Chapter Twenty-Two: The Arrest

Hi, everyone,

How are you doing all? I hope you are all doing well ^^

Here is the new update. I hope you will like it.

This chapter was edited only by Grammarly. Please, excuse my mistakes.

Your votes, comments and reviews are always welcomed and appreciated.

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Two days later,

Arthit sat nervously in the examination room as he waited for Gun's arrival. His father and Siriporn were present with him while Kongphop had to remain in the waiting room until the questioning had ended, with Kiet, one of the officers assigned to protect them.

The interrogation room was simple, with no windows, had one single ceiling light that barely illuminated anything, and almost bare except for a table in which four chairs were placed around it, and a land-phone placed closer to the Detective's seat.

Suddenly, the young man felt a warm hand placed above his and squeezed it gently. Looking at the woman sitting next to him, Arthit smiled, and Siriporn replied with a warm, encouraging smile of her own.

A few moments later, Gun entered, accompanied by a police officer.

"Good day, N'Arthit," the Detective greeted, flashing him a warm smile, as he sat opposite to Arthit and Siriporn.

Gun noticed that Arthit seemed to be extremely nervous and was stealing side-glances at the police officer who stood on full attention next to Phet near the room's only entrance.

"Shall we begin?" Gun asked, placing a small tape recorder in the space between them.

Arthit nodded nervously.

"Please, can you state your name, age and occupation?"

Arthit took a deep breath as he began to reply to Gun's question, trying his best not give in to his fears. It was the presence of his father and Siriporn that helped him a lot in keeping his composure and not go into a panic attack. The Detective then proceeded to ask him about the day he was asked by Kongphop to meet him in the cabin.

"You didn't doubt that it was Mr Kongphop whom you've been talking to?" Gun asked.

"No," Arthit replied. "Kongphop sometimes behaves like an eager child and comes with some weird ideas. I didn't think much about it at that time."

"What happened then?"

"Nothing much," Arthit replied. "After work, I went back to my apartment, prepared some clothes for the weekend and waited for the car to pick me up. The car came on time, and silently I climbed it, and the driver was on his way to the cabin. When I reached there," he continued uneasily. "I saw him waiting for me."

"Who?"

Arthit stared at Gun with apparent hesitation in his eyes.

"Nong, who was waiting for you?" Gun repeated his question, but Arthit refused to answer.

"N'Arthit," the Detective tried again. "Are you referring to the company's employee?" —Arthit nodded in affirmation as he bit his lower lip— "I know it's difficult to remember and I understand that you have your reasons for hiding that man's name, but doing so will result in more harm than good. You must tell me that man's name so he will be held accountable for what he had done not only because that man had committed such a horrible crime against you but also because he had betrayed N'Kongphop and his father's trust in him. Do you want the one you love to continue harbouring a wanted criminal? Someone who could easily hurt them without them being aware of the snake laying hidden in their bosom?"

Silent tears slid on Arthit's pale cheeks as he listened to Gun. He had been quiet for this long to protect the man he loved; however, what the Detective was saying was also correct. What would stop that man from doing to Kongphop what he had done to him if he wanted to? Nothing.

Arthit let a deep breath as the freighting thought took residence inside his mind and soul.

"I will ask you again, N'Arthit," Gun said. "who was waiting for you in front of the cabin when you arrived there?"

"Mr.—Mr. Benz Onruang," The young man whispered.

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It took all of Gun's willpower not to cheer out-loud once he heard Arthit utter the secretary's name. To him, Arthit's three words were like the cherry that topped a delicious ice cream treat. The Detective had spent the past week, trying to find a solid connection between Mr Onruang and Yu, whom the secretary had vigorously denied knowing; however, nothing was more solid than Arthit's confession on him.

"You said," Gun continued with a neutral voice that didn't reflect the happiness he was feeling inside. "that Mr Onruang was waiting for you when you reached the cabin, correct?"—Arthit nodded— "Was he waiting for you inside the cabin or outside?"

"Outside," Arthit replied. "He—he was standing in front of the stairs that led to the cabin's entrance. And when the car stopped, he insisted on carrying my duffle bag himself."

