Dr. Kariuki had built his entire life on a carefully constructed foundation of reputation, professionalism, and calm composure. To the outside world, he was the ideal psychiatrist,an empathetic, highly skilled man who had helped countless individuals through their darkest moments. He was the person others turned to when their minds were fractured, seeking solace in his words. But underneath the polished exterior, there was a storm,a darkness that had been brewing for years, waiting for the right moment to explode.
It had all started with his daughter, Njoki.
It had been ten years ago, a warm afternoon in Nairobi, when the world had first shattered for Kariuki. Njoki, his only daughter, had been a bright, vibrant young woman, full of promise. She was studying law at the University of Nairobi, a trailblazer, passionate about justice. Kariuki had watched with pride as his daughter grew into someone who could make a difference. She had always been his anchor, the reason he believed in a future where people could be saved from their own brokenness.
But that future had been stolen from him.
Njoki had died in an accident. At least, that was the official story. The details were murky, but the police had called it a tragic mistake,a reckless driver on a rainy night. They had swept it under the rug quickly. Too quickly. The investigation had been closed, the cause of death deemed "accidental," but something didn't sit right with Kariuki.
A private investigator had been hired, someone who Kariuki trusted,an old friend who had worked with him during his time as a young doctor. But the investigator's findings never made it to Kariuki. The case had been buried, and anyone with knowledge of the situation had been silenced. But Kariuki was no fool. He had always suspected that the accident was no accident at all. And as the years passed, that suspicion grew into an obsessive need for answers.Maybe because she was digging into their issues, that's why she was murdered and disguised as an accident.
His daughter's death wasn't just a loss,it was an orchestrated crime. A crime that had been enabled by the powerful people who could control the truth, and Kariuki knew that some of those people were still in power. They were untouchable, above reproach.
And that was when the obsession began.
Kariuki had been driven by the desire for justice, but as the years wore on, that justice began to look more like revenge. His grief twisted into something darker, something he couldn't shake. He was no longer a man seeking closure; he was a man consumed by rage, determined to expose the system that had taken his daughter from him.
The key players were easy to identify. The corrupt politicians, the police officers who had bungled the investigation, the wealthy elites who had covered everything up. They were all part of the same system, a system designed to protect the powerful and silence the weak. Kariuki could see it all too clearly. And he had made it his mission to tear it down, piece by piece.
But he couldn't do it alone. He needed someone to carry out the acts of vengeance,someone who could do what he could not. And that's when he found Annah.
When Kariuki first met Annah, he had seen the pain in her eyes, the same emptiness that had once consumed him. She had been a broken woman, caught in the aftermath of a violent tragedy,her mind twisted by trauma. She had lost something important, just as he had lost his daughter. But unlike him, Annah didn't know where to direct her rage.
That was where Kariuki stepped in.
He had been her therapist, her guide, her mentor. He had taught her how to harness her pain and use it as fuel. At first, it had been subtle. Small suggestions, carefully crafted words that made Annah believe that her actions were justified. He made her see the world as a battlefield,a place where the innocent had to fight for survival, and where the guilty had to be punished. He had convinced her that the people who had hurt her, who had hurt others, had to be eliminated.
It wasn't just about Lucy. It wasn't just about Annah's trauma. Kariuki's vendetta was far larger than that.
He had convinced Annah that the people responsible for her suffering were part of a larger conspiracy,a network of corrupt individuals who had hidden their crimes behind the walls of power. Each life she took was a step closer to the ultimate justice, the ultimate revenge against those who had wronged him, and ultimately, the memory of his daughter.
But Annah had become more than just a pawn. She had become a reflection of Kariuki's own desires. She had become a tool, an instrument of his will, capable of carrying out the acts he could not. He had shaped her, molded her into the perfect weapon. But somewhere along the way, something shifted.
Annah was no longer just a puppet in Kariuki's grand scheme. She had begun to question everything,just as he had feared.
Kariuki's grip on Annah had been steady, but now it was slipping. Her growing doubts, the moments of clarity where she had started to question the morality of her actions, terrified him. He couldn't afford to lose her now, not when he was so close to the endgame.
Dr. Kariuki's plan had always been intricate, but it had relied on one thing: control. The moment Annah broke free from his influence, his plan would fall apart. And that couldn't happen. He had come too far.
But Stella's investigation, combined with Annah's unraveling, was forcing him into a corner. The detective had been sniffing around for far too long, and Annah was becoming unpredictable. Kariuki knew that he needed to act quickly, before everything collapsed around him.
As he sat in his study, the truth finally sinking in,his quest for vengeance had spiraled beyond his control. His daughter's death had been the spark, but now, it wasn't just about her anymore. It was about something deeper. His obsession with exposing the system, tearing down the powerful, had consumed him entirely.
It was a hunger that could never be satisfied.
Kariuki paced back and forth in his study, his mind racing. He knew what he had to do. The time for subtlety had passed. If he was going to achieve his ultimate goal, if he was going to destroy the system that had destroyed his family, he needed to eliminate the people who stood in his way. That meant eliminating Stella Njoroge, the one person who could expose him, and Annah, who was no longer a reliable ally.
But as the shadows in his study seemed to grow darker, he realized one thing: He had created this monster, this version of himself, this twisted reflection of his own pain. And now, he had to face the consequences of his actions.
Would he truly be able to destroy the very thing he had created? Or would his obsession consume him in the end?