"I would request everyone to please maintain their calm and not create an unnecessary ruckus. We present to you..." Alphie pushes Mara at the front, "Mara Martin, daughter of Juliana Martin." Mara smiles a bit and the reporters gathered in the front to take her pictures. Looking at how she was posing, Nina couldn't help but sniff a little.

"She looks just like mom." She turns to Fabian but it seems he was ignoring her. She shrugs it off thinking he must be equally nervous.

"Ma'am, ma'am, how long have you been in this country?" a reporter asks. Mara looks at Alphie and he steps ahead.

"I will be the spokesperson for Miss Mara. She has recently moved here from Italy. It has only been a few weeks that she has been residing here. We are grateful for all the attention we have received but let us keep our stay as humble as possible."

"What is your reason to finally come back after so many years? Are you here to investigate about your mother's death?"

"Don't you believe that the culprit received the deserved punishment?"

"Do you think someone else is behind it?"

The reporters were flooding them with questions and it made Mara nervous but Nina held her hand.

"It's not that we don't trust our country's law system. We just want them to reinvestigate the case, just to make sure we got the right person."

This triggered more questions.

"Do you already suspect someone?" one said.

"Why weren't we informed about it? Such an important case has to be reinvestigated but we got no notifications from the police." Another reporter raised his mic.

"We are sorry that you weren't informed because it is a high profile case, we did not want the details to leak out. Also, it involves her daughter; we could not risk her life. We do think the real culprit is not caught yet but don't particularly suspect anyone."

"Does this mean that the case is going to be reinvestigated? Should we look for more updates?" the reporter looks at Alphie and nods. Earlier, Alphie had called in one of his 'friends' to pose as a reporter and ask the questions they wanted to answer.

"Yes. Thanks to all of you, this case will now receive the right exposure which it couldn't get 10 years ago." He raises his hand and signals, "Now you can directly interview Miss Mara. Please refrain from asking anything related to the case. We would not be obliged to answer them until our lawyer says so. Thank you." He moves aside and nods at Nina.

Nina pushes Mara to the front and she is bombarded with questions.

"Do you think you will pursue acting too?" "Did you know that your mother was known as the 'angel of movie screens'?" "How was your life back in Italy?" "Did your mother remarry in New York?"

Mara very confidently answers all the questions. Alphie backs down a little towards the corner to make sure everything is according to the plan. He looks at Fabian being a little flustered when Nina turns to talk to him. He looks at him and feels jealous. He knows he shouldn't be feeling it because Nina does not look at him in that manner, but he can't help it. He looks at her and sees her being so comfortable with someone she barely knows and he feels helpless.

His hand subconsciously takes out his phone, dialing Patricia's number.

"We have a problem here ma'am. You should come and see this." As soon as he cuts the call, he realizes what he has done.

Shit! What have I done?

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The tires screeched in front of the Sky Villa. The reporters were so busy that they did not notice Patricia Williamson had come. She had been away from the country for some work but this news had cut short that trip. Alphie rushes to her and bows down, not meeting her eye. She finally snaps at him.

"WHAT THE HELL IS ALL OF THIS ABOUT?" she says half loudly, half whispering. She didn't want unnecessary attention to herself.

"I...sorry...ma'am it...all happened so....suddenly...." Alphie struggles to put together words. Patricia was angry and Alphie was very scared of what she would do next.

"And you thought of informing me when everything is already out of hand?" she points at Mara talking to all the reporters, "Why are they talking about reopening the case?"

"Ma'am...I...I...." Fabian interrupts him, coming to his rescue, "Sorry ma'am but it was an unavoidable issue. The reporters were swarming in and wouldn't leave the premise unless they got an interview."

Patricia looks at him unsurely, with a much softer look on her face. Fabian takes this as his chance and continues, "Ma'am we couldn't take the risk. If they come to know that you are involved in this, it can backfire you." Fabian carefully laid down his words.

Patricia wasn't listening to him anymore. Her eyes were fixed particularly on Nina and how she was avoiding the cameras. Then it struck her.

Two can play this game.

Alphie, looking at her changing expression, guessed that Patricia will use this to her advantage. He wanted to go and warn Nina but it was too late.

"MARA!" Patricia shouts from the back. She fake wipes her tears and strides towards them. The reporters swarmed around her, asking her a million questions.

"Ma'am, what are you doing here?"

"Ma'am, are you related to them?"

"Ma'am, is this part of your political campaign? To gain sympathy?"

Patricia ignores all the questions and heads straight towards Mara, embracing her in a tight hug. Well, that is what it seemed to the reporters. To Mara, it seemed like she wanted to squeeze the life out of her. And Nina, the death stare that Patricia gave her, had chills running down her spine. She was in shock to comprehend what she had to do next.

The reporters were now clicking photos of Patricia hugging Mara. Fabian tries to go through the crowd but in vain. She pulls away from the hug, smirks at Nina once and looks at Mara,

"Thank god I finally found them! How long I have been looking for you guys! I...I don't have to live in guilt now!" she sniffs her nose a little and turns towards the media with tears in her eyes, "All thanks to you that I could finally find them after so much struggle."

A huge murmur was heard amongst the crowd until someone asked her, "Who is them? Isn't Mara the only daughter of Juliana Martin?"

Patricia fakes a shock and covers Mara's ears, "How dare you say that in front of her own sister? You being reporters are far away from the facts. Who said she only had one daughter? She has two daughters."

They could hear gasps from the crowd. Fabian and Alphie look at each other mouthing 'IT FAILED'. Nina was still frozen in the same place. Patricia continues, "You must think how I know these two little princesses. I was a close friend of Juliana Martin. It was sad about how she died but couldn't stop looking for her daughters. She was my best friend and I vowed to protect her daughters...but...but..." she acts a little more, "But I lost them. I spent years searching for them. But here they are, finally!"

She grabs Nina by her arm, bruising her a little. "This is Nina Martin, the eldest of Juliana Martin. I am so happy you both are happy and safe." And hugs both of them. Again the hug seemed more like she was squeezing out whatever was left in them.

"But why wasn't she introduced by the spokesperson?" a reporter questions. Patricia turns to Nina and asks her innocently, "Yes Nina. Why were you hiding at the back?" she moves aside so the cameras could capture Nina now. She glared at Patricia. That bitch!

"I....I....we were advised by our lawyers...to be ...to be discreet as possible. So...he suggested that....I would be revealed later....for the case's sake." Nina stuttered but after getting a nod from Fabian, her confidence grew. Patricia frowns a little as to how good Nina covered it up but she wouldn't let her win.

"It's okay Nina. Now I am with you. Your mother will get the justice she was denied last time."

The reporters continued to ask more questions and Nina had no other choice than to answer them. Mara was slowly being pushed back as Nina answered the questions. Once in awhile she would interrupt, but Fabian stops her saying, pointing at Nina, "Let her handle it."

She felt a new feeling she never felt before. Was it jealousy?

At last, the questions died down and Nina and Mara were escorted inside. Mara heard one last comment from the crowd which made her boil with anger.

"Nina looks just like her mother, doesn't she? She is so beautiful. Like an angel from heaven."

Yes, it was definitely jealousy.

On the other hand, Nina could not really focus on anything but Patricia. She whispers in her ear slowly as they entered the villa,

"You dare go against me, it will always backfire. Always remember to smile for the camera." And gave a smirk to her.

For the first time, Nina was this scared. For the first time, Patricia's words shuddered her.