The Desperate Father’s Plea
The night air was thick with urgency as Kelin burst into the police station, his nurse’s uniform wrinkled, his face streaked with sweat. “Please! My son—he’s been kidnapped!” His voice cracked with desperation, gripping a crumpled ransom note in trembling hands. “They think he’s someone else!”
Detective Tarek leaned forward. “Slow down. What do you mean?”
Kelin swallowed hard. “The abductors…they made a mistake. They took Neris thinking he was my employer’s son, Benit. They have demanded fifty million in cash. But I don’t have that! They’ll kill him when they can’t get what they want!”
The officers exchanged grim looks.
Tarek asked gently, “Do you have any idea who did this? Did you watch it going down?”
Kelin collapsed into a chair. “No. My employer Dhiree received the message asking for the cash. Everyone at the mansion enquired about Dhiree’s son Benit but he was safe and sound at a friend’s house. We then realized that the kidnappers took my son Neris when Neris had stepped out of the mansion from the back entrance. It’s so unfortunate. This was the first time Neris came to my employer’s mansion. He wanted to see the mansion of the country’s richest industrialist Dhiree and also to meet the old people in the mansion I was taking care of.”
Commander Vorek exhaled. “This is horrifying to hear. The only possible solution would have been to give the fifty million. I don’t want to make you any sadder but I can’t give you false hopes either. Cracking this case in forty-eight hours will be near impossible though we will try our best.”
As Vorek said this, the phone rang. Vorek registered a shock when he heard the voice of the Police Chief – the Police Chief who was known to be a lazy uninspired uncaring person, and who would never take an interest in any case, especially if it was the case of a poor person. The Police Chief instructed Vorek to start investigating the case in earnest and use all the resources possible. As the Chief disconnected the call, he turned to a shadowed figure before him. “Spare me and my family. Take whatever money you want.” His hands trembled. He closed his eyes thinking he was going to be gunned down. When he opened his eyes to see, he found that this person was no longer in front of him. “How did he even get here? How did he dare to try this on me and my family.”
Elsewhere, a chilling call reached industrialist Dhiree. A robotic voice warned, “We know what you’ve been up to. No police, or there will be fatal consequences.” Dhiree shivered in fear, wondering what the scary voice meant.
Cracking the Code: The Hunt Begins
The first lead surfaced from the ransom call, traced to Donil Quarters located at the city outskirts. Too broad. The Cybercrime Unit scrambled to pinpoint the origin, while Tarek and his partner, Inspector Ebran, hit the streets. They learnt that this mansion was on the route of a cyclist group.
A regular cyclist near Kelin’s residence hesitated before speaking. “We always go on this route in the early hours. A man… who was not one of us would always pass this house in a tow truck. Always lurking.”
Tarek visited the companies that handled the pickup trucks but came up with nothing. To add to their frustration, the surveillance footage did not reveal much, the suspect’s face was hidden behind a mask. Frustration mounted as police resources stretched thin.
By nightfall, the investigation had stalled. But when Tarek returned to his house, he found someone at his door. It was Kelin. Tarek took him inside wondering what was going on. A bag of cash thudded onto Tarek’s desk. “It’s not much. It’s just cash in foreign currency worth a million. I’ve heard that you love the color of money,” Kelin whispered, his voice a mix of fear and determination.
Tarek locked the money away. “My code is that I give results or return the cash. You have my word.”
The next morning, Tarek made calls, reactivating informants. Tensions within the unit flared. “Rumors say you take bribes, Tarek, but pretend to be ever soooo principled” one officer sneered. “You say you want results but aren’t willing to use the stick. Some of us believe in stronger measures. A little torture might break this case faster.”
“We do this my way,” Tarek snapped. “No shortcuts. No unnecessary killing or beatings.”
Instead of using torture, Tarek bribed secret sources and followed whispers through the underworld. He believed that torture made people say anything –whether it was a truth or a lie — to make the pain stop. Greasing palms was evidently a better method. As he plodded on, a hacker with a vendetta against the masked kidnapper came forward, revealing a lead—one that led to a shady informant who finally provided a name.
Zorem.
A supposedly dead mob enforcer.
