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finished reading to my sisters by the time I came out and was finishing cleaning up the kitchen.
    “Jamil’s sleeping?” she asked as I entered.
    “Yes. He just had a fit.”
    “Oh, dear. That’s the fifth one today.”
    We were both quiet as my mom finished washing up. Then we headed into the living room and took a seat on the couch.
    “So,” she started, her voice low, “how did it go with your father?”
    “How could it have possibly gone? He said he was sorry. I said goodbye. He wasn’t given long.”
    My mother nodded, biting her lower lip. “Was he disappointed Dafne and Lalia didn’t come?”
    “Of course.”
    “Did he understand why they didn’t?”
    “He seemed to.”
    My mother paused. “Did he ask you to visit him?”
    “Yes. I told him I couldn’t promise anything.”
    She leaned back on the sofa, heaving a sigh. I drew up my feet and wrapped my arms around my knees.
    “Lalia seems to have accepted the situation,” my mother said. “But Dafne keeps asking me where he is. I’m not sure what to say to her anymore. I just… I don’t want to hurt her.”
    “Dafne’s mature for her age,” I said. “It might be time to just tell her the truth.”
    Tears burned in my mother’s eyes. But she swallowed hard and held them back. “Next time she asks, I’ll tell her.” She breathed in deeply. “So, are you looking forward to going to Grandpa’s?”
    “Yeah. I mean it will just be like always. It’s nice to have a break there, but… Mom, I’m so worried about how you will cope here all alone with Jamil.”
    “Don’t think of me,” she said. “You just go and enjoy yourself. I’ll manage.”
    I snuggled closer on the couch, resting my head against her shoulder. I doubted I’d be able to pass more than an hour without worrying about her here in this apartment.
    She wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer, brushing my forehead with her other hand. We remained silent in each other’s company for a couple of minutes before she reached for the remote and switched on the TV.
    She began flipping through the channels, and stopped at a news channel.
    “They’re still talking about these kidnappings,” she said. “I just can’t believe on some channels they’re bouncing around words like ‘vampires’ and ‘witches’… I mean, I’m talking about respectable newscasters here. They’re supposed to be delivering news, not spreading hoaxes. The footage they’re showing seems realistic—but so do sci-fi movies these days. It’s nothing a skilled special-effects team couldn’t pull off.”
    “That footage of the attack in Chile,” I said. “You can actually see the man ripping into the person’s throat… And what about that dragon footage shot in California? Why would someone want to create an elaborate hoax like this? And what do you think is the cause of these attacks and kidnappings? What about all the missing people, and the witnesses?”
    “I have no clue. I was hoping one of these news channels could finally shine some light rather than continue to spout this recycled crap… Seems I hoped for too much.”
    “They even closed the schools along the West Coast,” I muttered.
    “Well, some dreadful organized crime is clearly going on here. Whoever’s behind this seems to be having fun leaving this media frenzy after them to cover their tracks.”
    I’d never witnessed such bizarre theories being broadcast around mainstream media. This was the type of thing you’d read about on sketchy conspiracy blogs. Of course, my mother was right. These media conglomerates were just spinning this story to get more views and sell more papers.
    Witches didn’t exist.
    And vampires certainly didn’t.

Chapter 3: River
    T he next few days passed quickly until our trip. Before we knew it, it was the night before and my sisters and I were finishing our packing.
    I was kneeling in the bedroom I shared with Dafne and Lalia, making sure my purse contained all the important