"Jayden! How many times have I told you not to cross over the altar during prayer?" A woman in her forties scolded the boy in front of her.

The boy was covered with mud from head to toe. He looked up at his family on their knees, closing in on their final prayers, and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah...yeah, whatever." Before his mother could respond, he jolted back upstairs and looked for the person whom he most loved in this world. "Jessica? Got your favorite Halloween candy!"

"Jay!" A voice cooed from behind a room, and the boy opened the door, picked up a one-year-old girl in his arms, and played with her fondly. He took a small candy from his pocket and fed it bit by bit to the girl in his arms.

"Jayden! Don't you touch the child with that dirt all over you!" His mother barged in through the door and picked up the child, to which the child cried out loud. Jessica didn't want to leave the solace of her brother and clung onto his school bag, to which a packet of cigars fell from the side pocket of the bag.

"Shit! I'm effed up!"

Before the boy could react, his mother picked up the cigars and threw them outside the window with a look of disgust and shock, as if they were possessed. "Oh! So now you started smoking too, huh? Give me your school bag!"

Jayden held his school bag closely, but his mother wouldn't give up either. She placed the child on the ground and pulled hard on the bag, which tore into two pieces, from which a book, a lighter, and a dozen medals fell.

She picked up the book and shot a fiery look at her son. "The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins...so this is what you are reading? James, would you mind coming up here!"

The boy shot a worried look over the door. His father was the last person he wanted to see at the moment. He felt like he was standing before God and the council of angels on judgment day. "Mom! Please stop! I just don't believe in things that I don't see; that's as simple as that! And it's just a book!"

His mom gasped, strode over, and beat the boy hard on the face. The girl was scared and started crying out loud. Suddenly, a man appeared in the room and took a moment to read it. He gave a grim look to his wife, held the boy by his hand, and dragged him out of the room.

"If you want to behave wayward, then do so outside my house!"

He shoved the boy outside the house and locked the door. "Pretend that only a daughter was born to us!"

A loud, blaring horn jolted Jessica back to attention, and she realized her Tucson was just inches away from colliding with a truck. "Shit!" Her reflexes took over, and she averted the car, which hit a tree trunk. She gasped for air and rolled her eyes. So much for discretion

"Usted está loco?!" A man's voice bellowed from some distance away. Jessica got out, slowly gave a sly bow, and flashed a wide smile. "Lo lamento!" I'm sorry

The man gave a weird hand gesture and drove away through the street of Carrer de Montcada. Jessica looked up and was wonderstruck at the awesome building before her. Built in 1963, the museum became the only one dedicated to the greatest sculptor of all time, Pablo Picasso, and the only one that was built during his lifetime. The entire palace was built in a Catalan civic gothic style, which occupies five large palaces carrying a scent of history within each and every wall.

Jessica walked up to the entrance and found herself submerged in a group of bustling tourists. Guides were stopping by and trying their best to persuade the tourists to choose them to get a fair share for the day. There was an enormous sign board nearby that contained information about the location and details of each painting inside the museum. She started reading the board and found all the way to the painting that she wanted. Science and Charity!

"Hi! My name's Candela! Looking for a wonderful guide to fill you in with the details about this beautiful masterpiece?"

She turned back to find a young lady flashing a wide smile and pointing to her ID card, which read 'Guide'. Jessica couldn't help but smirk. "Sure, I don't need the history; I just want to see the painting as soon as possible."

Candela gave out an incredulous look. Never in her entire life had she seen a tourist visiting a museum just to see a painting and not to know the history. Whatever! I get paid, and that's what matters

She managed to put up the fake smile and pointed to a nearby hallway. Jessica looked through the dimly lit hallway and rolled her eyes. How many dimly lit hallways should I see today?

Candela waltzed through the hallway and started spurting out the history of the painting. "Early in 1987, Picasso began working on the large-scale canvas in an attempt to strengthen his position in the Spanish art world. Following the principles of social realism..."

Jessica's mind seemed not to be interested in hearing the details of the painting. Her eyes were busy taking in the wonderful paintings that the museum housed, and her heart was frantically beating to reach the painting as soon as possible and get over the case.