Gun's eyes twinkled mysteriously, but he didn't comment. Instead, he changed the subject and asked about how Arthit got acquainted with Mr Onruang.

"I met him for the first time when Kongphop and I were visiting his parents one weekend," Arthit answered. "He was bringing some papers to Mr Kerkkrai, and Mr Kerkkrai invited him to lunch."

"I see," Gun commented. "And during this meeting, did you two exchange conversation?"

Arthit shrugged. "Few words, no more."

"And did you meet him again after this?"

"Three or four times at the Suthiluck villa," Arthit responded. "And—" the younger man seemed to want to add something but then changed his mind.

"And?" Gun asked.

"Nothing," Arthit said, shaking his head.

"I see," the Detective said with a smile. "How do you describe Mr Onruang's relation with the rest of the Suthiluck family?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean other than Mr Kerkkrai, is he close to any member of the Suthiluck family?"

Arthit stared at Gun with an unreadable expression before he replied. "I don't know."

"Alright," Gun said. "Let's return to the cabin then. After you climbed down the car and Mr Onruang had insisted on carrying your duffle bag, did you notice whether the car had left at once or lingered behind?"

Arthit thought for a moment. "I don't recall."

Gun nodded before he asked. "Then, what happened?"

Arthit's body tensed upon hearing the question.

"You don't have to say any details," Gun reassured, noticing his significant discomfort. "How about I ask you a few questions, and you reply to them? You can refuse any question you don't want to answer."

Arthit thought briefly at the Detective's offer before he nodded.

"Alright, we'll start now," Gun said. "After you entered the cabin, what did you do?"

"I wanted to go to Kongphop's room to put my things, but Mr Onruang said that Kongphop had instructed him to join them in the basement as soon as I arrive." —Arthit inhaled sharply— "After leaving my bag on one of the couches, we went downstairs."

"Did you see who was there?"

Arthit shook his head as tears flooded his eyes. "No, before I reached the door of the basement, some fabric was pressed against my nose, and I lost my consciousness. When I woke up, I was tied and blindfolded."

Gun took a deep breath, knowing that he couldn't ask anything about the time of Arthit's captivity. It was evident to him that Arthit was barely holding himself back. However, there was something he needed to know before he moved on. "Nong, would you recognize the voices of the men present in the cabin, if you heard them?"

Arthit tensed at the question. He thought about the issue carefully before he nodded his head in affirmation. "Yes."

"I hope you're not thinking of making him identify the men now!" Siriporn interfered as she noticed Gun's satisfied expression at Arthit's answer.

"Of course not," Gun said reassuringly. The psychiatrist's sharp glare almost caused him a heart attack. "I'm just making sure in case the need arises. I've told you that I won't do anything without the pre-approval of you and N'Arthit."

Siriporn narrowed her eyes at the Detective but said nothing.

"Alright," the Detective said as he let out a nervous cough. "let's talk about the man who came to your apartment. How did you recognize him?"

Arthit squeezed Siriporn's hand that was holding his hand under the table.

"I didn't know at first," he replied softly. "I—I opened the door, thinking it was Knott but was surprised to see a strange man in front of him." —Arthit's voice quivered as he closed his eyes, trying to fight off his growing fear— "He pushed me aside and entered before I could do anything. He then talked, and I realized who was he."

Gun watched with pity as the young man in front of him fought hard to ward off the demons that had been haunting him for so long. He could only imagine what Arthit had felt in that moment when he realized that his rapist was standing in front of him inside his house. Gun gave Arthit a few moments to compose himself before he spoke.

"If I showed you some pictures," he said. "Will you be able to recognize him?"

"No!" Siriporn snapped. "Can't you see that he wouldn't bear it?" She glared at the Detective hatefully, wishing she could snap his neck for suggesting such a thing.

"I will," Arthit replied suddenly, shocking all the present. He looked up at Gun with a determined look in his doe eyes. "I can recognize him between hundreds."

"Oon, you don't have to do this today," Siriporn tried. "You can always—"

"It's alright, P'," Arthit said as he looked at her and forced a brave smile on his face. "I can do it!"

Looking back at the Detective, Arthit asked him to show him the photos.

