Liam trudged down the street, his heart was heavy with worry. He was on his way to the hospital to pay his mother's medical bills, he had juggled different jobs these past weeks, not limited from errand boys, bartender in a bar, delivery boy and so much more, he had managed to gathered this amount and he is rushing to the hospital to deposit this so they can begin treatment on his mother.
As he turned the corner, he spotted some people across the street, Ryan, Jake, and Alex standing by the wall, they were holding a cigarette by the alleyway.
Liam tried to turned back to avoid them seeing him, but Alex had already saw him. "Well, well, well, look what we got here." Alex sneered, calling the attention of Jake and Ryan.
Jake, the most vulgar of the three, catcalled, "You little punk, do you think you can run away from us?"
Alex, kill his cigarette fire with his hands, walking towards Liam he said, "You're a week late, and I know you're aware of what happens when you're late."
Yeah, they were loan sharks. You might be wondering what businesses a twenty six years old him, has with loan sharks. Well, Some father left inheritance for their sons, but what his father left for him was huge debts he didn't even spent a penny from, now he was responsible for paying back.
They closed in on him, their fists was about to fly but he held out his hands, and desperately pleaded "Stop, Wait... I was looking for the money, I will pay back, just give me few days, please a few more days alright? I will pay it"
For a moment, it seemed like they heard his pleas but the next second, Ryan landed a solid punch to Liam's jaw, sending him stumbling back. Jake followed up with a kick to Liam's stomach, doubling him over.
Alex grabbed Liam's hair, pulling his head back exposing his face to the punches. Liam's eyes watered as his nose cracked under the impact.
"Search him"
Liam tried to fight back, but they were too strong and he was clearly outnumbered. They beat him mercilessly. And finally, Jake pulled out a bunch of money from Liam's pocket, about two thousands dollars.
"How do you know the bastard is hiding something in his pocket"
Alex smirked, "Instincts" he shrugged.
Liam's body crumpled to the ground, his vision blurring. He felt a kick to his ribs, and then another. He curled up, trying to protect himself,
But they didn't stop. They kept beating him.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they stopped. Liam lay there, his body was broken and battered. Ryan stood over him and sneered, "You're fool to think you can owe the boss money without paying for a week! Do you think you can hide from us?"
Jake squatted and puffed his cigarette smoke on his face.
Whack!
Jake landed a slap on his face, "Isn't your bitchy death sicken mother an enough lesson to you? Huh? Do you also wanna get a fucking bed in the hospital?"
He was preparing to land another punch, but Alex hold him back, "That's enough, we got the money, so let's get out of here, at least if he ended up in hospital, who will keep paying? His almost dead mother?"
Reluctantly, Jake stood up and they left, but Liam wanted to call them back, at least get the money back, the doctor had refused to treat his mother without paying any hospital bills. But in the end, he could only helplessly watch them walked away with every last cent.
Liam dragged himself to the hospital, feeling defeated. When he arrived, the nurse looked at him with concern. "Liam, where have you been?"
Seeing he didn't reply, the nurse continue, "You might want to be with your mother now,"
Liam shook his head, unable to speak. He felt like he had failed his mother.
The nurse led him to his mother's room, where she lay pale and weak. Liam's heart broke as he looked at her, feeling helpless.
His mother's eyes fluttered open, and she smiled weakly. But after seeing his dirty clothes, and his state, she almost cracked up as she asked, "What happened to you?"
Liam felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes as he took her hand. "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't have enough money to pay the bills."
His mother's eyes was filled with understanding. "It's not your fault, Liam. You're doing the best you can."
Liam Black's eyes welled up with tears as he sat beside his mother's hospital bed, clutching her frail hand. The beeping machines faded into the background as he focused his attention on the woman who had been his rock.
Sarah, smiled weakly, her eyes was sunken with illness "Hey," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Liam's throat constricted as he replied, "Mom." He squeezed her hand, trying to convey all the emotions swirling inside him.
Sarah's gaze drifted around the room, taking in the cards, flowers, "You didn't have to do all this," she said, her voice laced with a hint of sadness.
Liam shook his head, his eyes brimming with tears. "I wanted to, Mom. You deserve it."
Sarah's eyes locked onto his, and for a moment, they just stared at each other.
He remembered the way his mother had worked multiple jobs to provide for him, the way she had encouraged him to pursue his dreams, and the way she had always been there for him, no matter what.
