A Year Ago: 

"If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end

If a man has you at his mercy

Then hope like hell he's an evil man 

Because the evil like power; power over people 

And they want to see you in fear

They want you to know you are going to die

So they'll talk, they'll gloat 

They'll put off the murder like another man will put off a good cigar..

So hope like hell your captor is an evil man

A good man will kill you with hardly a word." 

That was what Professor Lily Janz, a German woman with sleek platinum blonde hair recited to her daughter, Casey Janz a few years ago for a guest lecture the next day. Casey, inherited her father's ebony coloured hair but had her mother's eyes that were the colour of amethyst. She had skin white as snow and slight freckles on the cheeks. The girl was transfixed on her mother's velvety voice and the confidence she potrayed when she delivered her lecture on Criminal Behaviour. She's a senior lecturer in Seoul University under the Forensic Science faculty and Casey could see her mother had the driving passion in the field she was in and she's very proud of her mother.

Her father left her mother when she was a young girl so she had vague or no memories of the man who was with her mother. Nevertheless, her mother never married anyone else and all her life, Casey was raised by a single parent. She never really mind the fact that she never had a father but she had a mother who played both the father and mother role. Her mother always told her that she was a special girl and she was destined for greatness. Casey would always reply that the day she was destined for greatness would be the day it snows. 

Casey and her mother were living happily till that one faithful night. 

Casey woke up to voices from outside her room. She flew in from San Francisco a few hours ago and she was suffering from the worse case of jet lag she had ever experienced. Since she was a light sleeper, the slightest sound or movement can jolt her awake. She pushed the duvet away to check the time and groaned when her digital clock flashed 1.40am. She pulled the duvet over her head and shut her eyes tight in attempt to block out the noise but to no avail: the voices grew louder. Curious and ultimately annoyed, she slowly got out of bed, her feet slipping into her bedroom slippers. She quickly made her way to the door, opening a crack to find out what was the noise about. 

The 20 year old girl walked out of her room, folding her arms across her chest to the direction of the voices. Undeniably, one of them was her mother who sounded hoarse and scared while the other was a man and from the tone of his voice he was far from friendly. The young girl watched the shadows of the two people danced around each other. It was more menacing when the light from the living hall enlarged the shadows a lot more. Casey felt her stomach tie into knots when she felt something wasn't right. She hid behind the bookshelf closest to the hallway and poked her head slightly to get a better view of who was her mother talking to at this hour of the night. She bit her lip as she tried to get the gist of the conversation. 

"WHERE IS THE MONEY, WOMAN?"

"I DO NOT HAVE IT!"

The fatter man, whom she realized later on was her mother's brother snorted and put his hands on his hips and glared at the tall and lean woman. Her Uncle Lourdes was a man with little patience and what her mother has told her, he was a bum all of his life: an alocholic, gambler and drug dealer. When money ran out, he would go to his mother but when she died and left the money to Lily, he was far from pleased. He was a good 10 feet away from her when he spoke again. "Don't you dare lie to me. A senior lecturer in a prestigious university do no have such money? What a joke." Before she could even counter that and before Casey could blink, the man was in front of her mother, his large, fat hands around her neck. Casey surpressed a gasp as she watched the large bald man held her mother that way. He leaned in closer but his voice was anything but soft. "Don't make me ask you again." she watched her mother try to break free from his grasp as her feet kicked the air in attempt to escape. 

He threw her on the floor, she landing face first to the marble floor. Casey heard the crack of bones breaking from the impact. Her mother's long hair covered her face as she shakily tried to push herself up. Casey wanted to move from her hiding place and go to her mother but she knows better than to get involve in a fight with her uncle. The only option was to call the police. 

She lift the phone from the dock and quietly dialed the number, her eyes still transfixed on the scene before her. Casey wished she didn't see what happened after that. He grabbed her mother by the hair and pull her across the room. She watched the shadow fade till the end and slowly, she saw the adults coming up, her uncle shouting profanities at her. She saw her mother fighting the large man who was holding her by her hair, her hands balled into a fist trying to pry his fingers. She saw the tear stained cheeks on her mother's face as he dragged her across the room and threw her down to the floor. 

Her mother helplessly lay down on the floor, her face facing the marble floor as she sobbed bitterly. 'Come on, come on pick up!' she prayed as she held the phone tighter to her ear waiting for the dispatcher to connect her call. 

"WHERE IS IT?!" 

"EVEN IF I DO HAVE IT, I WON'T EVEN TELL YOU!" her mother shouted back. 

Her mother shakily lifted her head up and Casey let out a gasp. Her mother's nose was bleeding and although the lighting was dim in the living room, she was able to see the cuts on her face and a bruise forming on her left cheek. As she was pushing herself up for the second time, Lily's gaze fell on Casey's hiding place. Her eyes widen in fear when she saw her 20 year old daughter stood there with the phone in her hand. Lily slowly shoo