Nodding, Gun picked up the phone nearby and called someone, asking him to bring the photos. Moments later, a young man in civilian clothes entered with a mid-size brown envelope in his hands. Handing the envelope to the Detective, the man excused himself and left.

Gun didn't waste any time in taking out a bunch of pictures from the envelope and spreading them in front of Arthit.

"Point out at any picture you recognize," he instructed.

Nodding, Arthit stole a glance at his father who was watching them with a blank expression before he turned his attention to the photos in front of him.

"This one," he said softly, pointing at one picture. "that's the man!"

Gun stared at Yu's photo that was taken from his employee's file at Siam Polimer Group before he nodded his head.

"Anything else?" he asked.

Arthit looked back at the pictures until his eyes lingered on an old photo. He stared at it uncertainly before he pointed at it. "This! I think it's for the same man."

Gum smiled. Other than the police, only two managed to recognize Yu before he got that nasty scar across his face though Kongphop was more impressive since he managed to recognize Yu after seeing his face only once.

"Any other people you recognize?"

Arthit's eyes lingered on the photo of Mr Onruang before he hesitantly pointed to it and two other pictures of two men.

"This is Mr Onruang," he said. "and this is Mr Kerkkrai's another secretary. I don't recall his name. This is the driver who took me to the cabin."

"Any other?"

Arthit pointed to a couple of photos of two men, saying that he had met them once in the Suthiluck villa.

Gun nodded his head understandingly. He had purposely included the photos of other employees in Siam Polimer Group to see if Arthit would recognize them or not. The young man had identified the ones he had met only in the Suthiluck villa or had some sort of interaction with them and hadn't recognized those whom he hadn't met.

"That would be all for today, N'Arthit," Gun said with a smile. "We may need your help some other time, though."

Arthit nodded his head in response.

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Kongphop took several deep breaths and tapped one foot impatiently as he waited in the waiting room of the police station. An hour had passed since Arthit, Siriporn and Phet had left him here with Kiet, but to him, it felt like an entire lifetime. The fear of the impact of this session on his lover had become so great and unbearable that he started to consider bursting into the interrogation room and damn the consequences!

Luckily, his lover, along with Siriporn and Phet appeared before he would do something thoughtlessly.

As soon as his eyes laid on his boyfriend, Kongphop jumped on his feet and rushed to him. Kiet, who was sitting and watching Kongphop's display of anxiety, followed suit.

Arthit's face was sickly pale, traces of tears could be seen on his porcelain cheeks, and his steps were shaky and unstable.

"P'Arthit, what happened?" Kongphop asked frighteningly as he gathered the troubled man in his arms.

"He's just shaken," Phet said tonelessly. "He'll be fine once he's back home. Let's go."

Kongphop gave the older uncertain look but didn't comment. He could feel how Arthit clung to him as if he was his lifeline and that worried him. Kongphop wanted to reach home as soon as possible so that he could start comforting his boyfriend.

Upon reaching the house, Kongphop took Arthit upstairs where he helped the older man lay down before he laid beside him.

Kongphop wrapped his lover with his arms and started to whisper sweet nothingness into the older man's ear, hoping to calm him down.

"Kong, you're not going to leave me, are you?" came the whisper out of the sudden.

Kongphop's heart skipped a beat at the desperateness in his lover's voice.

"I've promised you, haven't I?" He whispered back. "No matter what happened, I will never leave you!"

"I wish I could trust this promise," Arthit whispered as tears filled his eyes.

"Don't you trust me?" Kongphop asked as he buried his nose into his lover's silky hair.

"I do," Arthit replied. "But I don't trust..." His voice trailed off softly.

"You don't trust who?" Kongphop asked.

Arthit rose into a sitting position and looked directly into Kongphop's eyes.

"I want you to remember one thing, Kong," he said as tears slid down his eyes. "I've gone to that police station and talked because you asked me to. Otherwise, I wouldn't have said a word to anyone. Will you promise me that you will always remember that?"

Kongphop stared deeply into his lover's eyes before he silently closed the gap between their faces and kissed Arthit's soft lips.

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After finishing arranging his notes from Arthit's hearing, Gun picked up his car keys and excused himself from work. He was going to the one witness who could backup Arthit's story and prove Benz's involvement in the case, hoping that he could convince him to testify officially against the secretary.

