𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮

The black Ducati roared into view, followed by a fleet of armored cars tearing down the road like thunder splitting the dark. Red was not alone - his men were armed, fierce, and merciless. Gunfire shattered the air as bullets rained down on Cornal's convoy.

Cornal's men scattered, shouting orders, ducking for cover behind overturned cars. The road became a battlefield of screams and muzzle flashes. Two of Cornal's soldiers dropped instantly, their bodies hitting the gravel.

Cornal cursed under his breath, ducking behind his vehicle. "Get in the car! Move!"

He didn't even look back at William's bleeding form. One final glance at the chaos - then he climbed in and sped away into the dark.

He won't survive that much blood loss, Cornal thought grimly as his car disappeared down the road.

The sound of gunfire faded into the distance.

The Ducati screeched to a stop beside the wrecked car. Red jumped off, letting the bike crash onto the ground. He didn't care. He sprinted straight toward the broken figure lying near the wreckage.

"Will! I got you-shit-it's looking bad," Red muttered, his voice cracking as he knelt beside him.

William coughed weakly, blood staining his lips. "I'm not dead yet, yeah. But you see what Sky's done? They took him... God knows where."

Red clenched his jaw, shaking his head. "He didn't even tell me, the bastard. Come on, we need to get you to a hospital."

William's hand gripped Red's wrist. His voice trembled. "Damn... I don't think I'll survive this time, Red."

"Shut up," Red snapped, his tone desperate. "Don't you dare talk like that."

He helped William into the backseat of the car, shouting orders. "Drive! Now!"

The tires screamed as they sped toward the city.

Red ripped off his jacket, hands shaking. He pulled the knife out in one swift motion-William groaned in pain, his eyes rolling back-but Red didn't stop. He pressed his jacket tightly against the wound, tying it off as best he could.

"Hold on," he said through gritted teeth. "The bullets didn't hit anything vital, but the bleeding-damn it-the bleeding's bad. We've got nothing to sterilize or close it. Infection will kill you faster than the bullets."

William gave a half-smile through the pain. "You sound like a doctor."

"I sound like someone trying to keep your stubborn ass alive," Red shot back, his voice cracking.

Then, after a pause, Red exhaled shakily. "I hope you kissed and said 'I love you' to Est before leaving, Will. It doesn't look good."

William managed a faint smirk. "Shit... I didn't." He winced. "You know, we have something in common, Red. Our shitty fathers. At this point, I think only Sky and Nani are lucky to have nice ones."

Red's jaw tightened, his eyes glistening in the passing streetlights. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Maybe."

William tried to sit up, but Red pushed him back down with a glare. "Don't you dare move."

"Check... where they took Sky," William rasped.

"I've got people tracking his signal," Red replied immediately. "The tracker's under his skin. No officer or scanner will detect it. But Will-there's something else."

William blinked weakly. "What?"

"We've got more enemies than we thought. Agent Ohm isn't working alone. I found out who got him the undercover backup."

William's head lolled slightly, his eyelids heavy. The hospital lights glowed faintly ahead.

"Take care of it, Red... we need to get Sky back," William murmured, barely audible.

Red swallowed hard. Tears burned at his eyes, but he blinked them away. "You're gonna be fine, Will. Don't lose it, you hear me? You have to be fine."

William's breathing slowed, each inhale shorter than the last. Still, a small, weary smile tugged at his lips.

"You're not the broken boy anymore, Red," he whispered, voice faint as wind. "You've grown up... I'm proud of you."

The car skidded into the hospital driveway. Nurses and guards rushed forward as Red kicked the door open, screaming for help.

Two hours stretched thin and taut like a snapped wire.

William was somewhere beyond the double doors now - lights, beeps, hands moving too fast - but the hallway outside the OR felt suspended in a different kind of time. The nurse had come out three times already, each visit with the same clipped, professional strain: another bag of AB- blood type, another IV line, a whispered update to a waiting crowd that sounded too small for how big the fear felt.

Beside him, Amol - Sky's most trusted bodyguard - spoke softly into his earpiece, his tone clipped but urgent. "Yes, Mr. Vegas. He's still in surgery. Heavy blood loss. We're at Pai Canyon Central Hospital. Bring the others."

When he hung up, Amol turned to Red. "They'll be here any moment. You should stay until-"

Red shook his head sharply. His voice, low and controlled, cut through the sterile silence."No. From here, you take care of it. Update Mr. Vegas, tell him everything. He'll decide when to move."

Amol frowned. "And you?"

"I'll find the rat who set this up," Red said, eyes flashing cold beneath the dim corridor light. "We've got a leak. Someone helped Cornal's people, and I'm going to find out who. My team's already tracking Sky's signal - weak but still alive."

He stood abruptly, tugging the handkerchief up over his mouth and nose, his usual disguise slipping into place.

"Tell them I was never here," he muttered, more to himself than Amol. "No one needs to know my name."

Amol opened his mouth to protest, but the sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the hall - the unmistakable rush of family arriving.

Red's eyes flicked toward the sound. "They're here," he said quietly. "It's better if they don't see me."

Before Amol could respond, Red was already moving - swift, silent, disappearing into the far end of the corridor just as Papa Pete's voice rang out.

"Where is he? Where's my son?!"

The automatic doors swung open. Vegas, Pete, and the rest of the Theerapakyun family flooded the hall, faces pale with fear.

Amol rose, stepping forward to intercept them, answering their barrage of questions - but his gaze flicked once toward the corner where Red had vanished.

He was gone.

