A Rowling's Vengeance; Back from the dead

Doubt

"I want you to train under my supervision. I’ve had my secretary keep an eye on you for a while now, and I admire your determination in every way, and I heard from your professor, who is one of my old friends, that you want to work for my company," Joseph Rowling responded.

"Your friend?" Liam asked the man, perplexed, but on second thought, he realized why the professor was so unfailingly nice to him. After all, there was a reason for it.

"He told me how you would go to any length to achieve academic success. He mentioned how intelligent you were, so I asked him to look after you. I had no reason to become involved in your life until you nearly died, and I can't let you live like that under my supervision."

Liam found himself unsure. He thought his father was dead, but he had his doubts in the past because his mother would refuse to talk about him even if he asked. She always said there was no need for him to know anything about a man who was no longer in their lives.

He trusted his mother and concluded that she had to have a reason to say that, and if the man was still alive, there was no need for him to be a part of their lives.

He was five years old when his mother married, and the marriage lasted only a few years before his mother divorced his stepfather because he cheated.

He recalls his mother yelling and wailing at the man, lamenting the fact that she must have been cursed for what she had done in the past.

"I just want to find my mother," he informed the man as he rose.

"Your mother is safe, and she will be for as long as you stay here," the elderly man assured him.

"Are you threatening to kill me?" Liam asked, his brow wrinkled profoundly. He was perplexed as to why everyone was attempting to harm or threaten him in some way.

"I'm not threatening you." After all, your mother is a woman I've known in the past, no matter how brief."

"Then I want to leave because I am not a hostage," Liam stated emphatically.

"So fearless, I like that, but there is no way you can leave this premises in your condition, so I advise you to sit down and listen to what I have to say," the man continued, his tone softening slightly.

Liam detected warmth in the man's tone, but he wondered whether he was simply overthinking it. "I hate to be so disrespectful to you..." Liam began by being as respectful to the man who had saved his life as he could. "But I need to check on my mother to make sure she's safe," he said with a firmness that belied the earlier respect.

"I assure you that your mother is safe, and you must trust me on that; after all, I saved your life, and I want you to know that even though I am your father, I am not someone who would do anything if it did not benefit me," the old man said to Liam.

Liam was finally able to put to rest his concerns about how the man would not save his life without expecting something in return. He felt guarded and defensive, which would be pointless among the six-foot-tall tattooed guards that accompany the man.

He hadn't even fully healed to be able to defend himself if they decided he'd look better in a straight jacket. But that didn't make him turn away from their piercing stares.

"You want to work for my company so badly, don't you think this is a good way to make a future connection?" Joseph Rowling asked his son.

"I need to confirm my mother's safety first," Liam responded without hesitation. Despite the tempest of emotions roaring within him, he remained calm.

"I promise I'll let you call your mother as long as you let me speak to you," the man said solemnly.

Liam sat down because he thought he had something serious to talk about to put in the amount of warmth he detected in the man's eyes as the man motioned for him to sit down.

"I want you to work your way up in my company," the old man said firmly.

"I don't know your company, and I'm not sure it's my dream company to work for, as you said," Liam remarked, subtly reminding the man that the man had not informed him of the name instead of asking for it.

"Zephyr," said the man, placing the butt of his cigar into the ashtray.

With the ashes in it, Liam felt compelled to advise the man to stop smoking at his age, but he swallowed those remarks because he couldn't count himself close enough to the man to do so.

His focus shifted from the ashtray to the things Joseph Rowling had just said to him. "You're kidding, right?" he questioned, unable to believe the man.

"I don't look like a comedian, do I?" The man inquired sharply.

Liam swallowed, this man appears to have never told a joke in his life and may never tell one to save the world. "Then you must be mistaken," Liam said firmly. He wanted to ask the guards if their boss had gone insane and thought he controlled a company like Zephyr.

He raised his eyes to the expensive chandelier hanging from the ceiling and the paintings on the wall. "That's getting harder to believe the more I try," Liam said to the man. "I know the owner of Zephyr," he told the man who was dressed inappropriately for a cosplay.

"Oh, that's Cain Rowling, my brother; I let him appear because I don't want the entire world meddling in my business," the man said to Liam.

That only added to Liam's skepticism. He'd read Cain Rowling's writings about how he began as a destitute young man on the street with his elder brother after being expelled from the orphanage for being too old.