'Well,' Gun thought to himself as he drove away. 'I can always resort to blackmailing.'

Reaching his destination, Gun booked a room in the small inn he had stayed in during his last visit to Noen Makok before he headed to meet his target; Mee Noi Kessara. Unfortunately, the man wasn't home, so the Detective had to go to the village's marketplace to look for him.

"Good day, Mr Mee Noi Kessara," Gun greeted as he approached the man who was playing with his young nephew.

Mee Noi frowned as he saw the young Detective standing in front of him with a cheeky smile pasted on his face. He had thought that his role had ended by saying what he knew about that accursed day and would be free of it and its memory forever. But judging by the Detective's sudden appearance, he wasn't off the hook yet.

"What do you want?" he asked annoyedly. "I told you everything I know already."

"That's I've thought at the time too," Gun responded. "but it turned out that you kept out some minor yet crucial details from me, didn't you?"

The man glared at the Detective hatefully, but the other man didn't budge. Sighing in defeat, Mee Noi told his 7-year-old nephew to go to his father while he talked to this uncle before he wheeled himself with the Detective in tow to a little isolated part of the market.

"What do you want to know?" He asked.

"Everything you've hidden from me," Gun replied sternly. "and not only that, you will come with me back to Bangkok where you will be my main witness."

"No! I can't do that!" Mee Noi exclaimed frightfully. "They will kill me!"

"You don't have too much of choice on the matter," Gun said threateningly. "Either you become a witness or a suspect. And remember, you've already withheld essential information from me. I could easily arrest you for hiding vital information, lying to the police, and obstructing justice."

Mee Noi frowned but said nothing, knowing that he had no choice but to do whatever the Detective wanted.

"What exactly do you want to know?"

"You said that before you left for your pick-up that day, someone from the 12th floor had ordered you to pick up Mr Arthit from his apartment. Who was it?"

Mee Noi inhaled sharply before he spoke. "Mr Benz Onruang. He called me as I left the company, heading out to Ocean Electric and informed me that the goods I'm supposed to pick up was a person who works there and gave me the address of his apartment. He told me to deliver him to the Suthiluck

cabin."

"According to your former supervisor, the drivers of urgent orders are chosen randomly," Gun remarked. "how did Mr Onruang know that it was you who would be going out for that pick-up?"

Mee Noi shrugged, showing that he didn't know the answer.

"What happened when you reached the cabin?" Gun asked.

"I've told you already," Mee Noi replied agitatedly. "I dropped Mr Arthit and left at once."

"Really?" Gun asked, raising a questioning eyebrow as he tapped his chin thoughtfully. "You know, I haven't thought of it at the time but now that I think about it, your claim that Mr Onruang tried to kill you when you didn't know why Mr. Arthit was taken to the cabin sounds a little bit strange and odd to me!"

Mee Noi blanched at the Detective's unexpected remark. Cold drops of sweat formed on his forehead as he recalled what he had seen that day.

FLASHBACK

Mee Noi rolled his eyes as he saw Benz hurriedly opened the passenger door for Arthit and took his duffle bag as he welcomed him profoundly to the cabin. The driver frowned as the secretary seemed to ignore his presence altogether as if the car had driven itself to the cabin. Talk about rude stuck-up behaviour!

Mee Noi had half-mind to ignore this whole matter and simply drive away, but his curiosity took over him and made him park the car a little bit further from the cabin before he turned it off and climbed down.

He was curious about this Arthit's character. Like many of the company's employees, he had heard some rumours circulating about Mr Kerkkrai's only heir having a male lover; however, none dared to try and confirm it by asking the company's COO directly. When Benz called him to inform him about the true nature of the goods he was supposed to pick-up, the driver's curiosity reached sky-high, especially when Benz told him that the person whom he was picking up was someone closely connected to the company's COO.

Mee Noi stood in front of the cabin's door, trying to find an excuse to knock and enter but when he failed to produce one, he climbed down the stairs and circulated the building, trying to find a window in which he could pry through. Reaching the outer door that led to the basement, he thought about entering but then dismissed the idea so he wouldn't be discovered. As he stood, trying to decide what to do, he heard Benz's voice coming from a nearby open egress window.

