THE ANATOMY OF SILENCE

6:09 PM – Hamilton County Police HQ, Interrogation Room B

The walls felt closer than usual. The one-way mirror reflected Max's silhouette — upright, calm, but hollow-eyed. Detective Lena Monroe watched him from the other side of the glass, arms folded, heart pounding with a truth she didn't want to admit.

She had trusted him.

Had followed his instincts through blood-soaked puzzles and wordless victims.

But now, the lines between hunter and hunted, pathologist and perpetrator, were starting to blur.

"Should we bring him in formally?" asked Agent Rowe beside her.

Lena shook her head. "Not yet. He's still our only way to reach Julian."

Her voice faltered.

"Unless he already has."

6:11 PM – Inside the Room

Max stared down at the tape in his hand. "MAX – First Lesson". The black VHS felt heavier than bone. It had been locked in evidence for years, untouched since his father's mysterious death.

He placed it gently on the table, ignoring the bead of sweat forming near his temple.

Some wounds never bled — they just throbbed.

FLASHBACK – 2000, Age 14, Hamilton Basement

The room was cold. Metal instruments gleamed under yellow light.

"Scalpel," his father said.

Young Max handed it over. Watched as his father made the incision on a cadaver stolen from the university's morgue — a Jane Doe that never made the records.

"Tell me what you see."

Max whispered: "Deltoid fascia. Pectoralis major beneath."

"And beneath that?"

Max hesitated.

"Max?" his father urged.

Max's voice trembled. "Fear."

Dr. Edward Hamilton smiled.

"Yes."

Present – 6:22 PM

Lena entered the room quietly and sat across from Max. She noticed the way his fingers rested on the tape — as if it were a live wire.

"I watched the stream," she said. "Maddox is gone."

Max nodded once.

Lena leaned in. "He was your psychiatrist, wasn't he? After Elise's death."

"He said I was disassociating. That I couldn't separate my grief from my guilt."

"Were you?"

Max didn't answer.

She pressed, "What are you not telling me, Max?"

His voice was a whisper:

"Julian's not doing this alone."

6:23 PM – Unknown Location

Julian stood in front of a large anatomy chart. His hands were slick with antiseptic, gloved and steady. A new body lay before him — prepped, cooled, ready.

But he wasn't carving yet.

He was waiting.

A second figure entered the room — face hidden behind a surgical mask.

Julian smiled.

"I told you he would come apart."

The figure said nothing.

But their gloved hand reached for the scalpel.

6:46 PM – Max's Apartment

Back at home, Max finally inserted the tape into his old VHS player. The static crackled for a moment.

Then: a flickering video.

Home footage.

He was there — young, barely ten — in a white coat far too large.

His father stood beside him, narrating like a professor.

"This is Max's first dissection. Observe his hand. See how steady it is? Look at his focus. Natural instinct."

Then Max's younger voice:

"Will it hurt?"

"No," Edward answered off-camera. "Only at first."

Suddenly — the footage glitched.

Rewind.

Replay.

Only now — a new voice layered over the tape.

Julian.

"You were born in a morgue, Max. You just never left."

Max turned pale.

Julian had accessed the tape.

Altered it.

Left another message.

7:11 PM – Forensics Lab

Lena and Rowe were scanning the new victim's remains — Dr. Maddox.

Julian had carved into his chest cavity and placed something inside.

Not a message.

A tooth.

When cleaned, they discovered a surgical tag etched with the number:

2138-B

Rowe squinted. "What is that?"

Lena froze.

"That's an old surgical room number at Rothwood. The underground wing. It was decommissioned before the fire."

"Why?"

"Because…" she whispered, "...Edward Hamilton used to run his private research there."

7:44 PM – Rothwood Underground Wing

Max walked through darkness with only a flashlight and his thoughts for company. The air reeked of rot and formaldehyde. Rats scattered behind metal doors long welded shut.

But at the end of the hall, door 2138-B was open.

Inside: silence.

And then—

The lights flickered on.

Steel tables. Trays. Diagrams. Film reels. And on the wall:

Photographs.

Dozens of them.

Of Max.

From childhood to now. From the basement to the morgue. Surveillance from inside his apartment.

And in the center:

A photo of Julian… and Max.

As boys. Together. Covered in blood.

FLASHBACK – 2008, Cambridge Dormitory

Julian stood over Elise, whispering: "I'm sorry."

Max stood frozen at the door, watching the final breath leave her body.

He didn't scream.

He didn't run.

He stepped forward.

Kneeled beside Julian.

And whispered:

"We never talk about this again."

Present – Rothwood Room 2138-B

Max ripped the photo down.

He saw the tape recorder.

He pressed play.

Julian's voice filled the room once more.

"Do you remember that night now, Max? Or are you still pretending you didn't help me lift her body?"

Max shook.

"You think I corrupted you? No. You chose me. You chose silence."

Max dropped the recorder.

And behind him—

A voice.

Real. Present.

"Hello, Max."

7:48 PM – Face to Face

Julian stood in the doorway, not masked. Not hiding.

Older. Eyes darker. Smile sharp.

"You came," he whispered.

Max didn't move. "What do you want?"

Julian took a slow step forward.

"I want you to remember what we started."

Max's hands clenched. "We didn't start anything. You ended Elise's life."

Julian tilted his head. "And you ended her story."

A pause.

"You covered for me. You filed the false report. You said she overdosed. So who's the real killer, Max?"

Silence.

"You dissect the dead," Julian said. "But I? I dissect the living. I make people see who they really are."

He stepped closer.

"And I made you."

7:49 PM – Sirens in the Distance

Lena and the tactical unit breached the upper floor.

Lena shouted into her mic. "Max! Where are you?!"

7:50 PM – Underground

Max and Julian stood inches apart.

Two surgeons.

Two monsters.

Julian smiled. "Do it."

"What?"

Julian held out a scalpel.

"Prove I was wrong about you."

Max stared at the blade.

The past screamed.

His father.

Elise.

The rabbit.

The silence.

And then—

He took the scalpel.

End of Chapter 7