Run, Luna! Your Mother is a Killer

I was out shopping when my phone buzzed with a FaceTime call from my mom. "Luna, run!

You're in danger!" Looking at her pale face and the sandy beach background behind her, I was completely confused. "Mom, didn't you just go to the food truck to buy me some fries?" "I can literally see your back right now.

Stop messing with me—" Before I could finish, a cold shiver ran straight down my spine, and my mind went entirely blank.

Because the woman who had gone to buy me snacks turned around. She wasn't holding a phone.

Then who was the person on my screen? "Luna, don't eat anything she gives you!" "Don't stay alone with her!" "Don't let her know I exist!" "And don't let her touch your personal belongings!" After shouting these four warnings, the mom on the screen frantically whispered that she would contact me again, then cut the call.

The woman in front of me walked back over with the fries, smiling warmly as she handed them to me. "Here you go, Luna.

Have a bite." "I remember this food truck is your absolute favorite." I took the fries, but I didn't dare to touch them.

The warnings from the mom on the screen were still screaming in my head. But what the hell was going on? The woman standing right in front of me was my mother!

Even the beauty mark near her lip was in the exact same spot. It was impossible to fake.

Could someone have called me using some hightech AI faceswapping filter just to prank me? "Luna? Why are you staring?

Do you not like them?" "Eat them before they get cold." She pinched my cheek affectionately, her eyes overflowing with motherly love.

She had divorced my dad a few years ago and remarried abroad. Now, she could only fly back to visit me for a few days every year. I didn't want to ruin the mood and break her heart.

Trying my best to look normal, I took a bite of an onion ring. But suddenly, I caught the strong scent of black pepper. Did she ask the vendor to put black pepper sauce on these?

A wave of dread washed over me. I have a severe black pepper allergy; I never touch it.

She remembered this food truck was my favorite, but she forgot I was allergic to black pepper?

I couldn't help but ask, "Mom, didn't you know I can't eat black pepper?" For a split second, her warm smile froze.

But she recovered so fast I almost missed it. "Oh, really?" She smiled apologetically, looking down.

As she turned her head, she revealed a scar on the back of her scalp. "I had a nasty fall a while ago and injured my brain.

My memory has been a bit hazy lately." "But I'll write it down. I promise I won't forget your habits ever again." I reached out and touched the scar. It was real.

I also took a closer, microscopic look at her face. There were no traces of plastic surgery or prosthetics. I finally let out a breath. It was rare to spend time with her.

I couldn't let some bizarre prank call ruin our trip. Throwing the weird FaceTime call to the back of my mind, I linked my arm with hers and kept shopping.

At noon, we had a huge lunch. There was nothing wrong with the food. I didn't even get a stomachache. It seemed that FaceTime call really was just a sick prank!

That evening, she wanted to take me to a rented villa in the suburbs. I was carrying shopping bags, incredibly excited. Before we left, she went to the restroom.

I pulled out my phone to text my dad so he wouldn't worry. But then, I noticed something that made my blood run cold. The prank call from earlier had come from a satellite phone!

My mom loved extreme outdoor adventures and often went to remote areas with zero cell service.

For her safety, I had gifted her a custom satellite phone that only connected to my number. She took it everywhere.

And the caller ID from that satellite phone was identical to the one I gave her! Was the mom on the screen the real one?

Just as my mind started spinning, the satellite phone rang again.

I answered it immediately. The mom on the screen looked even weaker now. She was still on that barren beach. Her lips were cracked, and her voice was hoarse and desperate. "Luna!

Is that imposter near you?" I shook my head, staring intensely at her face. Satellite phones didn't support AI filters.

Her face looked completely natural, and she had the exact same beauty mark near her lip. My body turned icecold. Did I have two mothers?

That was impossible! "Luna, while she's away, listen to me very carefully!" "Someone is impersonating me! She stole all my belongings and dumped me in a remote area in Baja.

