Prologue
The businessman’s breath tore through the night like a desperate plea, each gasp a testament to his fading strength. Blood seeped through his trembling fingers, staining his shirt and the pavement beneath him. The wound was deep, but not deep enough to stop him. Yet. Behind him, the sound of footsteps echoed, deliberate and unhurried.
He didn’t need to rush. He was the predator, and his prey had nowhere to run.
The alley loomed ahead, a narrow corridor of shadows that seemed to reach out and pull the businessman into its suffocating embrace. He stumbled forward, his desperation driving him into the darkness. The tall and terrifying man followed, his silhouette sharp against the twilight sky, his eyes cold and calculating, locked onto the figure staggering before him.
“Please,” the man choked out, collapsing against the wall. His voice cracked, raw with fear. “I’ll do anything—”
The man’s lips curled into a faint, cruel smile. He didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. With a swift, practiced motion, he drew the blade and slashed.
Ksslllkksssh!
The victim’s plea ended in a gurgle, his body crumpling to the ground like a discarded puppet. Blood splattered across the pavement, glistening in the fading light, a macabre masterpiece painted by his hand.
For a moment, he stood over the lifeless body, his chest rising and falling with controlled breaths. He tilted his head back, gazing at the sky as if savoring the moment. This was a ritual of triumph, a fleeting sense of control. The world around him seemed to hold its breath, the silence broken only by the distant hum of the city.
Then, came a sound. It was a faint tap, tap, tap. His eyes snapped open, his gaze darting to the end of the alley. A woman stood there, her figure bathed in the soft glow of twilight. Her blue eyes seemed to pierce through him, but as he stepped closer, he noticed the white cane in her hand. She was blind.
“Hello,” she called, her voice steady but curious, cutting through the stillness like a blade.
He hesitated, his instincts warring within him. He approached her slowly, his palm hovering over her eyes as if to test her blindness.
“Hello,” he replied, his voice low and calculated, a predator’s greeting.
Startled, the woman flinched, her head turning as if to follow his presence. But before she could react further, he vanished into the shadows, erasing himself from her world. He convinced himself she was no threat. It was just a blind woman, unaware of the horrors she had stumbled upon.
Yet, as Taliyah stood alone in the alley, her heart pounding, she knew the truth. She had heard everything: the muffled cries, the sickening slice of flesh, the silence that followed. And she knew, deep down, that the man she had encountered was no ordinary stranger.
