Sky

Sky knew that in all the bad memories of his life, this would be the worst. Seeing Rain bleed in P'Phayu's arms was going to be something that would be etched on his psyche with indelible ink. When P'Gun had scarred Rain's face, it had hurt Sky, made him feel guilty even, but this? This was a thousand times worse. At least then he continued to have Rain with him, safe and sound. But now, Rain was.. well, he had no idea how Rain was. When Uncle Kit had mentioned that he had lost a lot of blood, Sky had felt his whole world tilt on an axis. He knew that Rain had that rare blood type. They had found out when they had gone for the stitches on his face. Luckily, at that time, he had not lost too much, so he hadn't required a transfusion. But the doctor had warned them then and there that Rain needed to be very careful. The doctor had given him a tag that stayed in Rain's wallet at all times. Sky was his emergency contact, but he ensured that he never left Rain alone long enough for that.

He could feel the weight of Ple's head on his shoulder, as she finally rested after her long crying bout. He looked towards Por and Sig, as they sat with their backs against the wall, facing Sky and Ple. While he was grateful for P'Pai and the whole family, these were his people, both Rain's and his, way before he had met anyone else. Their presence gave him strength like nothing else. Sky stared at the doors and willed them to open, desperately wanting to know something, anything! He could see the same desperation on Sig and Por's faces, and on P'Phayu's face. He knew he would find the same pain etched on Ple's face. Even though Sky was scared out of his wits, he held on to the hope that Rain was really, really strong, and he would get through this stronger than ever before.

Phayu

Three days! Three fucking days! Three days since Rain had been rushed into emergency surgery. Phayu was covered in all the protective gear as he stood next to Rain's bed. Only one person was allowed at a time in the ICU and right now, it was his turn. He would just stand there, holding Rain's hands, and talking to him about anything and everything under the sun. Initially, Phayu and Rain's gang had refused to go home, but when Kit had told him that they needed to stay strong so that they could take care of Rain when he woke up, they had reluctantly returned to eat and freshen up and sleep for a while. Kit had had to swear on his life that he would call them if something changed. "Come back soon baby, my love. I can't wait to see these pretty eyes on me. I want to tell you that I love you Rain. don't take that away from me, yeah?" he whispered, gently kissing Rain's knuckles before keeping his hand down and leaving.

Sig

Sig bent down and kissed Rain on the forehead with his mask on. "We miss you Nong Fon. You have no idea how much. Just come back to us, yeah? We can't lose you. We are taking down all the notes and we have already told the Dean you are not coming for a few days. He tried being an ass, but then remembered that you are Uncle Vegas's son," Sig snickered. "By the way, P'Phayu and P'Pai are not telling us anything about what will happen to P'Gun, P'Stop, P'Som and P'Bank. P'Jack seems to have disappeared anyways, and good riddance, if I may say so. I hope he is dead. I don't say that in front of the others, but I know you are the only one who will understand my sentiments, and agree with them. Assholes, the whole bunch of them. I hope they all burn in hell."

Som

Som was going to hell, if he was not already there. He had been sitting in this small windowless room since 3 days. No one had come looking for him and he had been forced to relieve himself where he was sitting. He had prided himself on being perfect, but now, he was filthy, and God knows for how long this would continue. Plus his nose was broken, and it hurt like hell, but there was nothing he could do because he was tied up, both hands and legs bound up tight. He had tried every single way to get out of the ropes, but nothing had budged. His thoughts were utterly confused. Who were these people? What were they to Rain? Why had P'Phayu been there? Som had millions of questions, but not a single answer. He wondered if his parents were looking for him, and if his sister would ever think about him. He knew his sister hated him. She had slapped him in front of the whole faculty. He had wanted to hurt Rain because he had felt humiliated. But sitting in this room, he realised one thing. That humiliation that he had faced that day was nothing compared to what he was facing right now. He knew that the day he had reached out to Gun, he had signed his own death certificate.

3rd Person

There was pin-drop silence in the family conference room as Kit finished speaking. It felt like no one even breathed. "Are you sure Khun Kit?" Chan asked, his voice just above a whisper. He sounded as shocked as the others felt. "Didn't you tell us that your girlfriend disappeared with your daughter almost as soon as she was born?" Arm asked. Chan nodded. "But she must be just 36. How old was she when she had Rain? Who is his father?" Pete asked. "Aroon, her husband," Kit said calmly, as another shockwave went through the room. "What? Then why did they give him up?" Vegas asked, seething in rage. "Do you want to take this one up Arm?" Kit asked. Arm nodded. "When P'Vegas and P'Kinn asked me to look into the connections the other day, I was not sure what I was going to find. But it was difficult, since those days, there were no systems that recorded everything. So please bear with me. P'Chan told us that he was 19 when he met P'Malai. She was a dancer, but she wanted to leave their hometown for the bright lights of Bangkok, and she probably saw P'Chan as a means to do that. What she didn't expect was to become pregnant."

