“Oh! This nostalgic feeling I’m getting is giving me cold chills” William uttered, the moment he got out of the car with Liam. They stood in front of an ancestral building with a sense of familiarity. “You know I haven’t set my eyes on my dad since I got back. We only spoke on the phone”
“That’s your problem, Will.” Liam waved his hand dismissively, his tone scornful. “I’ll happily watch how everything turns out”
“Well, at least I’ll only get scolded by my father. I hope you brought an umbrella or maybe you wore a bulletproof vest in your seat, cause it’s about to go down” William raised his voice laced with mockery as he increased his pace to avoid Liam’s raised hands.
“Tch… That fool” Liam gritted his teeth in annoyance. Though, he felt a feeling of apprehension in his heart as he approached his father’s home with heavy footsteps. This was the place where the old and real investors of the Liam enterprise decided to converge for the meeting.
As Liam walked into the house, he was met with a funny scene.
“You unfilial son of your mother, is this how I trained you?” Mr. Louis, William’s father yelled while pulling his son’s ear. “When did you get back?.. hun… Tell me”
“Dad, I’m sorry. I was a bit confused and occupied with work” William replied, gritting his teeth in pain, his gaze pleading as he knelt in front of his father, he immediately sighted Liam closing in on them. “You can ask Liam, he’s right there”
“I have no hand in his misconduct, Uncle” Liam stated, separating himself from the matter.
“, Liam” William clenched his teeth in anger as his heart was pierced with the spiteful act of betrayal. He had pleaded with Liam to bail him out but he had done the opposite.
“Don’t you dare bring Liam into this” his father roared hitting his walking stick on his shoulder. “Do you want me to die out of anger? You’ve refused to take over the family’s business. I gave you the go-ahead to pursue your medical career and you still chose to work with a small clinic that pays peanuts… I’m starting to have doubts about you being my child.”
William was caught off guard by his father’s words. He thought he had been discreet enough but his father always found a way to blow up his cover.
“And the lady, who’s she?.. the one working for our common enemy?” Mr. Louis berated his son with a heavy breath
“What??”
“Don’t you dare lie to me. I know everything that you have been doing since you came back”
“But Dad, you’re intruding on my privacy”
“What right do you have to tell me that? I…”
“That’s enough, Louis” Mr. Diego cut him off. “The other investors are waiting, we don’t have much time left”
“Hmph… I’ll deal with you later” Mr. Louis threw a deathly glare at his son and then shifted his gaze to Liam. “And as for you, you have a lot of questions to answer”
“Yeah, the others are really angry” Mr. Diego chipped in.
“Hahaha,” William chuckled right next to Liam saying, “I’m going to get my revenge. Be prepared”
The four men walked into an inner room that looked the same as a conference room.
All the gray-haired men glanced at the door and snarled at the sight of Liam.
“You strong-headed fool… Why did it take you this long to reach out to us” one of them cursed, outraged.
“I can’t believe I voted him in to be the next CEO. Who knew his brain was this deformed?” Another man snapped without mercy. “He needs to be punished”
“Your father’s case was never like this and to think it was because of a woman?” Another chipped in with a voice laced with mockery.
“Yes, that’s what pains me the most. A f*cking scandal. How dare you?” A voice yelled out in rage.
“He needs to be beaten thoroughly till he admits his mistake” another suggested, his voice disdainful as he glared at Liam who had already knelt with his head facing the floor. One of the ways to plead for mercy is in the presence of the elders.
“I told you yours was going to be worse” William whispered but the silence made it easier for the men to hear. His father was greatly enraged.
“You bastard, on your knees this instant” he yelled.
“Who does he think he is to stand in our presence when he’s also at fault? He also ran away instead of staying with his friend to keep him from going astray”
“When did I become a babysitter?” William who had knelt right next to Liam, screamed inwardly as he glared at Liam who had a contemptuous smirk on his face.
“You..” he was about to curse at home when he remembered what led to him being on his knees. He quickly swallowed it as he watched silence engulf the whole room.
Mr. Diego stood up from his seat and bowed to the rest of the men who gasped in surprise. “I’m pleading with you to help him… I know Liam made mistakes but he is the only one who has taken the company to such heights that it has greatly affected us in positive ways. He needs us to step in now”
“You didn’t have to do that, Diego” Louis sighed deeply. “How can we abandon the child our great friend left in our care? He needed a little scolding and since he’s gotten it. We can move on to the main deal”
“Stand up, Callahan” one of the investors ordered to Liam who obeyed immediately. “And you too young Louis”
Liam cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “I should be ashamed of myself but this isn’t the right time to dwell on regrets. We need to find a way to take Damien Russo out before he causes more damage”
The men in the room found meaning in his words and nodded in approval but one of them snickered. “How could you have let that bastard come this far?”