•~30~•

"You're heading out? Why?"

Raul raised an eyebrow at Nana, who he had just told his plans to take a trip into town. "I'll be back in two days." He said.

    "Why two days?" Nana asked incredulously. "The drive back and forth is barely an hour. Besides, it is unsafe for you to sleep outside a Valdezian base."

    "Where I sleep and my business in town is none of your concern. I told you my plans so you wouldn't look for me while I'm gone. Remain in your boundaries, or have you forgotten them?" Raul snapped, evidently annoyed.

Nana was annoyed also by Raul's attitude —she hated it when Raul snapped at her— but she kept her mouth shut. Even worse, three of the maids were behind her, attending to the laundry, and no doubt they would gossip about it when she wasn't around. They hated her, everyone did. She was the cranky old hag who had a bad word to say to everybody. Her armor had always been her pride; she was the head of household of the Valdezian Mansion, and she did her job well, but when Raul scolded her, that pride fizzled.

Turning his back to her, Raul left the laundry room, dressed in an impeccable grey suit. My how the little grow big... and insolent. Nana faced the maids, and it was obvious that they had been paying close attention to her and Raul's exchange. They quickly averted their eyes when they noticed her turning.

    "Focus on your job you clowns! And as I see you have enough time to be eavesdropping on things that don't concern you, I want this mansion cleaned from top to bottom. Immediately!"

    "But mam, we cleaned it yesterday." Mandy shakily pointed out.

Nana threw her head back and widened her eyes, as if a sword had pierced her heart.

    "Oh you did, didn't you Amanda? Clean it again! And add the underground halls to it!" Nana said and stormed out.

Immediately, May and Aurora glared at Mandy, but they said nothing —they had a several huge halls to clean. Mandy won't be eating with them later on though. She didn't mind, she had never been close to them after all. Unlike the others, she had spent less than a year at the Valdezian Mansion. Before that, she had lived with her parents in Mexico.

Life at home hadn't been much easier than her life with the mafia. Her family, made up of both her parents and three younger brothers, had been extremely poor. Mandy had had to take up providing for her brothers at a young age, scrambling for whatever odd job she could find, since her parents couldn't be bothered.

Their father, an unemployed man, would take off for days, not bothering to tell anyone where he was going. Their mother on the other hand, was always around, but it might have been better if she left —she had a chronic drinking problem, and had a habit of gambling. Mandy's parents didn't love each other, all they ever did was fight when they were together, but they didn't separate either. Mandy always wondered why they didn't. The only explanation she could find was that each of them were afraid of starting all over, on their own.

One day, a hospital called, saying that her father had gotten shot, and needed surgery if he was to survive. The operation went on smoothly, but the trouble began when it was time to pay the bills. That was when Mandy's mother approached her, and urged her to sell herself to human traffickers. Her mother played on her soft heart, convincing her that her sacrifice will not only save her father, but allow the family to start anew and give her brothers a meaningful life.

Mandy did as instructed, and sold herself to the local mob. She was then resold to the Valdezian Mafia. She was only 19 and was intended to work as a call girl, but she had found favor with the leader of the mob where she formerly worked at, and he convinced the representative of the Valdezian Mafia that she was better suited for cleaning. That was how she came to work at the mansion.

When she first arrived, she was despised, mainly because she wasn't like the other maids. She hadn't had to claw her way up, from a brothel prostitute to a maid of the Valdezian Mansion. To them she had had it easy. She was sweet and innocent, unlike them who were hard, thanks to the horrors that they had passed through. Reece in particular had been a monster to Mandy. Many said she had had a traumatic life before the mansion, and loved to take out her frustration on those she could. May and Aurora had warmed up to Mandy over the months, but they were not close enough.

Walking up the the stairs to get more detergent to mop the halls, Mandy saw Karla. She was alarmed, because Karla was meant to be resting in bed, but the smile she gave her put her at ease.

    "Have you seen Lord Raul?" Karla asked.

    "He left. He'll be back in two days."

    "Oh." Karla clicked her tongue.

Mandy wondered what she wanted to see Lord Raul about, but it wasn't in her position to ask, so she said instead, "You should be resting."

Karla laughed. "I've been resting for more than a day now, I'm tired of it. I need to exercise my legs." Mandy looked unconvinced  so she added. "If I ever feel strained I'll lay down, okay? This illness brought me down, but it can't keep me down."

Mandy nodded, and feeling that the conversation was over, turned to leave, but Karla said,

    "Speaking of the illness, I've been thinking a lot, and I don't think it was just a coincidence I got poisoned. I think I've figured out who did it too. Once Raul returns, I'll tell him." Karla smirked. "See you later Mandy." She walked away.

There was no explanation needed; Mandy knew exactly what Karla was trying to say —she was being suspected of being the culprit.

•~♥~•

The swimming pool gleamed in the light of the night sky. Karla sat by the pool. She liked the feeling of the gentle breeze on her neck, and the serenity of the empty pool. She'd done absolutely nothing the entire day, except lying in bed and a short walk looking for Mandy. She still felt very sickly, but that won't stop her from taking the next step. Her plan was already in motion, and she was determined to see it through.

Suddenly, she felt a searing pain at the back of her head. She immediately knew someone had hit her, but she couldn't do anything about it, she was loosing consciousness. Karla fell to the floor, as all turned to black.

TEASER: WHO REALLY WANTS KARLA DEAD... AND WHY?