Candela stopped talking and raised her hand in reverence for something in front of her. For a moment, Jessica thought that she was praying, but when her eyes looked closer, she found herself standing face to face with the Science and Charity painting. She darted her fingers on the surface of the painting and was looking forward to stumbling upon something that might help her move forward.

Weird tourists! What is she? An archaeologist? "Well, you can pick up a headphone from the basket over there and listen to the history, and feel free to talk to it normally as the AI is programmed for that." She extended her hand and maintained her trademark smile.

Jessica took a bunch of bills and gave them to the expectant lady before her. She took it and walked away at a brisk speed, as if it were time for a lunch break. Jessica walked over to the headphone stand and was surprised to find a sole headphone in the rack. Where are the others?

She put it on, and at that very instant, her heart started beating frantically, and her nerves urged her to remove the headphones at that very moment and to run away to some safe place.

"Welcome back, my dear. It's been far too long, hasn't it?"

She didn't know if it was the AI or, indeed, the killer at hand speaking to her. She looked towards the painting, and her mind finally placed all the jigsaw pieces in place. This was a trap!

A man stood behind a wall, just a yard away, coating a sharply tamed knife with sedative and speaking calmly into the headphones joined in his ears. "In shadows deep, I lie in wait. You walked right into my twist of fate. Your every step, my well-laid snare, now, my dear, it's time to beware."

Jessica started to run, but her eyes tried to process the shocking fact that there was only one way leading to the exit, and that was the entrance, but her senses cleared the way out, screaming that the killer was standing somewhere nearby. She gathered up the courage and spoke into the headphones, hoping to lure the killer out so that she could aim for a clear shot.

"If you have the guts, come on out, you stupid clown!"

A loud laughter bellowed throughout the room, which sent shivers running down her spine. "Time's an illusion, don't you see? Your fate is sealed; you belong to me. You danced with danger; you played the game; but in the end, it's all the same."

She retrieved the gun hidden within her shirt and chambered a round. The metallic click echoed through the hallway. Her eyes flickered with fear, but her fingers remained steady. All I need is a single slip!

"You thought you were clever, but I had the key to every secret, to your destiny. Your time is over; there's no turning back. In my dark world, there's nothing you lack."

She felt the sound coming from behind her and quickly turned around, but there was no one there. Suddenly, the lights above her flickered and faded to complete darkness. The voice was gone, and the room was in complete silence.

The only sound she seemed to hear was the thumping of her own heart. She held the gun in one hand and used the other hand to bring a lighter from her pocket. She flicked it to life, and it illuminated a narrow beam of light in front of her.

Suddenly, a voice shattered the eerie silence. But this time, the voice did not resonate from the headphone, but instead it was lively. "So listen closely to my final call. Your time is over; you're bound to fall. In this eerie night, your fate is clear. My dear, you're trapped in your deepest fear."

She turned around and saw a sinister grin illuminated by the light. He blew out the light, and she gasped and took a step back until a searing pain sent shock waves throughout her body. He plunged the knife further into her abdomen, and she could feel the hot red liquid oozing out of her body. Her vision seemed to fade, and she thought that her chapter was over.

"Oh, not so soon, my love! Killing is a more enjoyable game when done alive than when done dead."

Whistling to himself, he carried her on his shoulders and snuck out through the back gate, which was under renovation. "So here we are, in this deadly embrace. The end is near; there's no hiding place. Your time has run out; it's all in my hands. The final curtain falls in this twisted land."

What is she doing out there? Candela looked up at the huge clock in front of the entrance and rolled her eyes. She walked through the hallway and was surprised to find it dark. What the hell? Who switched off the lights?

She twisted a painting to reveal a hidden panel of switches and turned on the light. "Miss? I believe the museum's closing for the lunch break. Hello?"

She saw no one around except for a fallen lighter on the ground. She picked it up and examined it through her fingers. She looked around and, seeing none, took a cigar from her pocket, lit it up, and took a deep, big puff.

"There's nothing better than a smoke after a long day of work."