"You're completely safe now," the doctor announced to the woman lying on the bed. His voice, gentle yet firm, conveyed reassurance. "It was quite risky, given you were four months along, but you're out of danger." The woman, pale and weak, barely able to whisper, rasped, "How's...my baby?"
A flicker of confusion darkened his features. "What baby? Aren't you here for an abor..." The question died on his lips, replaced by a dawning horror.

-

For the past two days, my father's behavior had been increasingly odd. He wouldn't let either Mom or me anywhere near the basement door. We initially brushed it off as one of his eccentricities leading up to a new "invention," as he often referred to his tinkering projects. But when we found a strange smell coming up and traced the source to the basement, we ignored his pleas and went in. There, sprawled on the floor, clutching an exposed electric wire, we found my father's lifeless form.

-

Prying into my neighbors' lives wasn't my habit. However, for months, I've been hearing strange noises next door: unmistakable yowls punctuated by whimpers. I might have even dismissed them as sounds associated with having a pet, had I not seen the owner with his pants down and his dog cowering in fear.

-

Panic seized me as I found corpses littered along the trail, each one a chilling testament to Everest's reputation as the world's largest open-air graveyard. I tried to fight the rising tide of fear by convincing myself it was quite normal—that is, until I stumbled upon my own lifeless form.

-

As my consciousness flickered back, I felt cold, slick concrete pressed against my back. I realized I was being chained to the wall of what felt like a cell by a group of men. As two of them began binding my feet next, the throbbing in my head intensified, and a searing pain tore through my limbs. I couldn't comprehend why I was being held like a captured animal, but as the full moon rose and the men scampered away in sudden panic, I understood why.

-

As the firefighter emerged from the building, now completely engulfed in flames, a bundle clutched in his arms, the crowd erupted into cheers. Taking the bundle from him, I unwrapped the cloth, only to discover, to my horror, a doll nestled neatly inside instead of my newborn.

-

I attempted to reason with my inconsolable father, explaining that there was no point in reopening my twin brother's unsolved murder case. "That isn't going to bring him back from the dead," I told him. In any case, I know the perpetrators, and I can't let them find out they've killed the wrong brother.

-

The kidnappers warned me against involving the cops, saying I'd regret it. So far, my acquaintance who's posing as the kidnapper has been flawless in his act. But witnessing him raise the ransom from 5 million to 10 million in a span of a day seemed greedy. Still, as long as my wife's parents were willing to pay and I received my share, I was okay with it. However, when my in-laws declared bankruptcy and I began receiving cut-off fingers in the mail, the harsh reality hit me—I'm never going to see my daughter again.

-

Cradling the bag of cosmetics that her husband thrust upon her, she thought he had finally decided to buy her some. Now, all she had to do was conceal the bruises on her face before the guests arrived.

-

When I discovered that one of my colleagues was sleeping with an underage student from his class, I felt compelled to report it to the authorities. It was wrong on so many levels; for one, it wasn't me she fell for.

-