The machines continue to beeped and whirred around them. He didn't want to lose her, he didn't want to say goodbye.
Sarah's hand tightened around his, as if she sensed his emotions. "Liam, I'm proud of you," she whispered. "You're a good man, I could never ask for more"
Liam's tears spilled over, streaming down his face as he nodded, his throat constricted.
Sarah's eyes fluttered closed, and for a moment, Liam panicked, thinking he had lost her. But then, her chest rose with a shallow breath, and her eyes flickered open again.
"I love you, Liam," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"I love you too, Mom," Liam replied, his voice was cracking in his throat.
"What are you doing?" Asked the nurse standing at the door holding her sheets, "I'm sorry for interrupting you, but the doctor want to see you, now."
Liam tear his teary gaze away from his mother and nodded at her, "Okay"
He squeezed his Sarah's hands for a brief moment before going out of the room to the doctors office.
The doctor Mr Derek who has his eyes fixed on some documents look up at Liam who had knocked and entered into his office.
He sighed and said, "Take a seat"
Liam sat before him, feeling his heart pounding in his chest, as he watched Mr Derek twirl the pen in his hands.
"Liam... As you can see, your mom's condition has become really critical, and at this rate, I'm afraid if she failed to get into surgery in two weeks time, there's little to nothing I can do to save her"
"I thought you said I should look for treatment bills and make payments to the pharmacy so she could be supplied medicine... So what do you meant by surgery?"
"As I said, there has been a lot of delays, thus, unless she got into the surgery, I'm afraid.... I believe you've been to her room, and as you can see her condition is really unstable, so I hope you can look for the money as soon as possible"
"Mr Derek... I.. I will look for the money, two weeks ... Right?" He wanted to cry, he wanted to screamed his lungs out, but he couldn't. Even though he said he's going to pay it, he knew enough that he didn't have the money to pay the bills.
Liam walked out of the hospital almost lifeless, he looked up at the busy street, everybody was going about with their business, what was he going to do? Where would he find the money? Would he failed his mother like this?He continued to walk on the curb, as different thoughts occupied his mind, howeverLiam's phone rang, jolting him out of his thoughts. He didn't want to pick it at first, because it was an unknown number, but he eventually answered the phone."Hello""Mr. Black, I'm Johnson, Your mother, Sandra Black's lawyer, I know you might have questions and that's why I'm calling."Liam's glanced at his phone again, it must be one of those scammer calls, because there's no way his mother had a lawyer. Even if she were to have one, it definitely wouldn't be Johnson.Clearly not interested he was just about to hang up the call but Wait a minute how did the person knew his mother's name? also how did he knew his first name was Black? so he asked, "How do you know my mother's name?
Hilton corporate was one of the largest top corporate that expanded their business all over the world. So hearing a distance uncle left him such huge inheritance, Liam was so surprised that he was still in a daze. Johnson leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers together as he began to explain the details of the proposal to Liam."So, as I was saying, the bonuses for heading the Hilton corporations are quite...substantial," Johnson said. Liam raised an eyebrow, he was intrigued despite himself not showing it, but he wasn't very good at hiding it either, "Go on," he said.Johnson leaned forward, his hands gesturing expansively. "Well, first, there's the car. A brand-new, limited-edition Lamborghini Sián. One of only 63 in the world, and it's all yours."Liam's eyes widened slightly, impressed despite his efforts to remain nonchalant. Even though he doesn't really care about the rest, all that mattered to him was to save his mother.Johnson continued, "And then, of course, the
Liam face twisted with distaste as soon as he saw this man. He picked up the document given to him by Mr Johnson and meant to walk away, but the angry Vex Sam pulled him back and said with a sneer, "Where do you think you're going disgusting thief!" Liam felt really angry, but he managed to released Vex Sam grip on his shirt and said coldly, "What thing of yours have I stole? I knocked down your briefcase and I apologize, and now you're holding me back?" Vex Sam face darkened as soon as he heard Liam words. Vex Sam's face twisted in contempt. "You're a thief, a lowly web developer who went stealing things about, and you still dare to talk to me?"Liam's expression remained calm, but his eyes flashed with annoyance. He didn't want a scene, especially not with someone like Vex Sam, who clearly enjoyed belittling others.Seeing Liam didn't say a thing, Vex Sam become more infuriated that he said, "What? You deaf now or something?"Truthfully, while working at the Tech Company, a situa
