SEASON 1
CHAPTER 1: When the Devil Bleeds
The hill station of Mukteshwar slept early.
Fog wrapped itself around the narrow mountain roads, pine trees standing tall like silent witnesses. The town was small, distant from the chaos of cities perfect for forgetting the past.
Until fire shattered the silence.
A black luxury car lay overturned on the edge of the road, flames rising violently, devouring metal and glass. Smoke mixed with the cold mountain air, turning the mist thick and suffocating.
From inside the wreckage, something moved.
Kabir Singhania forced the car door open with a broken groan. The metal screamed as it bent outward. He stumbled onto the road, barely standing. His black tailored suit, once sharp and commanding, was ripped and soaked in blood. The expensive white shirt beneath clung heavily to his chest.
Every breath burned.
"Fuck..."
The word slipped out, rough and breathless.
His vision blurred. The fire felt distant now. He pressed his hand against his side his fingers came away red instantly.
Staying here meant death.
Mukteshwar was too small.
Someone would see.
Using the last of his strength, Kabir turned toward the dense forest lining the road. Dark. Isolated. Hidden.
He dragged himself into the woods, boots sinking into damp soil. Blood dripped steadily, staining leaves and rocks behind him. The suit that once symbolized power now weighed him down.
A few steps in, his knees gave out.
He collapsed hard onto the forest floor.
"Ahh..."
Pain tore through him as dirt smeared his hands and leaves stuck to his clothes. His breathing slowed, uneven and shallow.
Voices pierced the haze.
"Oh my God... yeh kya hai?"
"Arre, woh zinda hai!"
"Kisi ne goli maari hai shayad!"
"Ambulance bulao, jaldi!"
Kabir tried to open his eyes.
Failed.
Darkness claimed him.
MUKTESHWAR CIVIL HOSPITAL - EMERGENCY WARD
The emergency doors burst open.
"Gunshot wound! Severe blood loss!"
"Pulse kaafi weak hai!"
"BP drop ho raha hai!"
The stretcher rushed through the narrow corridors of the small hill-station hospital. Nurses cut away the blood-soaked remnants of the black suit, their expressions tense.
"OR ready rakho," a doctor ordered.
"Case assign ho chuka hai?"
A nurse checked the file.
"Dr. Naina Kapoor."
DR. NAINA KAPOOR
Naina stood at the sink, washing her hands.
Plain blue scrubs. A slightly oversized white coat. Hair tied into a messy bun. Thin-framed glasses resting low on her nose. No makeup. No jewelry. No distraction.
She wasn't interested in looking pretty.
She was interested in surviving.
"Doctor," a nurse said urgently, "ek critical case aaya hai. Gunshot wound."
Naina didn't look up.
"OR number?"
"OR 2."
She turned off the tap, adjusted her glasses, and pulled on her gloves. Her steps were quick, controlled, echoing through the quiet hospital corridor.
Mukteshwar rarely saw violence like this.
She pushed open the operation theatre doors.
And time stopped.
The man on the table stole the air from her lungs.
Tall. Bloodied. Black suit torn and burned. His face pale, lashes resting against his skin, chest rising faintly.
Her heart slammed violently.
"No..."
Memories exploded without mercy.
Rain.
Anger.
Raised voices.
"Tum samajhte kyun nahi ho, Naina?"
"Meri duniya aisi hi hai."
Her reply shaking but furious.
"Aur meri duniya iss gandagi se door hai!"
Another flash.
"Tumhe lagta hai main badal jaunga?"
"Tum galat ho."
Her last words burned the deepest.
"I hate you, Kabir."
His voice cold, final.
"Yaad rakhna, Naina."
"Mujhse nafrat bhi tum poori shiddat se hi karogi."
The memory shattered.
"Doctor!" a nurse panicked. "Doctor, patient crash kar raha hai!"
Reality slammed back.
Naina stared at him.
Kabir.
Unconscious. Bleeding. Helpless.
The man she had erased from her life lay on her operating table.
"Doctor please," the anesthetist urged, "decision lena padega. Time bilkul nahi hai."
Her hands trembled. Tears burned her eyes.
Yeh yahan kya kar raha hai?
Itne saalon baad... Mukteshwar mein?
For a moment, fear almost won.
Then she inhaled sharply.
She adjusted her glasses. Straightened her shoulders.
Doctor first.
Everything else later.
"Scalpel," she said softly.
The nurse placed it in her hand.
"Vitals monitor karo," Naina ordered.
"Patient ko hum lose nahi karenge."
As she made the first incision, a tear slipped behind her mask.
She didn't know why Kabir Singhania was here.
She didn't know what the past still held.
All she knew was
Saving him might destroy everything she had rebuilt.
END OF CHAPTER 1
Written by: BBCHIRYA 🖤