THE SHADOW OF PAST

THE FATHER SINS

The father who destroy her son life Aarav had spent his entire life trying to escape his father’s shadow. His name was whispered in fear, his existence tainted by the sins of the man who raised him. He was the son of Reyan ali—the infamous Night Phantom, a brutal serial killer whose murders had terrorized the city for decades.

Reyan was no ordinary man. He was a master manipulator, a monster with a charming face, a devoted father by day and a cold-blooded killer by night. To the outside world, he was a respected psychologist, known for his deep understanding of the human mind. Inside his home, he was something else entirely.

Aarav's childhood was filled with strange lessons. His father would make him watch the news, forcing him to analyze the police investigations. He would ask twisted questions:

"What mistake did he make?"

"How could he have avoided getting caught?"

At first, Aarav thought it was a game. Until the day he found his father covered in blood.

He was only ten when he saw it—his father dragging a lifeless body into their basement. The sickening smell of iron filled the air, and for the first time, he saw the true face of the man he called Dad.

Reyan smiled at him, crouching to his level.

"One day, you'll understand, my son."

Aarav never did.

His mother, Raina, knew the truth but remained silent, too afraid to run. She shielded Aarav as much as she could, hiding the horrors behind soft lullabies and whispered prayers. But the darkness seeped into him nonetheless.

Years later, when Reyan was finally caught, the city breathed a sigh of relief. The Night Phantom was sentenced to death, and Aarav thought his nightmare was over. He changed his name, moved away, and tried to live a normal life

But society never forgot.

His classmates called him a demon. Teachers watched him too closely. Neighbors locked their doors when he walked past. Even his mother, the one person who should have believed in him, hesitated when he got angry.

"You're his son."

The words followed him like a curse.

Then he met MARIA . She didn’t know his past. With her, he felt human. They built a life together, had a daughter, and for the first time, he believed he had outrun his fate.

Until the killings started.

The first victim was found in an abandoned house—his body torn apart in a way that was too familiar. The second, a young woman, her blood smeared on the walls in strange patterns.

The Night Phantom had returned.

Aarav told himself it was a coincidence. His father was dead. This had nothing to do with him.

But then the third victim was found. And this time, the body was dumped near his home.

Whispers spread, just like before.

"Maybe the son has taken the father’s place."

Then came the phone calls. Strange, distorted voices whispering in the night. Footsteps outside his house when no one should be there. And the nightmares—horrific visions of blood, of his own hands clutching a knife.

MARIA noticed his restless nights, the way he locked himself in the study for hours, how his hands shook when he touched their daughter.

One evening, he came home to find police cars outside. MARIA stood at the door, clutching their daughter as if she were shielding her from him.

"Tell them the truth," she whispered.

The police had received an anonymous tip. Someone had sent them photos—pictures of the crime scenes, taken before the bodies were discovered. Pictures from his phone.

I did not take these," he tried to explain. But MARIA had already seen enough. She handed them his old notebooks, filled with dark sketches of bodies—sketches he didn’t remember drawing. In the attic, she had found a box filled with news clippings of his father’s murders, some of them circled in red.

Everything pointed to him.

The police arrested him that night. But as they dragged him away, he saw something on his phone. A new message.

"You're finally becoming what you were meant to be, my son."

His father was alive. And he had orchestrated everything.

From his prison cell, Aarav pieced the truth together. His father had never left. He had been watching, controlling, twisting his mind. He had framed him, stolen his memories, and planted evidence that no one would question. The world believed Aarav was guilty.

His mother refused to visit. MARIA stopped answering his calls. His daughter would grow up believing her father was a murderer.

There was no escape.

One night, he found a sharp piece of metal from his prison bed. He traced his fingers over his wrists, feeling his heartbeat.

He carved a final message into the wall, deep enough that no one could erase it.

"I was never free."

The next morning, the guards found his lifeless body, the blood staining his hands.

And somewhere, in the city, hidden in the darkness, Reyan a smiled

WRTTEN BY

ROMAISA SHABBIR