She didn't realize I had a backup satellite phone hidden, which is how I'm calling you." "You have to get away from her!" "No matter how much she acts like me, do not trust her..." Suddenly, the signal glitched, and the screen lagged.

The mother who had been with me all day stepped out of the restroom and started walking toward me. The sheer absurdity of the situation paralyzed me.

If the mom on the screen was real, then what the hell was the woman in front of me? Before I figured out who was who, I couldn't let either of them know about the satellite phone!

Suppressing my terror, I hung up quickly, put on a bright smile, and ran toward her. I threw my arms around her. "I'm so sorry, Mom.

I really want to stay with you, but I just got an urgent message from school.

I have to run back to campus." "How about I come back tomorrow morning?" The satellite phone was the most precious gift I had ever given my mom.

She loved me to death; she would never lose it.

Right now, I didn't dare go to that secluded suburban villa with this woman alone. "Oh." "Alright then." "Should I call an Uber for you?" She didn't force me to stay, but her face fell with obvious disappointment.

I shook my head. "No need, Mom. Go get some rest. I'll see you first thing tomorrow!" As I hugged her, I had managed to secretly pluck two strands of hair from her shoulder.

The moment I left, I rushed back to campus and found Chloe, a senior in the biology department.

Last year, when my mom visited, she left a coat at my place, which still had her old hair on it. I begged Chloe to run an urgent DNA comparison for me in her lab.

A few hours later, I got the results. The DNA matched perfectly. I let out a massive sigh of relief. No matter what, DNA didn't lie.

The woman with me was indeed my biological mother. The next morning, I casually brought up the satellite phone.

She told me that during her head injury, she lost all her belongings and forgot many things. She probably forgot about the satellite phone too.

So, did someone find her lost satellite phone and use it to scam me? But who were they, and what did they want?

I wanted to tell my mom, but I didn't want to worry her and ruin our limited time together. I decided to investigate it with her right before she flew back.

Meanwhile, the caller didn't ring again. When I tried calling back, the line was dead. That night, I let my guard down and slept in the villa with her.

The next morning, I woke up perfectly fine. No danger. She even made me a lovely breakfast. The eggs and steak were delicious.

After finishing her portion, she went back to her room to get changed and do her makeup.

I sat in the living room and picked up a call from my dad. "Having fun with your mom?" I chewed on a piece of steak. "Yeah! Mom's cooking is amazing.

Her steak is better than most restaurants." There was a dead silence on the other end. "Steak?

Are you sure?" "Luna, your mother never eats beef." "Before we got married, I took her to a steakhouse once.

She had a severe allergic reaction and ended up in the ICU for two days..." The halfchewed steak froze in my mouth.

Now that I thought about it, in my entire life, I had never seen my mother take a single bite of beef. Could a brain injury change someone's allergies?

"Dad, can you come over right now?" "I think... something is wrong with Mom." The steak incident brought back all my anxiety.

But I had eaten her food and slept under the same roof, and nothing had happened to me. Plus, the DNA test was a perfect match. I had no idea who to believe!

The safest bet was to wait for my dad to get here. Even though they were divorced, they had lived together for over a decade. He knew everything about her.

He could tell if she was a fake. If she turned out to be an imposter, my dad would be here to help me call the police.

If she was real, I would tell her everything and trace the scammer in Baja. Before my dad arrived, I kept my distance from her. She noticed my coldness but didn't know how to ask.

She looked visibly heartbroken. I felt a pang of guilt. It was agonizing. Thankfully, my dad arrived quickly. He took my mom to a separate room to talk.

After a while, he came out and pulled me aside. "You're being paranoid, Luna." "Your mom can eat beef now because her allergy was cured years ago through immunotherapy." "There's nothing wrong with her.

Go apologize to her right now!" "She flew all this way to see you, only for her own daughter to suspect she's a fake.

She was crying her eyes out when she talked to me..." When I saw my mom again, her eyes were indeed red and puffy.