Bending on all fours and looking through it, Mee Noi saw Benz standing by the private entrance of the basement with an unconscious man over his shoulder.

"Gentlemen," the secretary announced to the four men already present in the basement. "your entertainment has arrived."

The four men cheered as Benz put down the unconscious man on the floor. Mee Noi was shocked to realize that it was Arthit.

As soon as Arthit was laying on the ground, three of the men bounced on him and stripped him naked while Benz and a man with a long scar on his face, whom Mee Noi didn't recognize, watched in great amusement.

"Hey, boss!" one of the three said. "can we fuck him now?"

"What fun could be in be fucking an unconscious pray?" the scarred man wondered. "Tie him up and blindfold him. We'll have our fun with him as soon as he comes to."

Mee Noi felt his heart pounding inside his chest. Something felt too wrong to him. Arthit didn't look to be that kind of man at all! And those men looked more like gangsters than businesspeople.

The whole situation seemed like a case of kidnapping to Mee Noi. Afraid of what might happen to him if anyone discovered his presence, he stood up with haste, then ran to his car and drove aware, unaware that someone had already noticed his shadow at the window.

END OF FLASHBACK

Gun felt the urge to punch the man in the face for abandoning Arthit in such manner. He hadn't even bothered to notify anyone of the crime that had taken place in front of his eyes.

The Detective clutched his hands into a tight fist as he felt his anger rising inside of him.

Arthit could've been spared that horrible destiny if that cowardly driver had the guts to report what he had seen.

Swallowing his anger, the Detective spoke. "What happened after that? Why did you say that Mr Onruang tried to kill you?"

Mee Noi sighed. "Two days after that weekend, I accidentally saw that scarred man in the company. I was in the warehouse to deliver a shipment from the factory when I saw him among the workers. Our eyes met, and I was extremely nervous. Later that day, when I was about to go home, I was cornered by Mr Onruang and that man. They told me that they knew about me peeping into the cabin's basement. They said that they would hurt me if I said a word about it to anyone. That man even showed me a tattoo that belonged to a mob gang." —Mee Noi sighed— "I told them that I wouldn't say a word, but within the week I had an accident because of failed brakes. I almost got killed! If my leg injury hadn't caused me to be dismissed from work, I would've resigned myself."

"Aside from Mr Onruang and the scarred man, can you identify the rest of the men if you saw them?"

"I—I think I can," Mee Noi replied.

Gun nodded. "This is what is going to happen now," he said firmly. "Tomorrow, you will return with me to Bangkok, give an official testimony, and you will identify the men who were in that cabin."

Mee Noi stared helplessly at the Detective but knew that he had no choice but to comply.

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Phet raised his head from his work as someone knocked on the door of his office.

"Come in," he said.

"P'Phet," Siriporn's head appeared from behind the door. "Dinner is ready."

"I'm coming," he said as he closed the file in front of him and stood up.

As he neared the kitchen, the sounds of the young men currently living in his house resonated throughout the house. It was a new and unfamiliar situation for him; to have many people in his home. He and his wife hadn't gotten another child because both feared that they couldn't give their children the attention they deserved due to the nature of their work. They had only one child, and still, they struggled to make sure that he was loved and well taken care of.

But now...

Phet frowned as he stood at the entrance of the kitchen, watching as Kiet, Knott, Kongphop and Siriporn chatted merrily and fooled around with each other, trying to lift Arthit's gloomy spirit.

'So noisy!' Phet thought as he marched into the kitchen, silencing the entire commotion with his mere presence. Silently, he sat on the table and started to eat.

Siriporn frowned at the sudden change in the mood. She studied the older man with piercing eyes, trying to read what was running inside his mind but without success. The man had been silent and distant since their return from Arthit's testimony session, and the psychiatrist couldn't assess the impact of what he had heard of him. It seemed to her that another talk attempt was in order. Turning her attention to Arthit, Siriporn let out a frustrated sigh. She had her work cut out for her!

The younger Rojnapat was also in a bleak mood. He too had barely spoken two words since their return from the police station. His face hardly showed any emotions, and he seemed to be lost in his own world.