Down the dim stairwell, Red's boots struck the floor in steady rhythm. Outside, rain had begun to fall - light, cold, cleansing. He pulled out his phone, watching the flickering red dot that represented Sky's signal. Weak, distant, fading.

His jaw clenched. "Hold on, Sky," he whispered, sliding the phone into his jacket as he straddled his bike. "You're not dying on my watch. Neither of you are."

With a roar of the engine, the Ducati vanished into the night - just as the elevator above opened to a family that would never know the shadow who saved their sons.

The corridor smelled of antiseptic and fear.

Six hours.

Six hours since William was rushed through those metal doors, and still, no one had come out.

Nani sat on the cold bench, knees pulled up to his chest, his whole body trembling as if the air itself hurt to breathe. His eyes were red and swollen, his voice long gone from crying too much, too hard, too helplessly. "Why-why does he always do this?" he hiccuped, fists clutching the front of his shirt. "He promised-he promised he wouldn't make me wait anymore... and now he's-he's gone too-"

Pooh immediately pulled him closer, wrapping both arms around Nani, holding him so tightly that their trembling seemed to merge into one. "Breathe, Nani," he whispered against his temple, his own voice cracking despite the effort to stay steady. "Breathe for him, okay? Sky will come back, he will."

But Nani only shook his head violently, tears spilling faster. "You don't know-he looked so tired, Pooh. I told him not to overwork, I told him-and now-"

Across the hall, Est's broken sobs filled the silence. He was clinging to Pete, burying his face into his soon to be father in law's chest, the sound of his crying small yet sharp, cutting through everyone's composure. "Papa, Will-he can't-he can't leave like this. He said he'd watch my final game-he promised!"

Papa Pete held him close, one hand on Est's back, the other trembling as he stroked his hair. His expression remained eerily calm, the mask of a man who had seen too much-but his eyes betrayed him, hard and glistening with unshed tears. Inside his head, a voice from years ago played on repeat: "𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦. 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴."

Selina's voice.

And he had failed.

Vegas stood a few feet away, phone pressed to his ear, voice low but sharp. "Yes, I need more AB-negative, now. Don't argue, just get it." He hung up, turned, and for a brief moment his own mask slipped - his hand raked through his hair, his jaw tightening as his eyes fell on the door. His son like nephew was behind that wall, and there was nothing he could do to fight for him this time.

Jimmy returned, arms full of blood bags and documents. "They said the doctor's still inside," he said breathlessly. "They're trying everything."

He glanced toward Nani and Pooh - the sight nearly undid him.

Pooh's own tears slid silently down his cheeks as he whispered to Nani, "Shh, I know it hurts... I know." He looked toward the operating room, voice trembling. "One of my brothers is fighting for his life, and the other-god knows where Sky is."

No one spoke after that. The silence that fell was heavy - the kind that presses against the chest until breathing hurts.

Vegas finally broke it, his voice barely above a whisper. "We'll find him," he said, more to himself than anyone. "We'll bring Sky back. And William-he's too damn stubborn to give up. He won't leave us that easily."

But even as he said it, he didn't believe it fully.

No one did.

Outside, rain began to fall again - faint, steady, like the world itself was mourning with them.

The sound of hurried footsteps pulled everyone's heads up at once. The doctor pushed through the swinging doors, surgical cap still on, gloves stained faintly with blood. For a second, no one moved-no one even breathed.

Papa Pete was the first to speak, his voice rough and tight. "Doctor?"

The man removed his mask slowly, his expression grave but calm. "He's out of danger," he said, and the collective sigh that swept through the corridor was almost deafening.

Nani's knees buckled in relief, and Pooh quickly caught him before he could fall.

"But..." the doctor continued, and the word froze everyone in place. "He lost a large amount of blood. We managed to stabilize him, but the head injury..." He hesitated, looking toward Pete and Vegas. "We didn't notice it at first-it's at the back of his head. The impact from the crash caused internal swelling. We've done what we can, but now we need to wait."

"Wait for what?" Est's voice broke through, trembling.

"For him to wake up," the doctor said softly. "If he doesn't regain consciousness within 72 hours, that means he's fallen into a coma."

The words hit like a gunshot.

Est stumbled forward, eyes wide, tears spilling faster than he could wipe them. "N-No... you're lying, right? You said he's out of danger, he's fine, right? He-he can't-he promised me-" His voice cracked completely, and he dropped to his knees, hands clutching at his chest as if trying to hold himself together.

Papa Pete bent down, pulling him into his arms, his own tears sliding silently down his face. "Est," he whispered, voice breaking, "listen to me-he's strong. He's fought worse. He'll come back to us." But the way he said it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.

Nani stood frozen. His eyes were locked on the doctor, lips parted but no words came out. Everything sounded muffled-the crying, the whispers, even his own heartbeat. His chest ached so bad it felt like he couldn't breathe. Pooh touched his shoulder gently, but Nani didn't respond.

Then suddenly, Nani's body trembled violently, tears spilling soundlessly down his cheeks. "He... he didn't deserve this," he whispered, voice hoarse. "William always took care of everyone, always smiled even when he was hurting... and now he's lying there because of-" His voice broke, his sobs turning raw, unrestrained. Pooh pulled him into a hug, holding him tightly while he cried against his chest.

The doctor gave them a sympathetic nod before walking away.

Est was still clinging to Pete, whispering through hiccups, "Please, papa... tell him to wake up... please..."

And Nani, trembling in Pooh's arms, whispered to no one in particular, "Please, sky, be safe... William needs you... we all need you..."

Outside, the rain that had begun earlier grew heavier-steady, relentless-as if echoing the tears that filled the quiet, broken hallway.