Pete's POV
Inside the room I threw a bucket of water on Khun Sanya's face. He is suspended by chains on his wrists.
Then I removed the gag from Khun Sanya's mouth.
"Cough, cough". Kuhn Sanya opens his eyes. "Thanks for waking me up Pete" He smiles wryly.
"No problem."
"Do you want to talk now? These last two days you didn't want to talk to me at all. Focused on torturing me, I suppose."
"Mhmm...I wasn't in the mood to hear your voice before."
"That briefcase has a lot of interesting tools, by the way."
"It belongs to Vegas."
"I should know...are you enjoying this?"
"There's a difference between enjoying it and not feeling uncomfortable doing it."
"You are the second case, I see. Vegas is the first case for sure..."
"However...you can't hurt my son, try to kill my husband and leave without a scratch, can you?!Sure I'm enjoying it."
"Fair enough. You are patient, Pete...even to revenge. You really took your time before catching me. I like that..." Khun Sanya speaks thoughtfully and smile.
"By the way, it was you, wasn't it? You were the one who warned your family to find you at my hotel that day (1), bypassing my security system. How did you do that? So as not to become a monologue, I think you can share secrets with me too. We are intimate now." Khun Sanya smirks.
"You talk first. I can tell you later."
I released the chain and Khun Sanya fell to the ground.
"Aren't you afraid of what I might do now?"
"No... I know more than you can imagine. And you must have already realized that. You won't do anything to me." I say calmly, offering him a chair to sit on."
"True." Khun Sanya sits up with difficulty, his body badly bruised. "...Take a seat too, Pete. It will be a little long, but entertaining, I hope."
"Sure." I sit in front of him. I hand him a towel so he can wipe his face and clean the blood.
"Thank you, Pete. You are a very kind torturer." He says wryly.
"I do my best" I smile at him.
"So... let's spill the tea!" He winks and smiles at me.
"I'm listening..."
"Above all, I'm a businessman, Pete. And I only do business with people I know well. And it would be no different with the Theerapanyakun minor family. All business done with the main family was handled directly with Khun Korn by my father when he was alive. Not even with the son, Khun Kinn. When my father died, I decided to give the minor family a chance. So I assigned one of my top spies to work in your house to see if I could trust you all and find potential useful information. Sweet and competent Jenny. Besides, I was curious about Nong Vegas. Yim irritatingly has always looked up to me. He idolized me. Little does he know that I have despised him since he was born. He's so weak. But it is convenient to have him submit to me. One day Yim started talking only about the minor family heir...Nong Vegas. Vegas spent a lot of time in the apartment my dad bought Yim, just off campus. By that time they were lovers, but I'm sure you already know that. I can't stand competition. Even after Vegas broke up with Yim, over another guy...Porsche maybe?!..." Sanya teased me and continued to say. "...I remained curious why Yim still idolized him too. It annoyed me. I wanted to know who Vegas was. But I got a little disappointed, I must confess. Vegas is nothing more than an damaged kid fruit of an abusive father. I, on the other hand, received a lot of love and care. My mother used to be scared of me though. Poor woman. But my father...I think I was his joy. Don't blame me, Pete. I was born this way...and how about you?!"
"..."
"In short, Jenny fed me with information about the minor family's business and about the daily life of your home. This type of information is valuable in any disputes among mafia families. To ensure that Jenny would stay with you long enough, she gave small doses to your baby of a new drug developed by us. Not just for that. Venice would be our guarantee against any betrayal by the minor family. A way to ensure that our interests would be served. You should already know that this is very common in the mafia world: look for a weakness and make the best use of it. Vegas gave me an unexpected bonus though. Clever Jenny was able to access Vegas' laptop and managed to relay a lot of information to me (2). She found a very interesting folder named "Pete". So entertaining. You seemed really tasty, by the way."
"You are disgusting."