"As soon as the baby was born, she left the kid with her sister, who was married, but had no kids, and disappeared. P'Chan probably never considered that she would leave the kid, so he looked for a young mother and girl child. However, two years after that, P'Lai passed away in a freak accident, and even though she had named P'Chan as the child's guardian, the aunt never even bothered to reach out. They were from a lower middle class family, but Pensri was a brilliant child in studies, getting scholarships all throughout her school life. She met Aroon, who was from a very rich family, and they fell in love. When his parents realised that, they sent him abroad. Pensri probably didn't know she was pregnant, and Aroon left before she could actually tell him. She must have given birth, and terrified of the consequences, she dropped the child off at the orphanage, with just a name pinned to his blanket. How and why she chose the name Rain, only she would know."

"A 17 year old girl, who has had a tough life, who wanted to achieve her successes on her own merit, finds herself pregnant, and her lover gone. What would anyone do in those circumstances? She panicked and disappeared. She went back and resumed her studies, getting into Uni with top grades. That's when Aroon came back. I am assuming she eventually forgave him and they got back together and got married. They tried for a child, but she had severe internal haemorrhaging which led to her losing the baby. That was the condition Aroon had spoken about when he told us about the setting up of a blood donation support system. They never had any more children. They started the company with Mhok, and they are all successful in their own rights as well."

"It's karma! She deserves it," Khun hissed, as everyone looked at him. "What? Oh please! You are all thinking the same! Only I have the guts to put it in words! She hurt that poor innocent soul, and did you think God would just overlook that? 17 or not, she had a responsibility that she failed in. She is not going to get any sympathy from me. Sorry for that Chan." Chan shook his head. He looked devastated. Not only had he lost his daughter, and she had gone through so much alone, now his grandson was battling life and death. "I am worried about something else actually," Pete looked apologetically at Chan. "What?" Vegas asked. "Will they want Rain back? Especially since they don't have kids of their own? Rain is biologically still theirs na?" Pete asked. Everyone looked at each other. This was definitely a possibility. "I am pretty sure Rain has a say in it. We will just do what he wants," Phayu said, the finality in his tone a clear indicator that this conversation was now closed.

"Where are we with those 4?" he asked. "They have been kept in the dungeons. No food, no water, not even allowed to relieve themselves," Macau said, his face contorting with anger. "Then let's get all this done. Let's get them in pristine condition. I am itching to begin," Fah said, cracking his knuckles. "As am I," Pai's smile was pure evil. These men had touched someone who was beyond important to his lover, and to his brother and uncles, and there would be no mercy shown. "I want to see Som first," Phayu said. "Half an hour. We will have them ready," Beam said, stepping up from the back of the room. "Chan, we suggest you sit this one out. You have a lot to process. We will also make arrangements for a meeting between you and your daughter," Kinn said, as everyone stood up. Chan nodded, grateful.

Phayu

Phayu circled Som with absolutely no expression on his face. "P'Phayu," the boy stammered out as Phayu finally came to a standstill in front of him. "I always took you for an annoying junior," Phayu said, his voice pitched low, creating terror in Som's mind. "I thought, maybe, just maybe, if I will help you with the small little things, it will keep you off my back. I thought to simplify your life, but instead, you tried to ingratiate yourself further into mine. You went behind my back and threatened my code line juniors. You went as far as to harass Rain, and by association, his group. You paid someone who would kidnap Rain and rape him, so that you could brand him a slut. There is one step you missed. I am Phayu Saengtham, and that's how you know me. But you see, I am also Venice Theerpanayakul, and the man you insulted that day is my father, Vegas Theerpanayakul. Over and above that," Phayu bent down and pulled Som's head backwards using his hair. "Over and above that, the person you touched? You hurt? That is my person. Venice Theerpanayakul's person. You laid your filthy hands and eyes on my love, and spoke shit about him. And by all rules that exist in our world, it will be considered quite acceptable if I take your hands, gouge out your eyes, and cut off your tongue. But that would mean you got it easy, and there is no way in fucking hell that I am going to make anything easy for you."

"Venice! Hurry! The hospital called," Pete's voice came through the speakers. Phayu straightened. "If anything, and I mean anything happens to my Rain, mine will be the last face you will see before you meet your maker Som, and I will ensure your place in my special kind of hell," Phayu said, before turning on his heels and leaving. He didn't start running until he was well outside the torture chambers and was relieved when he saw Pai waiting for him with the car ready. "What about the others?" "On their way," Pai said, before he floored the pedal and took off towards the hospital.

"What? What is happening?" Phayu asked, as everyone watched the medical team working around Rain's bed. "P'Kit said he was having trouble breathing. We don't know anything else," Pete said, nose pressed against the glass of the ICU. "I want to go in! Please, please let me go in!" Phayu begged, as his dad put an arm around him. "Just give them some time, okay lu?" Vegas said. Phayu clung to his dad just like he used to as a kid. A sudden flurry of movement caught their attention as they watched in shock and horror as the heart monitor flatlined!