Arthit's behaviour, Siriporn noted, was similar to his behaviour at the time that followed his mother's death. The young man looked helpless as if he had lost a dear one out of a sudden and was trying to resign himself to accept his loss.

The psychiatrist let out another defeated sigh.

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After dinner, while the rest went to sit in the living room, except Phet who headed straight to his office, shutting himself inside and cutting Siriporn's opportunity to talk.

Kiet glanced with a fond smile on his face at Arthit who was laying on the couch with his head resting on Kongphop's lap as they all sat to watch some drama on TV. Kongphop, at the moment, though, was whispering to his lover while playing with the older man's hair.

When he first assigned to this mission, Kiet was furious. He was an aspiring police officer who wanted to chase dangerous criminals, sleazy drug dealers and other kinds of low lives. He had no time to babysit anyone's kid. But, when Detective Gun brought him into his office and thoroughly explained to him the situation and whom he was supposed to protect, he agreed with full passion. For young officers, Detective Phet was a legend, and anyone would love to serve under him. Not to mention, that the prospect of being one of those who might catch Yu, the Impaler, was enticing enough to do anything to achieve such a goal.

Thus, Kiet was introduced to Phet's family merely a day before, but he was quickly not only taken by all of them but connected with them. Arthit was nice, quiet, and somehow timid, a total opposite of his aggressive and fearful father. However, there were moments, especially when Kongphop teased him, where he showed some feistiness and aggressiveness. Kongphop, on the other hand, was polite, patient, a true gentleman and was deeply in love Arthit to the point of worship. Knott was logic, practical, and exceptionally reliable and responsible person; an actual big-brother figure even to Arthit, who was the same age as Knott. Siriporn was alternating between the roles of a big sister, a mother, or a nagging wife, according to what the current situation required.

Kiet couldn't help but feel happy to have met such wonderful people.

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The next morning, Gun, accompanied by Mee Noi, entered the police station at an early hour. Since the Detective had no time to lose anymore, he sprang to work as soon as he reached his office.

Gathering the notes he had arranged yesterday, he headed with his witness to take his testimony before he made him identify some men from a display queue. Mee Noi managed to pick out Yu's two men who had been locked in since the picture incident from between the rest of the criminals in the queue, which was what all Gun needed to move to the next step.

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Employees and customers alike watched in apprehension as Gun followed by four police officers and a young man and woman in civilian clothes walked through the main entrance of Siam Polimer around midday, heading straight toward the main elevator. Some of the security personals tried to approach him, but Gun flashed his badge at their faces with a quick move as he continued his march. He didn't have any moment to lose on trivial things.

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"Mr Benz Onruang," Gun said as soon as he was in Mr Kerkkrai's office. "I'm Detective Gun Aksornpan, and you are under arrest." The police officers surrounded the man in question, who stared at the officers with utter shock, as Gun continued to recite his rights.

"What is going on in here?" Mr Kerkkrai asked as he out of his office after hearing the commotion from inside. "Detective Gun?"

"I'm here to arrest Mr Benz Onruang," Gun replied, showing the CEO the arrest warrant.

Kerkkrai stared with shock at the Detective before he took the order and read it. He, then, looked at Benz who was sweating heavily.

"Can we talk in my office, Detective?" Kerkkrai asked quietly.

"Sure," the Detective replied before he followed the older man into his office.

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"What is going on, Detective?" Kerkkrai asked. "Why are you arresting Benz?"

"Because I have witnesses that say that he is the one who lured Mr Arthit to the cabin and raped him with the help of a gangster," Gun replied quietly.

"WHAT?" Kerkkrai couldn't believe what he was hearing. "There must be a mistake, Detective. I know Benz personally! He's a good—"

"I have two witnesses who testified on Mr Onruang's involvement in this case," Gun interrupted with a firm tone. "In addition to witnesses and evidence that linked him to a well-known gangster...A gangster who was working in your company, Mr Suthiluck."

Kerkkrai dropped himself on the couch, unable to believe what he was hearing. He stared with his mouth opened at the Detective, unsure of what to say or how he should respond.

"A gangster? In my company?" he breathed.

"Yes," Gun replied. "The man whom your son attacked a week ago is a wanted criminal, whom Mr Onruang is closely acquainted with."