"Haha...don't be so mad, Pete! What really shocked me was how much you really looked like Tianshi. I even sent people to find out if you were related. You are not. For that matter, your past is quite interesting, Pete."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's talk about it later." Khun Sanya smiles mysteriously "Still about your resemblance with Tianshi, when it comes to personality, you are very different. I like you better. Tianshi was presumptuous, exhibitionist, temperamental...hard to deal with. He knew pretty well how to fight and shoot though...to survive in a cruel world, I suppose. He normally used his attractiveness to deceive targets and achieve his goals. You know that. You studied him well, didn't you? Perhaps what you don't know is that Tianshi was traded when he was younger. He was undeniably a beauty. Father won him in a trade from a Chinese mafia boss. He was trained to protect me (3) . Very quickly he became my head bodyguard...and lover. He could have stayed by my side just fine if he hadn't been so needy and greedy. He wanted me to take him as my official romantic partner, just like Kinn and Vegas did about Porsche and you. But that would never happen in my family. Marriage exists to secure alliances and heirs. It has nothing to do with love or romance. It would have been smarter if Tianshi had understood that. I gave him everything, except a damn promise ring. If it weren't for my father and I, who knows what his fate would have been. And yet, he chose to leave, because some guy promised him eternal love and gave him an engagement ring. Pathetic. He took the risk in leaving me. He should know that I'm very attached to what belongs to me. One day he would pay the price of freedom. Better than bodyguards, I have spies everywhere. I ordered Gu Wei to be also slowly poisoned by my new drug. When Tianshi found out, it was already too late. And of course, he offered to do whatever I wanted for doses of an antidote to treat his lover health condition. I don't force anyone, you see. People do what they are willing to do.
"Not quite." I clench my fists.
"Whatever the motivation, it's still free will."
"You have a twisted reasoning in your favor."
"Maybe...continuing....one day Mr. Park, a sort of broker in the weaponry world, came to me to talk about a buyer who was placing an order for high precision riffles. I thought it would be a good opportunity to see if the minor family could manage this. The deal was for real. Just for fun I suggested to Mr. Park that he should ask for an armament's consultant, Gu Wei, to accompany him. Tianshi isolated himself with Gu Wei on a private island. And I wanted to see them in person. Just to tease Tianshi. But he smartly got suspicious when he heard that I was involved in the negotiation and refused. What really surprised me was when Yim told me that you would disguise yourself as Tianshi. That was a big coincidence. Of course it would not be necessary to close the deal. But it piqued my curiosity to see the star of my home made porn videos dressed as Angel, my ex-lover. A fantasy becoming reality. So I asked to Mr. Park insist about the consultant."
"All this trouble on a disgusting whim?!" I wanted to strangle him with my bare hands.
"As I said, Pete, your videos were quite sexually entertaining. When I saw you dressed like Tianshi at the club, it was alluring. You all have provided me this. It wasn't my original plan. I just supported you all. And truth to be told, it would be fine for me to just continue watching the videos...and having sex with Tianshi while thinking about you. Oh, don't make that disgusted face again, Pete. But when Jenny told me that there were people looking for wires in your mansion...probably suspicious about the security system, I immediately closed the connection to Vegas' laptop and asked her to remove all wires, except in the basement, where people hardly would search...and when most valuable information is shared. My fun with new videos would end. I asked Jenny how you guys found out. And Jenny told me that probably it was because an argument between you and Vegas over Yim. All monitoring done was terminated because of my idiot brother. I would have shot him myself at that harbor. He told Jenny to put a damn bracelet Vegas gave him on your bed to cause suspicion of infidelity. Such a lame juvenile trick. He compromised my spy, business and entertainment for unrequited love. I don't know how Vegas found out that Jenny was poisoning the baby. But when I heard the interrogation he was doing while torturing Jenny, it was clear that she was already compromised too. She had to be eliminated. Poor Jenny. I liked her. When I realized that I wouldn't have access to you anymore, Pete, I really got carried away by emotion, I guess. You became my new obsession. I offered a payment to Mr. Park to help me to kidnap you in the harbor. A group of mercenaries was hired by him to intercept Vegas en route. It would be more work to kidnap you with him around. My plan was for Vegas to get killed too. But apparently, he was being very well protected. I was not aware of this. It was your doing, wasn't it?
