Second Chance: A Dark Tale of Urban India

**Forest Rest House, Haryana delhi border, evening**

Inside an abandoned cottage, a wooden table sat at the center of the room. Upon it, Kasim was splayed out like a broken animal meant to be dissected.

He was a mountain of a man, broad-shouldered and imposing even in his late thirties, but now reduced to a map of white bandages crisscrossing his face, ribs, and limbs, barely holding him together. He lay unconscious and naked, his hands and legs tied to the four corners.

This was the same man abducted from the hospital. Now he was here, in a grimy room with no sunlight, only darkness, cobwebs, and dust.

Splash.

Without warning, a bucket of cold water hit his face.

"Where is he?" he growled hard, as if the question had been waiting even in his unconscious state. "Where is he?!"

He strained against the bindings, the wood groaning under his bulk, but his body refused to obey. The realization hit him like a second wave of cold water.

He couldn’t move.

"Who did this?" he demanded, voice dropping, edged with something dangerous. "Who dared to touch me? Do you even know who I am?"

His vision gradually cleared. A young man stood nearby watching him, not looking like a killer at all, eyeing Kasim with a flicker of genuine pity.

Kasim didn’t care. "You, twig-looking bastard. Untie me now, if you want to keep breathing by sunset."

It was Robin, doing exactly what he had been told.

Then the old wooden door burst open. Harsh sunlight flooded in with a forest backdrop behind it. A lone figure stepped in from the light.

Kasim’s bravado vanished.

His heart hammered as the boy stepped closer, Robin quietly retreating into the shadows, making way for the real predator.

The teenager wore a smug, sharp-edged smile, the last thing Kasim had seen before his world went black.

It was Rohit.

"So, you finally woke up," Rohit said, voice terrifyingly casual, walking with slow measured steps that echoed on the wooden floor. "I was worried you’d die before you got the chance to see yourself being tortured."

He set the heavy bag down on the dusty table. The thud of it sent a shiver down Kasim’s spine.

Kasim forced himself steady. "Listen, kid. You have no idea who I am. The organization I belong to is not something you can handle alone. They know I’m missing and they will come for you. Whatever happened that night was a mistake. I was wrong and I apologize. Untie me now and we consider it even."

Rohit glanced at him briefly, fingers pulling at the zipper of the canvas bag. "Oh really? Now I’m interested. Maybe I should test that myself." He paused. "But first, some information. Your relation with the so-called Ahmad Bhai. How many people are under him, and where is your base?"

A muffled whimper came from the corner.

Tied to a chair was a man in his forties. Dr. Anil. Stripped bare, shivering from the water dumped on him as well, gagged, eyes wide with the terror of a man who knew exactly why he’d been dragged out of that hospital.

Rohit didn’t glance at him. He stretched lazily as if waking from a nap. "Give him a slap on my behalf, Robin. And if he makes another sound, give him one more."

Robin hesitated, then raised his hand.

SLAP.

The sound cracked through the cottage. A bright red mark bloomed across the doctor’s cheek. The whimpering stopped.

Rohit turned back and finished unzipping the bag.

Kasim braced himself for a blade or pliers. Instead Rohit lifted out a large transparent glass jar.

Inside, the water was murky, filled with dark glistening shapes that pulsed and wriggled in ways that could make any man’s skin crawl.

"Leeches?" Kasim stammered, a cold sweat breaking out across his bandaged chest. "You... you think a few bugs are going to make me talk?"

Rohit didn’t smile. He unscrewed the lid with a slow, deliberate motion. "These aren’t just ’bugs,’ Kasim. They’re truthseekers. When their hundreds of teeth sink into your flesh, good luck gritting your teeth. It certainly cost me a fortune, so you’d better start talking, or I swear the ending will be very bad."

He leaned down close to Kasim’s ear.

"These work slowly. They find the soft spots. They drink until they’re bloated and when they drop off I put more on. You’ll be awake for every second of it. While you’re being eaten alive."

Kasim’s panic rose fast. "Hey. Listen. If I say a single word they will kill me. The people behind me are more powerful than you understand. Release me now, we go our separate ways and this never happened."

Rohit straightened and pulled out a lighter, alcohol, and salt, setting them beside the jar.

"You know what’s interesting?" he said quietly. "You probably won’t feel much pain while they feed. But do you know what happens when I remove them?" He paused. "Or when I pull them off while their teeth are still buried in your skin."

Kasim stared at the jar, then at Rohit’s dark empty eyes.

"Wait... wait. This is too extreme," he stammered, sweat pouring down his face. "I’ll cooperate. I’ll tell you everything. Just... please don’t do this—"

Rohit ignored him.

He picked up a thick piece of cloth and moved toward Kasim’s head.

"Get out," Rohit said to Robin without looking back. "You won’t be able to witness this."

He shoved the cloth into Kasim’s mouth, cutting off the plea, and tied it tight. "And close the door as you go."

Robin nodded, his face pale, and hurried out. The door creaked shut, blocking out the forest light until only a few faint rays slipped through the cracks in the walls.

Rohit pulled on a pair of work gloves, the fabric snapping lightly against his wrists. He turned back to the man on the table with narrowed eyes.

It was only after that he replied to Kasim’s earlier remarks as he picked up a leech with the tweezers.

