[Finish the Tale contest] Centaurus case closed

Today I will write the closing part of my story. Till the very last dot I didn’t know how that story will finish. And now I am thinking maybe it is not the end yet…

Here is a moment the previous part was finished at.

Tomorrow. It’s been 7 days. The Hungry Tiger.

I couldn’t sleep for most of the night. My mind was overwhelmed with thoughts, all tangled together.
In the morning, I woke up to the smell of coffee. I panicked. I thought someone had broken into the house.
I grabbed a bat and went downstairs.

When I entered the kitchen, my husband was standing by the stove. He turned around and, smiling, said, Good morning!

I couldn’t move. I was in shock, completely confused about what was happening. It felt like I was still dreaming - like my husband was just a figment of my imagination. I pinched myself. But nothing changed. He was still there, in the kitchen.

He took a step closer. He could see all the questions that had tormented me these past days - this whole year - in my eyes.

Yes, he said, it was because of the last case. The maniac was caught last night. Thanks to you.
Let’s have breakfast, and I’ll tell you everything. I missed you so much.

He hugged me tightly and didn’t let go for a long time.

We didn’t get to breakfast until late in the afternoon.
We spent the entire evening on the couch, holding each other close. My husband told me everything about the final case.

The maniac had been kidnapping children and keeping them in a basement. Once, he had been a scientist - one who studied the human brain and psychology.

His last proposed research project had been rejected by the authorities. Worse - it had been heavily criticized.
But the scientist didn’t give up. In secret, he began his own research.

At first, he would simply approach children in public and talk to them.

But soon, that wasn’t enough.

He started convincing them to come visit him. Many parents, noticing a strange man near their kids, reported him to the police. He was detained several times - but always released. That’s when he decided to take the children for good.

He treated them like dolls. Sometimes he made them work. But surprisingly, he still took care of them. He created a livable environment. Fed them regularly. He even made them study.

Since the children were from different countries and spoke different languages, they eventually learned to communicate with each other. During their years in captivity, they kept up with school-level education and now speak English, Greek, Italian, partially Uzbek, and Russian.

Psychologists are currently working with the children. Fortunately, no serious mental or physical conditions have been discovered.

And when they’re asked about the man who kidnapped them, they call him “the kind uncle.”

The investigation revealed that all the children came from troubled, abusive households. They had been neglected, starved, or beaten. So perhaps, in a strange and twisted way this maniac saved them.

Most of the children will likely be placed in foster care, and their parents will lose custody.

Even the few stories the children have told about their past lives are heartbreaking - it’s hard to believe that their own mothers and fathers could treat them that way.

In some strange way, my husband and I are even grateful to this man.

My husband had spent the past year living in the house next to the kidnapper’s. They were neighbors — just one street over from our own home.

The day before my husband disappeared, the criminal posted an ad looking for a live-in assistant. My husband became that assistant.

That was his final case. We decided to move to a new city.

But on the day we were supposed to leave he received a letter from the child abductor…

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