It was easy to believe that Cain Rowling was the richest man, as the books claimed, because he had a story to back it up as well as years of media exposure, but he couldn't bring himself to think that this man from nowhere, whom he had never seen, was the brain behind that man's money and power.

As he began to get angry, he had to ask the man, "Is this some kind of hidden camera show?" To play such mind games with him, the man had to be either sick or a jerk.

"Do you need me to bring my brother in to persuade you that I am the person behind him and the highest shareholder as well as the founder of the company?" The man asked him directly.

Liam looked at the man, sensing that the man was becoming irritated that Liam did not believe him, but Liam was unconcerned. He needed to get out of there as soon as possible, and participating in the man's insanity was not going to make it any easier.

"I just want to leave, okay?" Liam stated unequivocally. "I don't care who you are or how you are related to me in any way; I just want to find my mother and make sure she is safe," he told the man, hoping to persuade him.

"Pay attention, young man. I saved your life, and I believe you owe me that life since you would have been shredded apart by the fish in the sea if I hadn't intervened. There is no way I'm letting you go without getting what I wanted by saving you," the man stated firmly.

Liam's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared bravely into the man's. The man might choose to murder him, and he was certain that he would be unable to stop it, and he did not want to be weak and powerless again, and he did not want to die weak.

He chose to engage in the man's insanity till he is strong enough to fight his way out or even slip out like the weak mouse he is in front of the tall hefty soldiers around the house.

"So, what exactly do you want from me?" Liam inquired of the man. "I will do anything you want me to do as long as it does not involve taking my kidneys or a part of my liver," Liam promised the man, needing to get out of the house alive.

"Even if that is what I want, you are too powerless to decide otherwise," the man said coldly, but Liam couldn't see it in his eyes since Liam's stare never left the man's eyes.

"I'll do anything as long as I get out of here alive," he said firmly to the man.

"I will believe that," the man said as he turned to face the closest guard, who walked over to the table. "I want you to brief this man; I don't think it matters who explains it to him," the man said before standing up.

Liam's attention followed the man as he walked out of the dining room, which appeared to be straight out of a royal film. The other guards in the room followed the man, leaving Liam with the one guard the man had instructed.

"My name is Sam," the guard introduced himself before taking a seat on the opposite side of the table. "As you can see, Mr. Liam Rowling, you have been entrusted to my care. I'll begin by assuring you that your mother is safe, and you don't need to be concerned; simply believe that we will keep an eye on her for as long as you are here."

Liam pulled his lips together to make a thin line as he considered how he had no choice but to trust them and anything they said to him. Until he was confident he could flee unnoticed, he would have to adhere to their plan.

"Do you trust my words?" Sam, the guard, leaned forward on the desk as he inquired. The guard talked with a tone of respect that Liam couldn't comprehend because the man wore a chilly countenance that showed no regard for him.

"I don't believe your word, but I have no choice but to accept it," Liam explained.

"Then I'll take it that you trust me to look after your mother while you're here," the man said. "There is a lot you need to do, and I will walk you through it, but you will be the one to decide when you leave."

"Then I'd like to leave right now," Liam remarked, standing up.

"I apologize; I made a mistake. Let me repeat that your progress and growth will determine when you will be able to leave this area. We will let you out of here only when you are perfect," the guard explained.

Liam sank back down in gloom, meeting the man's eyes fearlessly. The man appeared to be in his mid-thirties, but Liam couldn't help but notice that his beard made him appear older.

"I will cooperate if you show me a live video of my mother and girlfriend," Liam stated firmly to the man.

He observed a shift in the man's demeanor for the first time with the last word he said. It was an almost imperceptible elevation of the man's lips. "She was never your girlfriend," mumbled the man.

Liam had barely heard what the man said, but his pride would not allow him to accept it. "She is mine," Liam corrected the man flatly.

"She will be as long as you do everything I tell you," the man said before standing up. "Come with me," the man said.

Liam became immersed in whatever wild concept the man had after hearing those words. He yearned for the ability to protect the ladies in his life, but how could he be the man he aspires to be if he can't protect two people?

If they were going to offer him that, he was willing to go along with whatever plan they had. "I'd like to make sure they're all right first," Liam reminded the man.

"That is why I need you to come with me."