"You’re mistaken to think I’ll believe anything in your position."

He dropped it onto Kasim’s stomach.

"So bear the pain... and start talking."

***

After forty-five minutes,

Kasim lay unconscious, foam coming out of his mouth. His body was a mess—covered in multiple bleeding wounds across his bare skin.

Dead leeches lay scattered around him, while blood, alcohol, salt, and burnt skin marks were clearly visible on his body.

Rohit ended the video recording on his phone, having captured the entire confession and gathered all the information he needed.

Now, he had a clearer picture of what he was dealing with.

The organization Kasim had been so proud of was a nexus of foreign players, with Turkish operators having a significant role. The good thing was that Rohit’s fear of his mother being targeted that night had been a fluke. No such data had been leaked to them yet—so that problem was off the table for now.

Basically, the underworld in Delhi was a puppet branch of hidden powers, of which Kasim had limited knowledge. He only clarified that he was a cousin of Mukhtar Ahmed, who, along with others of Turkish origin, had been placed in power in Delhi through their support and connections to carry out their bidding.

Their main base was located in the scrapyard area of South Delhi.

However, it was not unchallenged. Regional players like Anna Venkatesh of the southern block and Raju Plumber of the western block constantly struggled for dominance.

Anna appeared neutral, but Raju held a grudge as someone close to him had been kidnapped, exploited, and sold off.

The most valuable outcome was the detailed mapping of territories, operational zones, and business methods of the underworld. More importantly, Kasim had helped Rohit identify key gang members, their roles, and even their phone numbers.

Despite all this, there was still no information about Akhil. There was more to extract, but the constant pain and torture had caused Kasim to pass out.

Rohit spent an extra fifteen minutes trying to stabilize him, but Kasim was a lost cause, with barely a few hours left to live.

Then Rohit turned his attention toward the doctor with a stone cold face, showing no intent of mercy.

Dr. Anil was completely frozen in fear.

He had witnessed everything—Rohit applying leeches not like pests, but like instruments of medical care, then using alcohol and salt to remove them, followed by controlled burns when Kasim refused to speak or drifted toward unconsciousness. It was a systematic breakdown of a mountain, something he could hardly believe.

He regretted ever targeting Rohit’s mother. It had all seemed easy before—money, fake reports, routine manipulation. Now, his excessive greed and lust had led him here.

He was certain of his death.

Rohit looked down and noticed the stain spreading beneath the chair. Dr. Anil had urinated in fear. Rohit stepped carefully around the pooling liquid.

Dr. Anil trembled violently, trying to drag the chair back and put distance between himself and the boy.

In his mind, he couldn’t comprehend it—how could a boy from a rich and dignified family like the Singhanias be this precise... and this cruel?

He whimpered, tears streaming down his face as he tried to plead through the gag.

Rohit gave a faint smirk and removed the cloth from his mouth.

Dr. Anil gasped for air, coughing hard. His voice came out hoarse and shaky as he spoke rapidly.

"Please... please... anything but that. I’ll cooperate. I’ll give you everything. Just... not that..."

Rohit took out Anil’s phone and handed it to him. "Unlock it."

Anil quickly entered the passcode and opened the screen.

Rohit immediately checked the messages. There was a recent video of Ragini explaining the treatment, still believing it to be legitimate. He then opened a conversation thread with Anil’s handler, Mike, who was still waiting for the subject’s details, before arrangements could be made for further extraction.

Rohit paused for a moment, thinking, then added a name he had picked up earlier to avoid suspicion and protect Ragini.

He switched to the camera, started recording, and said in a cold voice,

"Speak."

****

Outside, Robin sat in the stolen van, engine off.

He had known what he signed up for — but knowing and hearing were different things. For the past hour, sounds had leaked through that door that no amount of preparation could have softened. It had gone quiet now, and somehow the silence was worse.

He’d seen the leeches and the kerosene purchased with his own hands. He’d told himself it was just supplies, just a job. But sitting here, with the echo of it still in his ears, his stomach hadn’t gotten the message.

He almost let himself question it — then he thought of Jyoti. What they had done to her. How it was Rohit, of all people, who had shown up when no one else did.

’He can’t be evil. There has to be a reason.’

He shook his head. ’But should that even matter to me?’

The door opened before he could answer himself.

Rohit stepped out, peeling off his blood-stained gloves and tossing them inside before pulling the door shut behind him. He climbed into the back seat without a word, already typing on his phone.

Robin waited a beat, then asked, "Are they alive?"

Rohit didn’t look up. He paused his typing just long enough to say, "For now. But not for long. We may have to come back."

Robin opened his mouth — then his phone buzzed.

He glanced down. ₹500,000. Deposited.

"Saying something?" Rohit asked.

Robin pocketed the phone. "Next destination, sir?"

"Hyatt Hotel."

Robin nodded, joined the wires and started the engine.

He stared at the road ahead as the van pulled away from the treeline. His peers were still scrambling to clear their degrees, haunting placement cells, begging for twenty-thousand-a-month desk jobs. And here he was. Half a million already wired to his account.

Good or evil.. was a question for people who couldn’t afford the answer.

It was then he decided.

’If Rohit is the devil, then so be it.

A devil’s butler still gets paid. And that’s what really matters..’