Beneath the Surface

Kavin Peterson sat at his desk, the dim glow of the desk lamp casting long shadows across the room. A cigarette burned between his fingers, its smoke curling toward the ceiling like a ghost refusing to leave. His eyes were locked onto the pages spread before him, a mess of documents, reports, and official statements—all centered around one name.

Torres.

Doctor Nishat's ex-husband.

There was something about the man's file that unsettled Kavin. The case had seemed simple at first—just another messy divorce, the kind that left wounds deeper than they looked on paper. But the deeper Kavin dug, the more things began to feel… off.

His fingers drummed against the desk as he read through Torres' claims.

"She betrayed me. She slept with a man at the hospital. I caught them. I beat her, yes, but she deserved worse."

Kavin's jaw tightened. He wasn't one to take a man's words at face value, but something about Torres' rage felt real—not like the empty screams of a jealous husband, but the fury of someone who had seen something they shouldn't have.

Then another detail caught his eye.

Torres had claimed Nishat's affair was with one of her colleagues at the hospital.

Kavin sat back, exhaling a long breath.

There was only one way to confirm it.

A Call to the Past

He reached for his phone and dialed a number he hadn't called since his last visit to Kolkata General Hospital.

The line rang twice before a familiar voice answered, smooth and teasing.

"Officer Kavin. Missed me already?"

Loren Samantha.

Kavin allowed himself a small smile, despite the tension gripping his chest. "Loren. I need some information. It's important."

"I'm listening," she purred.

He hesitated only a second before cutting straight to the point. "Doctor Nishat. Did she have an affair?"

Loren was silent for a beat. Then, her voice dropped, quieter, more serious.

"You're asking the wrong question, Kavin."

A chill curled down his spine. "Then what's the right question?"

Another pause. Then, in a whisper:

"Who was she sleeping with?"

Kavin sat up straighter, his grip tightening on the phone. "Who?"

Loren took a slow breath.

"Leonardo Smith."

Silence.

The words rang in Kavin's head like a hammer striking metal.

Leonardo. The Chairman of Kolkata General Hospital.

A man with too much power.

A man who had been acting strange ever since Kavin first stepped into that hospital.

Kavin felt something click into place. The puzzle he had been staring at for days—the tangled web of murder, deception, and betrayal—was finally starting to make sense.

Nishat was dead.

Leonardo had been close to her.

And now, Leonardo was the only loose end left.

Kavin didn't waste time.

He slammed the file shut and reached for his radio. "Brendon. Sangakkara. I need both of you at the precinct. Now."

His team responded instantly, voices crackling through the speaker. "On our way, sir."

Kavin grabbed his coat and headed straight for his superior's office. The Kolkata Police Department didn't issue arrest warrants lightly—not without solid evidence. But Kavin was done playing cautious.

He pushed open the office door without knocking.

Commissioner Roy, a broad-shouldered man with salt-and-pepper hair, looked up from his paperwork with a raised eyebrow. "Peterson. You look like hell."

"I need an arrest warrant," Kavin said, throwing the file onto the desk.

Roy sighed, rubbing his temples. "For who?"

"Leonardo Smith."

The commissioner frowned. "The hospital chairman? What the hell are you talking about?"

Kavin leaned forward, both hands on the desk. "Nishat was sleeping with him. He's involved. Maybe in her murder, maybe in something worse. But I need to bring him in."

Roy stared at him, then at the file. He exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. "If this backfires, Peterson, it's on you."

Kavin didn't flinch. "I'll take that risk."

After a long pause, Roy signed the warrant.

The air was thick with humidity, the kind that made the inside of the car feel suffocating. Kavin sat in the front seat, staring out at the blurred lights of the city as they sped toward Kolkata General Hospital.

Brendon drove in silence, his fingers gripping the wheel a little too tightly.

Sangakkara, sitting in the back, finally broke the silence. "Sir, if Leonardo had something to do with Nishat's murder… do you think he acted alone?"

Kavin didn't answer immediately. His mind was already racing ahead, piecing together the next steps.

"If he did," Kavin muttered, "then we'll make him talk."

They were getting close. The hospital was just a few streets away now, its massive structure looming in the distance.

Then—

BANG!

A gunshot.

Brendon swerved hard, tires screeching against the asphalt. "What the hell was that?!"

Kavin turned sharply, his heart slamming against his ribs.

Another gunshot.

Glass shattered as the back window exploded inward.

Sangakkara cursed, ducking low. "We're being shot at!"

