Swindon General Hospital – Secure Wing | 3:47 AM
The corridors echoed with hurried boots and the hiss of oxygen masks. Sirens were replaced by controlled chaos. Doctors pushed the stretcher into the emergency bay while two armed agents flanked the unconscious body strapped tightly in restraints.Blood soaked Dr. Darian Voigt's neck and shoulder, but he was breathing—barely. The bullet had ripped past his throat, missing the carotid by a thread. He was lucky.No. The world was unlucky—because the devil survived.Kiaan stood just outside the ER hallway, hands still bloodied, bruises painting his arms, his shirt torn at the collar. But his eyes were sharper than ever, fire gleaming beneath exhaustion.
Rehaan stood beside him, arms crossed, watching the doctors work on the monster who had haunted too many young lives. Behind them, Dev leaned against the wall, cradling his sore knuckles. Zid paced furiously near the end of the corridor, speaking on his secured line.
"He's alive," Zid muttered into the mic. "Repeat—Dr. Darian Voigt is alive and in custody. We've got the psycho. Case is officially closed."There was a short pause.
On the other end of the line, Zayed's voice was clipped, calm, and deeply satisfied.
"Copy that, Zid. Well done. Sending it up the ladder."Seconds later, Zayed turned to where Rex leaned back in his chair in a dimly lit bunker-like room somewhere far from England. The screen showed multiple feeds—hospital hallways, agent bodycams, and live security footage.Zayed nodded. "Voigt is alive, sir. But arrested. Case is closed."
Reyaan Malhotra didn't blink. He just stood, eyes narrowing at the image of Kiaan on the monitor—silent, tense, tired. A flicker of something unreadable passed through him.
"Make sure they double-guard his room. I don't want any miracle comas or escape stories this time. That bastard doesn't die until we say so."
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Back at the Hospital –
As the ER doors closed, Kiaan exhaled deeply. The adrenaline had begun to fade, leaving only raw memories and the weight of victory.
"He should've died," he said lowly.
Rehaan looked at him. "Yes. But now he'll rot for every scar he left. Behind bars. In chains. Everyone will know exactly who he is."
Kiaan's eyes flicked toward the window. Outside, dawn began bleeding across the horizon like a wound stitched with gold.
"It's over," he said, quieter now. "The case is closed."Zid approached, phone still in hand. "congrats. You solvedthe whole case"
Dev grunted, walking up with a smirk. "Well, at least now you won't need to use yourself as bait again, genius."Tara stepped in from the elevator, eyes fixed on the laptop in her hands. "Media hasn't gotten the real story yet. We'll make sure the victims are honored, not sensationalized. This doesn't become a circus."Kiaan nodded.Then Rehaan stepped closer, his voice low, personal. "You did it, Kiaan. You faced your monster."Kiaan turned slowly, the hospital lights casting a faint shadow on the name burned into his wrist: Rehaan Malhotra.He smiled faintly. "No. We did it."
They stood there for a moment in silence—bloodstained, battered, victorious. The storm was over.But the man who hunted monsters had his scars. And some marks… never fade.