Everyone was shocked and surprised. as soon as they saw Liam brought out the pen.Vex Sam tried to get away, but Johnson held him tight. He punched Vex Sam in the face a few times."How dare you lie against Mr. Black?" Johnson shouted as he rained punches on his face, "How dare you call Mr Black a thief!"Vex Sam looked around, trying to escape. But he couldn't.Sam's mind raced, he was certain he had left it in his briefcase, but now it was in his pocket. A sense of unease crept over him, he didn't put the pen there, he had only put it in his briefcase to show off a little, but how did it end up in his pocket?As the truth dawned on the onlookers, their anger shifted from Liam to Vex Sam. They realized they had been deceived, and their sympathy turned to outrage."Shameless thief!" someone shouted at Vex Sam."Liars and thieves don't deserve respect!"Vex Sam's face reddened with shame and anger as the crowd turned on him. He tried to defend himself, but his words fell flat."I didn'
Liam walked into Citybank. He approached the receptionist, who gaze up to look at him with a mixture of disinterest and annoyance. "Can I help you?" she asked, her tone implying that she'd rather not. This man doesn't look like the type who would come here, his clothes spells a lot."I'm here to see the manager," Liam replied, his voice was gentle and straightforward.The receptionist raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid the manager is in a meeting. And It may take a while."Liam nodded and took a seat. She seemed to expect him to leave, but he remained seated.Twenty minutes passed before the receptionist finally got up and knocked on the manager's door. She entered,Thompson was working on some paperwork in his office, so the moment Emily entered, she bowed and started taking."Sir, there's a man who wants to see you," she said, her voice was low and hesitant.The manager, Mr. Thompson, looked up from his papers, his expression skeptical. "What does he want?"The receptionist hesitated.
As soon as Thompson heard the voice at the door, he turned to look at the door, even all the rest of the people looked in the direction. "Who do you say you are?" Thompson asked looking at the young man who appeared to be over 20 plus years old. He had no idea of who he was. He was equally suspicious of his claim. " I am Liam Black and i believed Mr Johnson had briefed you about why I'm here" "Mr Johnson?" Thompson seemed to be surprised, even more confused, not only had a man claimed to be this Mr Black, another man had came in through the door and declared himself as Mr Black! Whom should he believed out of the two? And if he was to believe one he would still consider John Black whose appearance might be close to someone who was rich. However he was the one to be blamed here, Johnson had only mentioned Mr Black, he didn't bother to ask of the first name of the distinguished guest. He can't possibly ruined his demeanor in front of this people, they were more than fifteen, and tw
The men took another step closer to Liam, their fists still clenched. But Thompson stood his ground, "I said you're not going to touch him," he repeated.John Black replied him with a sneer, "Or what, Thompson? You'll call security? Please, do. I'd love to see you try."John Black's face turned red with rage, but Thompson didn't back down. "I mean it, John, none of you can touch Mr. Black unless you're looking for trouble."John took a step forward and said "Get out of the way! Or do you want to share his beating?"Thompson stood his ground, his eyes locked onto John Black's. "I'm not afraid of you," Liam didn't understand what this man want, they came for their different businesses, just why won't he back down? Liam was starting to get annoyed at this instance, so he won't allow Thompson to defend him while he stood cowardly at the back, so he stepped forward and said, "Do not cross the line, I have nothing to do with you"But John Black's face twisted in a snarl. "We'll see about t
Liam took a taxi back home, reminiscing how Johnson had beaten John Black to a pulp in the city bank the other day. It's not on Liam, John asked for it, and Liam did not beg for mercy on his behalf. Thompson had given him a black card that day after Johnson deal with John, and his men beat up John's men, it was a total defeat. He had also decided to keep the car key in the bank vault, he doesn't like showing off, and moreover, he will be meeting the rest of the Black family which was would be two days later. What excite him most was that he had paid the bills for the surgery and his mother will be going to surgery any time from now. ____________ The day finally came, Liam throw on one of his shirt and trouser, he gave Johnson a call to let him know that he was done. Johnson watched as Liam approached in his black Porsche, his mind wandering to the kind of wealth in this man's possession. It's such a good luck for him to have so much wealth at his disposal.. Even at such a you