Chapter 4: The Doctor’s Secrets

Pranav raced to the scene of the latest murder. His heart pounded in his chest as he approached the apartment where the body of a 45-year-old man had been discovered. This was different. Until now, all the victims had been young women. What had changed?

The scene was eerily similar to the previous murders. The door was locked from the inside, there were no signs of forced entry, and the victim had been killed in the same way—a slit throat, expertly done with surgical precision.

But this time, the victim wasn’t just any man. He was a local practitioner, a doctor who had been practicing from his apartment. Pranav’s mind raced with questions. Why had the killer targeted him? What connection could he have to the young women who had been killed?

As Pranav inspected the apartment, he noticed that the doctor had an extensive collection of medical books and files stacked neatly in a cupboard. There were patient records, medical journals, and research papers scattered across his desk.

While flipping through the files, Pranav accidentally knocked over a stack of folders, causing the entire rack to collapse on top of him. Ashok rushed over to help him up, and in the process, they discovered a hidden file that had been lodged behind the shelves.

The file was marked “Private.”

Pranav carefully opened it, his curiosity piqued. Inside were medical case files for several patients, including both of the female victims. They had all been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and each file detailed the treatment the doctor had provided. Strangely, all the patients were women between the ages of 20 and 30.

“Why didn’t we find this before?” Ashok muttered.

Pranav ignored the question, flipping through the pages with growing unease. The more he read, the more he realized that something was seriously wrong. The doctor had been terminated from his previous hospital due to improper medical practices. He had originally been a neurological surgeon but had transitioned into psychiatry after facing disciplinary action. His specialty had shifted from surgery to mental health, and his termination wasn’t publicly known.

Pranav’s pulse quickened. The doctor’s career trajectory was suspicious, and his connection to the victims was undeniable. But what was the missing link? Why would a former surgeon-turned-psychiatrist be involved in such brutal killings?

“We need to dig into this doctor’s past,” Pranav said, his voice tense. “I want to know everything about him. His previous patients, his colleagues, anyone who might have a grudge against him. Something’s not adding up.”

Later that night, as Pranav sat in his office, piecing together the clues, his phone buzzed with a notification. It was a video message sent from an unknown number. The quality was grainy, but the content made Pranav’s blood run cold.

The video showed the some apartment. The camera panned across the room, capturing every detail, before zooming in on a spot of a hallway.

Someone had been watching. But Pranav was unsure of which apartment and whose hallway was the recording captured.

Pranav’s mind raced. This killer wasn’t just taking lives; they were documenting them, relishing in their control over the victims. The fact that the video had been sent directly to him made it clear—the killer was playing a game, and Pranav was at the center of it.

Just as he was about to call Ashok, his phone rang. It was another message from the unknown number. Pranav’s hands trembled as he opened it.

“I’m always watching.”

The words sent a shiver down his spine. The killer wasn’t done. Not by a long shot.