Cold sweat dripped down Kerkkrai's forehead, not sure of how to respond to that.

"Which reminds me," Gun continued. "I have a warrant that authorizes me to examine Mr Benz's office computer. Robin, my IT, and his assistant will download all the information present on that computer for analysis." He presented another warrant.

"But the company's secrets and information are inside," Kerkkrai protested as he took the warrant and read it.

"I'm sorry, Mr Suthiluck, but I need to know a few things that can't be obtained unless my IT checked Mr Onruang's computer. Besides, you forget that the order was issued from your office, possibly from Mr Onruang's computer."

"Our IT team had checked all the computers in my office, and they haven't found anything," Kerkkrai said.

"With all due respect, Mr Suthiluck, but our IT team can find what other IT teams cannot find."

Taking a deep breath, Kerkkrai nodded his agreement.

"Thank you," Gun said. "This warrant also permits my ITs to carry a few errands in the company."

"Errands?"

"Yes," the Detective replied before he continued to list the data Robin was going to collect from some departments in the company before he returned to the police station.

"I understand," Kerkkrai said once Gun finished.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr Suthiluck," the Detective said before left the office.

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As soon as Gun had left the office with the police and Benz, Robin and Hathai got to work under the surprised looks of Mr Kerkkrai's secretaries. Their boss had asked them to cooperate fully with the two technicians, but everyone was still under shock after what had happened. Questioning gazes flew toward the two technicians who were working in complete silence.

"What happened to P'Benz?" A lady exclaimed as she rushed in the room with a worried expression on her face.

"Oh, my dear," Kerkkrai's head secretary said as she stood up from her desk and rushed to the anxious woman. "Police had come and taken him away."

"What? Why?"

The head secretary glanced at the two technicians before looking back at the woman. "I don't know," she said as she shook her head. "but they came with the police,"—she pointed at Robin and Hathai— "They might know."

The young woman approached the pair. "Excuse me, why did the police take P'Benz away?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

Robin and Hathai blinked several times before Robin replied. "May I ask who you are?"

"I'm Phailin Jaturapattarapong," she replied. "I'm P'Benz's fiancée."

"Well, Ms Jaturapattarapong," Robin said. "I'm not authorized to say anything. I'm merely an IT technician. If you want to know what's going on, you must go to the police station, and ask them there."

Phailin stared at him with a sorrowful expression that could've melted the hardest stone, but Robina managed to hold his grounds and resist the temptation of pity. It wasn't within his authority to disclose any information to anyone.

Seeing that neither would help her, Phailin nodded her head in silence before she excused herself and entered Mr Kerkkrai's office. A few moments later, she got out and left the office without uttering a single word.

After an hour and a half, Robin and Hathai had finished gathering all the information they wanted before Robin locked the computer with an exclusive app to prevent anyone from using the device until further notice.

Having finished their first mission in the company, the two excused them and left the office before they moved to their next one in another part of the company.

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Phet was in his office, working when Gun came in to inform him about the recent developments.

"When are you going to start your interrogation?" The older Detective asked.

"I don't think I can start before tomorrow," Gun admitted.

"Why not?"

"Robin and Hathai are still collecting the last pieces of evidence needed to prove Mr Onruang's connection to Yu," Gun explained. "We'll need time to analyze and establish a clear insight into the matter. Once established, the rest will be easy."

"You can always arrange a confrontation between him and between Yu's men,"

Phet remarked.

"I'm leaving this for the last," Gun said with an evil smirk. "It would be fun to see him sweat for a few days."

Phet raised an eyebrow but said nothing. The young Detective was starting to fright him a little.

"So where is he now?"

"In detention," Gun replied. "His fiancée has brought him a lawyer but informed them to come tomorrow morning when the interrogation starts."

Phet snorted. "That bastard has a fiancée as well."—he sighed— "Make sure that she wouldn't cause you any problems and hinder the investigation."

"On the contrary, I think she will provide great help," Gun said with a mysterious tone. "She's one of Mr Kongphop's secretaries."

Phet frowned deeply. "Do you think that she has a part in it?"

"Maybe," Gun replied. "She was, after all, the one who accompanied Mr Kongphop on his trip! Or her fiancé could've used her to gain information and other privileges. Either way, I'll make sure to extract all the information I need from both."