Kavin's mind went into overdrive. They were on a main road, buildings on either side—nowhere to turn, nowhere to hide.

His eyes flicked to the rearview mirror.

A black SUV was following them, gaining speed.

Another shot. This time, it hit the trunk.

"Drive!" Kavin shouted. "Lose them!"

Brendon floored the gas. The car lurched forward, tires screaming as they sped through the intersection. Horns blared, pedestrians jumped back.

Kavin grabbed his gun, rolling down the window. He leaned out, aiming at the SUV behind them.

His finger tightened on the trigger.

Then—

He saw the driver.

His stomach dropped.

It wasn't some random hitman.

It wasn't even one of Alexander's goons.

It was Leonardo Smith.

Behind the wheel.

Smiling.

And then—

BOOM.

A third gunshot.

Something hit the front tire.

The car spun.

The world flipped.

And then—

Everything went black.

The world was upside down.

Kavin Peterson felt it before he saw it.

A deep, crushing pain in his chest. A wet warmth trickling down his temple. The distant wail of a car alarm blaring somewhere in the night. His breath came in short, ragged gasps as he blinked against the disorienting swirl of light and darkness.

For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was.

Then it hit him.

The chase. The gunfire. Leonardo.

The black SUV.

The windshield was shattered, jagged shards hanging like broken teeth. The car had flipped onto its side, the roof caved in just inches above his head. A faint metallic creak echoed through the wreckage as the vehicle settled, steam hissing from the destroyed engine.

Blood dripped from his forehead, warm and sticky, pooling against his collar.

Somewhere nearby, Brendon groaned. "S—sir…"

Kavin forced himself to move, biting back the sharp pain that shot through his ribs. His fingers found the seatbelt, but the damn thing was jammed. He glanced sideways.

Brendon was pinned between the steering wheel and the seat, his face a bloody mess. In the back, Sangakkara was slumped forward, unconscious.

Then—footsteps.

Slow. Deliberate.

Coming closer.

Kavin's pulse spiked. His hand inched toward his gun—still strapped to his hip, miraculously—but before he could pull it free, a shadow loomed outside the broken window.

A familiar voice, smooth and cold.

"Going somewhere, Officer?"

Leonardo.

The glass crunched as Leonardo crouched beside the wreck, his face partially illuminated by the flickering streetlights. His glasses were gone. Blood smeared his forehead, but that damn smile was still there.

Kavin gritted his teeth. "You son of a—"

Leonardo held up a syringe.

A thick, murky liquid sloshed inside the glass tube, its oily sheen reflecting the light in unnatural colors.

"Don't bother," Leonardo said. "You're already dying, Kavin. Internal bleeding, at least three broken ribs, maybe a punctured lung. The adrenaline is keeping you sharp now, but soon? You'll fade."

Kavin's grip tightened around his gun. "You think I'm gonna let you walk away from this?"

Leonardo laughed. "Who said anything about walking away?"

Then, with terrifying speed, he plunged the syringe into Kavin's neck.

Kavin jerked, searing cold flooding his veins as he struggled against the restraints of his own broken body. His vision blurred, the world twisting and warping like a nightmare.

"Sleep now, Officer," Leonardo whispered. "We have so much to talk about later."

Darkness swallowed Kavin whole.

A sharp slap snapped him back.

His eyes flew open.

Bright light. Blinding. Cold air against his face.

He tried to move, but—restraints.

His wrists and ankles were tied down. Leather straps, thick and unyielding, dug into his skin. He was no longer in the car. No longer on the street.

No.

He was in a lab.

The walls were stainless steel, pristine, clinical. The smell of antiseptic burned his nostrils. A single surgical light hung above him, casting eerie shadows. Machines beeped softly in the background.

Kavin's heart pounded. Where the hell was he?

Then—a door opened.

Leonardo walked in, wearing a doctor's coat.

And he wasn't alone.

Beside him, stepping into the sterile glow was Sohana.

But something was wrong.

Her eyes.

They weren't human anymore.

Dark. Endless. Black voids swirling with something unnatural.

Kavin's breath caught in his throat. She was different. Changed.

Leonardo smiled, clasping his hands together.

"Ah. Good. You're awake."

Kavin's mind screamed at him to move, to fight, but his body wouldn't obey.

Something was in his blood.

Something was in his mind.

Sohana stepped closer, her fingers trailing along the metal tray beside him. Scalpels. Needles. Instruments that did not belong in a hospital.

Her voice was soft, almost tender.

"Don't be afraid, Officer. This… is just the beginning."

To Be Continued…