Martin Rutherford, picking out the first two letters of each word, spelled Maru. It was an old and forgotten nickname given to him by his best friends, Mayorkun and Sara Fredrickson.

Martin was a genius and one of a kind. He was smart, intelligent and witty but unlike his two friends very unsuccessful. While Mayorkun became the town mayor and Sara a MD of an hospital, Martin was rejected in every interview he attended. They called his ideas crazy just because they involved human experiments. Other than his friends, many people worried for his mental health which he never understood. He was perfectly sane, normal.

When he was at his wits end, he gave up and applied to be an home tutor for Logan Dawn. The boy was smart and he often wondered why his parents would get a tutor for him. His eyes fascinated Maru a lot. One was green, the other blue. A rarity, someone fit for an experiment but he kept his thoughts to himself for fear of being fired. It came as a blow to his pride when he found out that he was given his job out of pity, and that was where it all started.

Anger, hatred, jealousy, they were no new emotions to him however they hit him hard like a baseball bat. Why him? Why is he the unlucky one? Why is he the only one among his friends to get a measly job? He was shamed when Sara visited the Dawns that he was not there on a business proposal deal but as a meager home tutor. He was heartbroken when the one he loved got engaged to his best friend.

When you stretch an elastic string, there are three points it reaches. One is a resilient point where it goes back to its previous shape no matter how much you stretch it. The second point is its limit point where the string can't take any more stretches. The third is the breaking point where the string snaps. This was Maru's breaking point.

He spent months concocting the perfect plan after submitting a resignation letter claiming that he got a job overseas. His plan was rather simple: get the dragon sannin from the Dawns. He knew just how much worth a sannin cost which would help him to start up a research facility and a firm. Martin created false travel records and hacked into major government systems to make his disappearance more plausible.

All of his careful plannings turned south when he killed Linely Dawn...accidentally. The resistance was something he never expected especially when he had a knife pointed at Logan Dawn's neck to threaten the protective parents. He had stayed with them long enough to observe that there was an hidden safe in the young boy's room which was one of the reasons why he targeted the boy.

Another reason was because only the boy knew how to open the safe. He remembered coming across a conversation between Mr Dawn and Logan Dawn.

Only you Logan, only you can open this safe. In it is something precious that would benefit you in the future.

Martin planned to capture the boy and force him to talk and at the same time hold him for ransom. If only Logan knew how to open the safe then his parents must've told him how. It was a two way plan that was sure to work but Linely Dawn was in front of him, convulsing due to rapid blood loss in a pool of red. In great fear, he stabbed Mr Dawn multiple times and hit Logan's head so hard that he blacked out. After the adrenaline rush had come down, he cleared all evidence and ran away before one of the maids decided to come inside. He was never as thankful for soundproof walls as he was then.

Martin fought for Logan's custody and won against Matthew Kin, now Matthew Adams. It was a close call but he won the boy over and supposedly sent him to a faraway boarding school overseas. Nobody knew that the one responsible for the murder of one of the most prestigious families was right under their noses. He was very sure though, that Matthew Kin was on his case and so he went to pay him a 'visit.' Danna recognized him but there was no need for that as he killed her off. He had planned to take Matthew with him but got shot so he fled.

Their faces haunted him. The coppery smell of blood and the morbid faces of his murder victims haunted him so he constantly sought relief in alcohol. He found out how relieving it was to beat Logan up and did just that. Young Logan was amnesiac because of the blow he suffered to his head so he grew up believing that Maru was his father.

The more Maru killed, the easier it became and the more fun it was to feel the warm blood pulsing out of open gashes. He liked the look on his victims faces when rigor mortis set in and how their eyes lost colour. The highlight of the day was going back to his hideout to torture Logan. His killings wasn't just about hunting the sannins anymore, it was sport to him.

Something snapped in him when Logan ran away from him. He decided to move on to another game with Logan, mind torture. He haunted Logan, broke him, destroyed him, gave him anxiety disorder and depression. He loved seeing how broken Logan was. Maru had to lay down when Nata found Logan and took him to Mr Kamile, the mayor of Beastgrovia who was double timing as a principal at that time. Further more, the police were so close to catching him so he had to lay low and disappear.

Once it blew over, he came back with full vengeance and loved to see how Logan trembled and broke just at the mention of his name. He wondered why he felt that way towards Logan but figured that it was because he looked so much like his first victim. He could no longer hold his patience and wanted his toy back. The boy was his only hold on reality and he needed to feel him now. To hear those screams, to smell the blood, to relish the broken look on his face. And so he acted.

It came as a surprise to him to see that Logan was prepared for his coming and although he got what Maru wanted wrong, he decided to humour him and break him further by revealing some nasty truths. The screams of anger, hate and hurt was definitely worth it. Oh how he loved seeing that broken face.

-

Ayo's hand flew to his mouth as he tried to hold his vomit in vain. He quickly grabbed the bin beside his table and retched in it. His body trembled in fear for Logan. This man was a psychopath. Shaky hands fumbled around for his phone but Scarlet beat him to it by calling the police.

"Ayo, Scarlet, come downstairs!" Mrs Jennifer yelled but got no response. A few moments later, Ayo bolted down the stairs in a hurry and made a mad dash for the door. His jacket was inside out and his shoes were mismatched but Ayo seemed to care less. "What's wrong?! Where are you going?!!" Her question was met with the loud slam of the door.

Ayo raced to the police station and barged into his father's office despite the restraints. "Dad! Dad, it's Logan- Maru... kill... parents, danger...!" Ayo panted. Matthew tried to calm Ayo down but the teen was having none of it. "I HAVE MARU'S LOCATION!" He screamed.