"You're starting to scare me, Gun," Phet said, drawing a laugh from the younger Detective.

"Learned from the best, P'!"

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That night after dinner, Siriporn found Phet sitting in the garden on the small outdoor table alone, staring silently at the street in front of the house. Sitting next to the man, Siriporn raised an eyebrow as she noticed the unlit cigarette in his mouth.

Phet and Arthit had always had arguments about the older man's smoking habits. Arthit wanted his father to quit forever, but Phet couldn't quit altogether; instead, he managed to reduce the number of cigarettes he smoked to two or three a week and stopped smoking at home.

"I thought you promised Arthit not to smoke at home," she spoke, breaking the silence that hovered over them.

"I'm not actually smoking it, am I?" Phet commented with a bored tone.

Siriporn gave him a pointed look before she picked up the pack that laid on the table and checked its contents.

"It seems that you've smoked more than your usual this month," she remarked.

Phet glared at her but said nothing, causing her to sigh dramatically.

"Well, I suppose that some have stronger wills than others," she said in pretended sorrow. "N'Kong told me that he had managed to quit smoking in a few weeks when Oon asked him to stop smoking. You, on the other hand, have promised him almost 13 years ago but still unable to keep your promise."

"Siriporn," Phet said sharply. "why do I get irritated every time you open your mouth?"

The psychiatrist smirked playfully. "You're a detective, P'; hearing the truth shouldn't irritate you."

Pressing his lips into a thin line, Phet took out the cigarette dangling from the corner of his lips and picked the cigarette pack before he crushed them with his fist and threw them on the ground.

"Here," he said irritably. "If you ever see me even second-hand smoking, cut my throat!"

Siriporn gave the man a Cheshire-Cat smile. "I will certainly do!" she said excitedly. "So, tell me why you are moping all by yourself for two days?"

Phet inhaled deeply, trying to subdue his anger. "I'm not moping," he said. "It's just getting too noisy with four youngsters in the house. I'm trying to have some peace, which you are disturbing by the way."

Siriporn let out a small laugh. She was tempted to say something about being in a house with four handsome men but then decided not to. Otherwise, Phet wouldn't tell her what she wanted to know.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Phet got really irritated with Siriporn's presence and decided to satisfy her curiosity so she would leave him in peace.

"I'm worried about the outcome of the investigation in Arthit's case," Phet admitted.

"Why?"

"During his interrogation, Arthit refused to answer or gave incomplete replies to some of Gun's questions," the Detective explained. "It was obvious that he was covering for something or someone. Gun had a theory that Arthit knows that someone close to Mr Kongphop is connected to the case and he's trying to protect them. I believe he's right."—Phet sighed deeply— "And today, Gun discovered that one of Mr Kongphop's secretaries is the fiancée of our main suspect."

"I see," Siriporn commented. "And of course, if this turns to be true, N'Kong and Oon's relationship would be affected once the truth is out."

Phet nodded. "The connection of that man to what happened to Arthit is bothering me a lot." He whispered almost to himself, but Siriporn heard it.

"Do you think he's involved in all of this?"

"I—I can't say that," Phet admitted after a moment of hesitation. "but if not him, then it has to be someone close to him. That's why Arthit is trying to hide what he knew about this case. He's trying to protect Mr Kongphop's feelings."

Siriporn nodded her head. Now, Arthit's current state since his questioning made full sense to her. Not only he must be thinking that his newly renewed relationship with Kongphop would end any moment, but also, he must be dead worried about the looming pain that could be waiting for his lover.

"There is nothing we can do, P'," she said eventually. "Whether someone close to N'Kong is indeed involved in this mess or not, Oon and N'Kong have to face this situation at some point. How it will end to either of them is completely depends on them. We can only be there and guide them if needed."

Phet looked at Siriporn with eyes full of doubt and anxiety.

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Glossary:

Kiet: (M.) Honour

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To Be Continued...

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I want to apologize. I've promised to write a more eventful chapter, but it would've turned to be too long if I wrote more. So, I'm afraid you will have to be contented with this for now. I will try my best to update as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience and thank you for reading my story.

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