"I take good care of my family."
"Yes you do. When Yim called me saying they couldn't get through to Vegas, I guessed the mercenaries had accomplished their mission. So I headed for the port. It was not my intention to go there at first. I do not personally engage in negotiations. Mr. Park already knew what to do. But somehow I thought of how to make sure no one would suspect me. So I decided that I should be kidnaped too. I had just returned from Tianshi Island by helicopter. And yes, I killed him and his lover.
"Why?"
"He found out that I was worsening Gu Wei's health, not helping him to get better. Tianshi threatened to tell Kinn everything about my dubious methods of securing business partnerships, if I didn't provide a cure for Gu Wei. Kinn told Tianshi that you and Arm would disguise yourselves as Angel and Gu Wei. Tianshi was smart. He knew Mr. Park was very experienced in the weaponry business. He must have been suspicious of my ulterior motives when he heard that I supported your cover even though I knew it was unnecessary to have a weapons consultant in that negotiation. Now, how did I manage to kill such a skilled assassin, you might be wondering."
"This question really crossed my mind."
"It was not easy. He killed several of my bodyguards before surrendering. But always have your opponent's weakness in your hands, Pete. Love is always a weakness. This always works. If you threaten your enemy's weak point, they will succumb. Despair weakens people. It makes them take hasty decisions. He thought he would intimidate me with such a weak threat because he was desperate. He didn't think straight. And I took the opportunity to get rid of Tianshi and Gu Wei. Besides, as I said, I liked your personality better, Pete. I lost interest in Tianshi."
"I would kill you or kill myself before I turn Tianshi's replacement."
"Don't forget that Venice would be like Gu Wei, my object of exchange."
"You are sick."
"But yes, you could refuse and you and your child would meet in heaven."
I stand up and grab his neck, making a fist to hit him.
"You see, your weakness."
"Asshole" I punch him twice. Khun Sanya spits the blood on the floor. "You don't want people. You want to own things."
"Good point. You're so predictable, by the way. I knew if I stayed close to you in that port, you'd tend to protect me, like a good bodyguard you will always be. I had alerted Mr. Park that he should take you with me. Then he pointed the gun at your temple and shot, but not to kill. He shoots very well. Or he used to, better said."
"Why did you kill him? Assistant Lee gave me you gift, by the way".
"Did you like it? Hope so. Greedy people. He started to blackmail me. You can't trust anyone these days. What else, Pete?"
"Why did you take us to the island of Tianshi and Gu Wei? (4)"
"That island was a gift from me to Tianshi that he dared to take his lover. The intention was to leave you at the house located there until the next day. That island is quite far from the coast, hard to track. Then I would send you somewhere else. I would be found alone by my team in some other small island and I would explain that you were killed by Mr. Park and thrown in the sea. Who would find your body in the middle of the sea?! But I was careless and presumptuous. I underestimated the efforts of the Theerapanyakul family to look for you. I didn't think they'd find us so quickly. Also I didn't expect you to be so skilled and able to break free from my bodyguards and jump into that rapid. We shouldn't be in that forest. And you shouldn't have seen Tianshi and Gu Wei's corpses. There was a drone always monitoring us under my command. Assistant Lee knew of every step we were taking. It was nice to enjoy some sweet moments with you. I really wanted to gain your trust. Maybe make you fall in love with me haha...I'm kidding. It was fun though."
"Didn't your little brother tell you that I don't like man?!"
"Really?!It doesn't make any sense..."
"Never mind...go on..."
