Rekindled love

The story opens in 1997, showing a 17-year-old Bernard at his high school graduation, consumed by sorrow, rubbing a diamond engagement ring. His best friend, Phil, tries to console him, hinting at a traumatic event that "nobody will believe." Bernard mutters about something being "wrong," while Phil insists, "People get what they deserve." Sixteen years later, Bernard emerges from a courthouse, having won the "biggest case of his career." His smugness is evident as he dismisses reporters. He encounters Homeless Tim, who seems to know him from the past, ominously stating, "You don't remember me, do you?" and "This is a case you won't win." Tim leaves Bernard with a cryptic note: "Vengeance is only sweet when you make the person you love realize how sweet it is." Bernard, seemingly unfazed, scoffs and cleans his hands with sanitizer.  A flashback to 1988 reveals the source of Bernard's deep-seated trauma: his mother's profound grief and alcoholism after his police officer father was murdered. Young Bernard witnesses her despair, her attempts to self-medicate with alcohol, and her poignant statements about love and loss. She tells him, "When you meet the woman you'll love, if she leaves, it'll hurt for a long time." Back in the present, Bernard, now older, echoes his mother's words, muttering, "It does ease the pain. You caused it, and this is my medicine to erase you." The narrative then takes a dark turn with the introduction of a brutal serial killer who targets women, meticulously carving a portion of flesh from their right cheeks. Detective Charlie, a weathered officer, is frustrated by the lack of leads, noting the killer's unusual MO: no signs of rape, only the grisly facial mutilation.