Over the years since the divorce, even though I lived with my dad, my mom paid for all my tuition and living expenses. She called me every single month without fail.

The care packages she sent were so huge my entire dorm room couldn't even use them all. Her love for me had never faded. Thinking of this, my heart ached with intense guilt.

Afraid of hurting her further, I pulled out my phone and showed her the call logs, explaining everything. "Mom, I was tricked.

Someone was pretending to be you." "She looked exactly like you, and she was using the satellite phone I gave you. That's why I doubted you." "I see clearly now.

She's just a scammer!" "Mom, do you know who this scammer could be? What do they want?"

My mom stared at me, looking utterly bewildered. "Why would someone pretend to be me? And look just like me?" "I'm an only child.

I don't have a twin sister!" "Luna, what else did she say to you? Do you remember?" I didn't hide anything and repeated all the conversations.

By now, I had calmed down and started analyzing the situation. I was just a college student with no enemies. It made no sense for a scammer to go to such lengths for me.

Their target had to be my mom. My mom should have known who it was. But she just knitted her brows, looking completely lost. "Maybe whoever found my satellite phone knows me?

They knew I was back in the country and wanted to play a sick prank on us?" It was highly unlikely, but we had no other explanation.

The satellite phone was registered abroad, so local police couldn't do much. And the call wouldn't go through anymore. "Luna, the security here is great.

She won't be able to hurt you." "But please be careful. If that number calls again, do not answer." My mom hugged me tightly, her eyes tearing up again.

Her flight back was tomorrow. This was our last day together.

She asked to visit my campus, bought me a ton of gifts, and helped me carry them back to my dorm. "Oh, by the way, Luna. Remember those souvenirs I gave you last year?

There was a USB drive in there. I need to copy some work files from it." "Can you find it for me?" By the time I found the USB drive, it was only two hours before her flight.

She didn't have time to copy it, so she took the USB drive directly. I accompanied her to the airport. At the departure gate, she waved and walked away quickly.

I stood there, my arms still slightly raised for a goodbye hug, completely frozen.

In the past, whenever she left, she would hug me tightly and wait until the very last boarding call.

Watching her walk away without once turning back, a cold emptiness bloomed in my chest. Right then, my phone rang. It was the satellite phone again!

I wasn't going to pick up, but thinking about how this caller had ruined my relationship with my mother, anger flared up in me.

I swiped accept. "You freak, what do you want?!" "What did we ever do to you?

Why are you doing this to ruin my family?!" The person on the other end gasped, her voice desperate. "Luna! I'm your mother!

I'm not lying to you!" "The satellite phone had a massive signal glitch.

I just got connected!" "That imposter doesn't know I reached you, right?" "Did you let her touch your things?!" Still trying to play me? I sneered, my teeth clenched. "Enough!

I ate her food, and I slept in the same room with her for two nights.

I am perfectly fine!" "I won't believe a single word of your warnings!" "If you keep harassing me, I will have my mom find you and lock you up!" The line went silent for a few seconds.

Then, her hoarse voice became incredibly emotional. "How can you not believe me, Luna?!" "Do you remember when you were fourteen and that creep cornered you after school?

I secretly spiked his drink so he'd never be able to lay a hand on another girl again. I never told anyone! Only the two of us know!" My hand shook, nearly dropping the phone.

Cold sweat broke out all over my body. That was a crime. My mom would never tell a single soul. Even my dad didn't know. How did this caller know?

Before I could ask, she continued frantically: "I got targeted by some bad people because of a highly valuable research dataset.

I'm in extreme danger." "To protect the data, I copied it onto a USB drive and hid it in those souvenirs I gave you.

Once the imposter gets her hands on that drive, I lose my leverage. They will kill me!" My body began to shake violently. The USB drive. She had just taken it.

The memory of "my mom" walking away so quickly without looking back flashed through my mind... I couldn't think straight anymore. I turned and sprinted toward the security gate!