"Okay...well...I also didn't expect your family's technology to capture some images of where we were or locate us somehow. I hope those were beautiful pictures of the two of us though. My team managed to monitor that Vegas was on his way to the island and that there was a suspicious fishing boat docked there. So Assistant Lee sent a team to rescue us during the night.
"And why did you take me to your hotel? It didn't seem reasonable."
"It wasn't in my original plan to take you to The Diamond Hotel. However, I couldn't resist the temptation to take you to my house. Khun Sanya smirks. Now, Pete...tell me. How did you figure this all out? I'm curious."
"Do you know why I accepted to disguise myself as Tianshi actually? The minor family's security system was hacked around the same time that Vegas and Porsche began negotiations about this weaponry shipment. The events could be related. As I hadn't any other leads, it would be worth investigating more closely. It was just a shot in the dark. Mr. Park seemed to me too smart to need weaponry guidance. I made a mistake, however. I did not consider that Mr. Park would have a considerable number of men in that port. I underestimated the potential situation. But I didn't suspect you at first. It was only on that island that something about you bothered me ."
"Really? I tried to be my best self for you, Pete." Khun Sanya says wryly
"You did, right?! And you almost got me fooled. I've really appreciated you since we met. It was disappointing to find out that you were behind all this. But not unexpected. You reminded me of someone that used to be just like you. Polite with everyone. Friendly to subordinates. It was hard to believe all the horrible things some people used to say about that person (5). Until one day I noticed this person's gaze while inflicting suffering and agony to someone (6). There was pure evil satisfaction. Maybe it's something I'll never forget. The same devilish satisfaction I saw in your eyes when we found Tianshi and Gu Wei's corpses on that island. There was that twinkle in your eyes that you could not hide. It got me thinking. When we were interacting with each other it was like interacting with that person old self...polite, friendly, seductive on the outside. I decided to investigate it further when I was in your penthouse, so I didn't activate my ID code locator earlier. I needed time to find out whether or not you were being real with me. Do you see this?"
"Tianshi's necklace...?!I gave it to him as a token of my supposed love. I bet Gu Wei didn't know that. Tianshi liked jewelry even if it was from his ex-lover. Shameless." Khun Sanya laughs. I recognized it on your neck from the first day I saw you in disguise."
"It's not just a necklace. It's a device. A very special one. I used this device to hack into your computer and send my ID code to Arm's tracker when the time was right."
Flashback - The Diamond Hotel – Penthouse (the day Pete was taken to the hotel: he spent three days and two nights in the penthouse. Atention: Pete is narrating the events to Khun Sanya, so there are no quotation marks in the sentences narrated by Pete, only in the narrated dialogues.)
First night:
"No one followed us here, sir. Employees helped Khun Pete shower and change as requested. Doctor said he had an infection due to his wound and gave him an injection. Don't you want me to arrange the guest room, sir?"
"It won't be necessary. Good job, assistant Lee. Now, leave us alone."
...
"Pete? Pete?"
I pretended to open my eyes with difficulty.
"Sanya..."
"Please, don't try to get up, Pete. You need to rest. Take this pill the doctor prescribed."
I had just been medicated. It looked suspicious to me. I pretended to swallow the medicine, which remained under my tongue.
When you went to the bathroom to take a shower, I took the capsule out of my mouth and put it in the water on your nightstand. I tasted a little and it seemed tasteless. I went back to bed and pretended to sleep.
A while later I noticed that you came back from the shower. You had a glass of water and lay down next to me.
"Pete? Are you awake?"
"..." I remained motionless.
"You're wearing a necklace like Tianshi's" You whispered to me while holding the replica of Tianshi's necklace, but luckily you let it go.
"..."
"I won't do anything extreme to you. I just want to know why Vegas is so crazy about you. I want to know if you are better then Angel."
"..."
"...may it be your fragrant and smooth skin?" (a kiss in Pete's neck...)
"..."
