone to call her father.

"Dad, where are you?" She asked. It went silent as her dad asked her something from the other end, and after a while, she sighed, looked at her mother, who was still lost in thoughts, and walked to the kitchen. She didn't want her mother to know that she was telling her dad about her condition when she had clearly said no.

"I think you should come. Mom is behaving in a weird way." She whisphered. She took a deep breath and walked to the fridge to get some ice cream, hoping it would make her mother feel better. While still on the phone, she told her dad what she had observed: "I noticed something strange, dad. She has bruises on her cheeks and around her neck, as if she had been slapped and strangled. I have tried to ask her what's wrong, but she is saying that she is okay. Please come soon." She hung up and retreated to the living room.

Here, mom, is your favorite, strawberry ice cream." She handed over a cup of ice cream to her, a wide smile plastered on her face, hoping to cheer her up. Her mom took two spoonfuls of it and handed it back to her. "Mother, don't you like it? Should I bring another flavor to you?" She asked.

"No, Lakisha. I am okay. I'll go to my room now," she said while swinging her legs off the couch. "Don't tell your dad anything; are you hearing me?" She glared warningly at her. Lakisha, who had already told her dad everything, gulped nervously and nodded in agreement.

"By the way, where were you coming from?" Her mother turned back to ask.

"I.. I went to see Larrisa. I had carried some fruits along with me. Her favorite tea too," she said, still wondering what was going on in her mother's head. Although she was conversing with her, her voice sounded distant. As if she were long gone and it was her soul, which was yet to depart, that was talking to her.

"Uh," she nodded, "she liked them, didn't she?" She asked with her irises still darting around the house as if looking for someone or something. They were distant, full of fear and hesitation.

"What are you afraid of, mom? Who are you looking for? And why are you hesitating? Is there anything you want to tell me?" Lakisha wanted to ask these questions aloud but stopped herself by swalowing instead. ''Yes, mother, she liked them," she responded to the question she was asked.

"I am glad. And please, ask my bodyguards to be at the door. In case I need anything," she reminded Lakisha, who stood watching her as she ascended the stairs with great difficulty. If you were told that was the same person who was full of energy in the morning, you wouldn't believe it at all.

She looked tired and sick.

"Mr. Jason," Lakisha called the guard at their door, who came running to her. "Did my mom leave the house today?" She asked him.

"Yes, Miss Lakisha. Not long after you went to see Miss Larrisa, Luna Karina left the house." The guard bowed slightly.

"Did she go alone?" She asked since her mother had the tendency to go out with her personal maid.

No, Miss Lakisha. It was Beta Grill's wife who came and took her. She was hesitant at first, but Beta Grill's wife talked her into going out with her," he bowed, then went back to his post after Lakisha signaled him to.

"Sabrina?" Lakisha mumbled Beta Grill's name while pacing around the house. "I am definitely sure she will tell me what happened to my mother," she said. She picked up her purse from the couch, grabbed the car keys, and walked out of the house. At the gate, she called her father to remind him to get back home as soon as possible.

"I have a hunch that Mother may do something bad to herself. She looks as if she is... possessed," she trailed off as if she wasn't sure of what she was to say, whispering her last word so that the guard at the gate wouldn't hear her.

"It's alright, honey. I am coming," her dad responded, and then hung up on the other end. Satisfied that her dad was already on his way, Lakisha walked to the driver's seat and zoomed towards Beta Grill's mansion.