There was silence in the office until Matthew broke it. "Ayo, this is not something to joke with." He scolded but Ayo opened his phone which he had sent the recorded audio file to and played it loud enough for his father and the officers that tried to restrain him to hear.

Maru's unmistakable voice sounded from the device and Logan's screams made Ayo cringe. Manfred jolted up at this new evidence and frowned darkly. "How did you get this?" He asked grimly.

"I... Logan ...Maru abducted Logan but I gave him a tracking and listening device... Oh God! Dad, do something." Matthew didn't need to be told twice before swinging into action. Being the Chief Inspector of the police department made things easier for Matthew as he quickly dispatched SWAT teams to the location. Ayo was asked to stay for questioning and witness report in the station and was asked to submit the evidences.

Matthew alerted the police department in Beastgrovia about the new development and was happy when he got their immediate cooperation. Meanwhile, Scarlet was answering Mrs Jennifer's insatiable questions back at the Adams' household. Her leg continued to tap the floor erratically as she hoped that the police would make it on time. The pressure was too much for her and this did Mrs Jennifer Adams notice.

The woman called Asa over to assist in keeping Scarlet calm but it was impossible. When the girl was close to hyperventilation, Asa gave her a shot of tranquilizers and she fell asleep. Jennifer and Asa carried her upstairs to Logan's room to rest while they tried to follow and catch up on what was going on in Ayo room.

Logan was beyond devastated at the new revelation he saw. The person he grew up knowing as his father murdered his real parents. His parents were multimillionaires. Shelia did not commit suicide but was murdered. Rikki tan actually protected him from Maru's clutches. Maru was a sick psychopath that revelled in the smell of blood... Logan felt like retching his empty stomach at how overwhelmed he was but was too weak to move.

Logan was not sure about how much time had passed but his body was already fighting against consciousness. His back and thighs bled so much that his knees and hands could not support him anymore... He collapsed unto his chest as his vision began to blur out. Pain flooded his senses and blocked everything out so he did not hear the sounds of police sirens flooding into the rural neighborhood

Ayo tried not to bite his nails but that was becoming difficult as the interrogator hoarded him with heaps of questions. He tried not to think about possible bad outcomes but his imagination ran wilder as the hours progressed. What if Maru found the GPS and had changed locations before the police team reached them? What if Logan was actually bleeding to his death as he sat? What if Maru decided to torture Logan some more? Oh God!

Ayo stayed in the police station until the sirens blared throughout the place. How the media houses got a whiff of the situation, Ayo did not know but they flooded the station as the police and his father dragged a man in. His brown eyes locked with Ayo's for a brief moment and Ayo felt himself shiver under that evil glare. So this was how Maru looked like. Ayo wondered.

"Inspector Matthew, what do you have to say about this situation?"

"How did you find out about Maru's location?"

"Is it true that you adopted Maru's son?"

"There is news that he is in the hospital, did anything happen?"

Matthew was bombarded with questions as some officers took Maru away. Of course he wasn't exempted from the incessant questioning of reporters either.

"Maru, is it true that you are psychologically ill?"

"Is there any reason behind the murders you committed?"

"Is it true that your son was your informant?"

"Is there a reason for releasing the video of your son that threatened him about finding him and killing him?"

Matthew weaved through the crowd and finally got into the safety of the station. Maru was locked up by the officers as they hailed Matthew about catching the wanted criminal.

"Dad! Where is Logan?! What is this I hear about an hospital?" Ayo rushed over as soon as his father arrived at his office.

"I want you to calm down and be rational, Ayo. Logan was admitted into an hospital in Beastgrovia. His condition is bad and he suffered blood loss and several bone fractures. Mum is on her way to the hospital but Asa and Scarlet can't make it, at least not today." Matthew explained.

"What? What's wrong with Scarlet?" Kishi asked worriedly.

"She had a panic seizure and was tranquilized. Scarlet and Asa would be able to make it tomorrow and so will we."

"What? Why?!" Ayo screamed.

"Other than the fact reporters have blocked every exit in the station, I still have some things to do here. You and Scarlet are the main witnesses in this event and will be testifying against Maru in court."

"Scum like that have court trials?!" Ayo asked in astonishment.

"It is the law." Manfred shrugged. The man frowned a little as he realized that Ayo was unusually silent. "Hey bud, what's wrong?" He asked softly.

"You knew about Logan all along." It wasn't a question. Ayo looked at his father sternly. "You knew that...scum bag was not his father, heck you tried to fight for Logan's custody! Why didn't you tell any of us?" His voice cracked a bit.

"Look son, I am sorry I hid something this important from you both but I had my reasons, one of them being Logan's mental health." Matthew explained. Ayo's gaze dropped upon realizing how correct his father's words were and decided to succumb to his father's will.

-

Everything flew past so quickly that nobody knew how fast time actually passed. After two weeks of medically induced coma, Logan woke up and was transferred to Beastville hospital for physical and mental therapy. He was summoned to the court as the main witness against Maru along with Scarlet and Ayo.

Martin Rutherford was sentenced to life imprisonment which Ayo deemed as a punishment that was too soft for the man. He deserved to be tortured by hot iron or by execution. Anyway he was out of their lives and that was all that mattered.

Logan was all over the news. The news that he was the missing son of former business tycoon, Dorian Dawn, spread rapidly to the point that it was overwhelming. He was popular as well as Ayo and Scarlet, people started to see him in a new light and best of all was that his friends, girlfriend and family was there to support him.

Nothing could possibly go wrong from there on out, or could it? The news came as a shock to Logan who lost his composure for a wild moment until he was sedated. Why? Why now of all times?

***
Cliff hanger!

Omg! Thank you all for reading this book to this stage. TSD has reached 1k reads and it's all thanks to you guys. I appreciate your votes, comments and for even saving this book in your library.

-Star.