Meanwhile, a private investigator hired by Benit’s family reached the mansion. Speaking to the family members, he decided that someone had done something wrong that led to the unnerving threat call. He combed the mansion for threats making sure that the family members were around to guide him through all its sections. The family members showed him a hidden room behind the library, where he found a special unbreakable safe. Upon opening the safe they found some of the cash was gone. The realization struck hard.
Kelin was nowhere to be found. The family thought he was beside with grief and therefore taking a break. Was he the one who broke open the unbreakable safe?
Betrayal in the Shadows
On his end, Tarek continue to work his sources. The underworld murmured, confirming one detail—building 3 of the abandoned textile mill at Donil Quarters. A place where shadows swallowed secrets whole.
Into the Lion’s Den: The Raid
The tactical unit moved in at midnight.
The battering ram crashed against the door—BOOM!—splinters flying. Gunfire erupted. Zorem, cornered, fired blindly, desperation in his eyes. The fight was brutal but brief. Within moments, he was subdued, wrists shackled, breath ragged with defeat.
And in the corner—huddled, trembling—was Neris.
Silent. Wide-eyed. Alive.
A Father’s Tears, A Criminal’s Fate
Kelin clutched his son at the hospital, sobbing into his small shoulder. “I thought I lost you,” he whispered. Neris clung back, too shaken to speak.
Meanwhile, Zorem sat in the interrogation room, defiant. “I am not afraid of imprisonment or death or the worst torture you can bring upon me” He continued to be this way for several hours. Then a special team of police officers came to meet him. One of them grabbed Zorem by the collar and secretly dropped a message into his t-shirt. That night, Zorem went to the restroom and took out the message and looked at it.
It was an alphanumeric number that meant something deep. His expression shifted.
He wasn’t afraid of torture. But of something worse lurking in the shadows.
And so by morning he was ready to give up all the details that Tarek wanted.
The Web of Shadows: Unmasking the Syndicate
Documents recovered by Tarek from Zorem’s secret bank deposit revealed something bigger. Offshore transactions. Compete ledgers of accounts. Future targets.
This wasn’t a lone kidnapping. This was an industry.
Meanwhile, the private investigator tracked down Kelin to his rundown shack, accusing him of the mansion robbery. Desperate, Kelin pushed him away and ran. With the investigator hot on his heels, Kelin dashed into the highway’s path.
Brakes screamed as a massive truck tried to stop in time.
Kelin’s story ended under the weight of rushing traffic.
The Ghosts of the Past
Tarek stared at the case files, haunted. Years ago, he had failed. Another kidnapped child. Another ransom demand. And a tragic ending.
He wouldn’t let it happen again.
His search took him deep into Dunel’s underbelly, where whispers carried warnings, and silence was often bought with blood.
The Informant’s Warning
A late-night call sent a chill through Tarek. “You think you’ve won? You’ve barely begun.”
The voice rasped, “Zorem? He’s nothing. You’re hunting ghosts. And ghosts don’t bleed.”
A cold realization settled in. The real masterminds were still out there, watching.
The Syndicate Strikes Back
Two days after Zorem’s arrest, a body was found in an alley.
A police informant. Slashed throat. A message carved into his chest: Silence is loyalty.
The syndicate had sent their warning.
Tarek learned of Kelin’s death. “I guess the syndicate tried to nab him and while trying to get away, he died”.
The media received a chilling voice message delivering a message:
“You saved one. But for each you save, ten more will vanish.”
Benefactor
Outside the station, cameras flashed, reporters clamored for a statement. “Detective, how do you feel about the rescue?”
Before Tarek could speak, the Police Chief took center stage. “We are proud of the efforts of our team. Unfortunately, one of our informers has been killed. Additionally, the boy’s father Kelin too died while trying to escape from some syndicate thug. Thankfully, a wealthy benefactor has chosen to sponsor Neris.”
At the mansion, the investigator faced Benit’s family. “Was it any of you?”
Each member shook their head. Dhiree replied “Not us.”
Justice Never Sleeps
Tarek, watching it all unfold, clenched his fists.
Tonight, they had won.
Tomorrow, the real battle would begin.