3:11 PM – Hamilton County Police HQ, Interview Room
Max Hamilton sat across from Detective Lena Monroe, the hum of the overhead light pressing down like static. For the first time, she didn't look like she was interrogating a suspect — she looked like she was bracing for something unspeakable.
"I need to know what Julian meant," she said. "What does your father have to do with this?"
Max didn't blink.
"When I was eight," he said slowly, "my father gave me a rabbit."
"A pet?"
"A corpse."
Lena's breath caught.
Max's voice dropped. "He was a trauma surgeon. Emotionless. Cold. Brilliant. He said real learning only began once you understood how to take something apart."
He paused.
"And that nothing teaches you more than watching it die."
FLASHBACK – 1994, Hamilton Family Basement
Young Max stood over the small metal table, hands shaking.
The rabbit's body was limp. Its fur soaked red at the throat.
Dr. Edward Hamilton towered behind him, face serene.
"Trace the carotid," he said calmly. "Tell me where the incision went wrong."
Max choked. "I—I didn't mean to…"
His father only smiled.
"There are no accidents. Only poor technique."
Present – Police HQ
"I thought I buried it," Max whispered. "My father's...lessons. But Julian found them. Dug them up. And now he's turning them into messages."
Lena's jaw clenched. "How? How would he know any of that?"
"Because he was my friend. My only friend. I told him everything."
Lena stood, pacing. "So now he's playing both of you. Using your past to taunt you, and your present to destroy you."
Max exhaled, eyes far away.
"No. He's not playing me."
He looked up.
"He's trying to complete me."
4:22 PM – Unknown Location
Julian dipped the sponge into a basin of surgical red, painting the bare floor in circles.
The girl strapped to the gurney whimpered.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered. "You're not the subject."
He lifted the camera.
"You're the witness."
The livestream went live.
4:30 PM – Police Command Center
Phones buzzed. Screens flashed.
LIVE STREAM ALERT — UNLISTED PRIVATE FEED
A woman. Mid-20s. Bound. Breathing hard.
Behind her, a message painted in blood-red pigment:
"He watches. You watch. We all bleed."
Lena's voice cut through the noise. "Trace it. NOW."
Another detective whispered, "He's not just filming this. He's broadcasting it to one IP address."
Lena looked at Max.
Max looked pale. "Mine."
4:36 PM – Max's Apartment
The screen glowed.
Julian stared into the camera, surgical mask pulled down.
He smiled.
"Did you think I was just mimicking your work, Max? You are my work."
He turned to the girl.
"You saved the last one. Bravo. Can you save her too?"
He stepped aside, revealing a timer.
00:19:59
Lena burst in behind Max, agents filing in. "We're triangulating. It's being relayed through at least five different nodes, but we're closing in."
Max watched the girl on screen.
And something clicked.
Behind her — a mural. Half-burned.
He knew it.
"Rothwood Archive Room," he said.
Lena's eyes narrowed. "That was destroyed years ago."
"Not completely."
4:49 PM – Rothwood Institute (Archive Wing)
The building groaned as Max and the tactical team moved in.
Dust and ash rained from above. Somewhere, water dripped — slow, like a metronome.
They found the girl tied to a surgical chair.
Alive.
Shaking.
But untouched.
Lena checked her vitals while Max scanned the room.
No Julian.
Only another tape — this one marked:"LESSON TWO: COMPLIANCE."
Max played it.
Julian's voice filled the ruined archive.
"You're reacting. Not thinking. Still emotional, Max. Still guessing. That's how you lose patients. And friends."
He paused.
"Lesson Three comes when you're ready. You'll know when you feel the scalpel behind your eyes."
The screen went black.
5:13 PM – Max's Car
Max drove in silence.
His hands trembled.
Not from fear.
From memory.
Julian had always talked about perfect dissection — not of the body, but of the soul.
And now, he was getting closer.
Each victim wasn't random.
They were people connected to Max's timeline: teachers, colleagues, ghosts.
Julian wasn't hunting for thrills.
He was erasing Max's past.
Preparing him for something.
Then Max's phone buzzed.
Blocked number.
He answered.
Julian whispered:
"You know what comes next, Max. You've known since that night in the basement."
Max's voice cracked. "Don't do this."
"I'm not doing anything. You are."
Click.
6:00 PM – Police Evidence Room
Max requested an old item.
A sealed box, confiscated years ago after his father's death.
Lena watched as he opened it.
Inside:
One scalpel, engraved "E.H."
A journal. Blood-stained.
A VHS cassette labeled:"MAX — First Lesson"
Max didn't speak.
Lena touched his arm. "We'll stop him."
He looked at her with haunted eyes.
"You don't understand," he said.
"I'm not trying to stop him."
"I'm trying to stop myself."
6:06 PM – Unknown Location
Julian lit a candle in the dark.
Another body lay behind him.
Male. Late-40s.
An obituary had already been printed.
Dr. Gregory Maddox — the man who signed Max's psychiatric evaluation after Elise's death.
Julian looked into the camera.
And carved the first cut.
End of Chapter 6