"...your sexy slim waist...and toned abs..." (hands slide over Pete's abs to his waist)
"..."
"... your angelic face." (a kiss on Pete's cheek)
I felt disgusted. I was prepared to rip your head off if you tried anything else. But I had to be patient. If my suspicion was correct, you would fall asleep fast. When you were about to kiss me, you fell asleep.
I kicked you a few times and you didn't move.
"I'll kill you when I get the chance, you bastard." Then I pushed you and got out of bed."
Besides the bathroom and the front door, there was a side door. I opened it. It was your private office attached to your room.
I saw a surveillance camera, which was probably not monitored by your bodyguards, but recorded for your private access.
All I had to do was access your computer and delete the images and stop recording for a range of time.
I used the necklace to access your computer and break the security system. Arm is a genius, you know. He made this (7). I started to copy all the information accessed. There were a lot of information about the minor family business you collected from us. I found videos that Jenny sent to you, with information about us...about Venice. In that moment I knew I couldn't kill you until I found out what Jenny had done to Venice. That's the only reason I didn't let Vegas kill you that day (8). I had to find a cure first. Maybe I would need you in the future. Otherwise, I would have killed you myself. Then I found a folder named "Pete". When I opened the content, I was sure you were spying on us. It was clear you were the one behind our security system break. My first instinct was to delete that folder, but I knew I couldn't, 'cause you'd be suspicious. I copied all the information I could get...trade secrets, business partners lists and chemical formulas. I sent this last information to the doctor who discovered that Venice was being poisoned.
When I got back to the room, despite wanting to kill you with my bare hands, I lay down on the bed next to you. Despite my disgust and anger, I took your arm and put it around my waist so you wouldn't suspect me when you woke up.
The second night you gave me another pill, which I pretended to take again. But this time you didn't try anything. You just told me, thinking I was sleeping:
"It was nice meeting you, Pete. Too bad it was for such a short time."
I instinctively knew I should get out of there. That's when I activated the necklace's gps so that Arm could receive my ID code and location. (9)
End of flashback at the Penthouse
...
"Smart and sneaky...impressive, Pete. I was suspitious of how you were located by Vegas, but I couldn't find any clue in my house."
"Yes, I had to be patient for a month, until I got Venice safe. Now I have enough information to destroy your business if I want to."
"I guess so." Khun Sanya smiles bitterly. "You can even kill me now."
"I can." I smile "But I won't".
"Why?" Khun Sanya looks at me puzzled.
"'Cause you are still lying to me about a couple of things."
"Am I?"
"Even if you're a perverted, obsessed psychopath, sacrificing so many men and blowing up a harbor is too far-fetched just to make some sick fantasy come true. As you said, you are a businessman. Besides that, you said: 'It was nice meeting you, Pete. Too bad it was for such a short time', remember? You would kill me after all that trouble? It doesn't make sense. You didn't take me to The Diamond Hotel because you had a sexual fantasy about fucking me in your bed. You had a motive. A business motive, I would bet. Now, tell me everything in a way I believe it, which means, tell me the whole damn truth...tell me what the chess room is (10). Otherwise, in addition to bringing your dear hotel to the ground, I'll make every mafia boss in this country, who you betrayed or threatened, come after your head."
"On those terms, how could I refuse?! How do you know about the chess room?"
I got up from my chair and turned on a screen that is in the room. A dialogue began to be heard. One of the voices was distorted. Pieces are moved in virtual chess board.
[chess opponent: "If you kill the knight... the bishop will be vulnerable... and the queen unsupported."
The opponent makes a move on the chess board."
Khun Sanya: Seems to be an interesting move. But there are a lot of rocks and pawns in the way"
Khun sanya makes another move on the board.
Chess opponent: Kill the Knight. I can help with the rest.]
Khun Sanya: What's the knight's name?
Chess opponent: Pete Phongsakorn Saengtham
End recording]
...