NEXUS TRIAL: The Rise of Liam Parker

The morning sun had barely risen when Liam Parker’s eyes snapped open to the sound of raised voices filtering through the thin walls of his bedroom, and he immediately recognized the angry tone of his uncle Collins mixed with his mother’s pleading cries. His heart sank because he knew exactly what this confrontation was about, and the realization made his stomach twist into knots as he threw off his worn blanket and sat up on the edge of his bed. The argument had been brewing for weeks now, ever since his father’s death six months ago, but today it seemed like things were finally coming to a head in the worst possible way.

Liam pressed his palms against his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to steady himself before facing whatever chaos awaited him in the living room. His father had been the only thing holding their family together, the only person who had ever stood between him and his mother and the rest of the Parker family’s cruelty. Now that he was gone, killed in what the police had called a random mugging but what Liam suspected was something far more sinister, they were completely alone and defenseless against the vultures circling their home.

The voices grew louder and more heated, and Liam could hear his mother sobbing now, which made his chest tighten with helpless rage. He was only seventeen years old, still in high school, and completely powerless to protect her from his uncle’s greed and his grandmother’s cold indifference. The house they lived in was the last thing his father had left them, a modest two story building in a decent neighborhood that was worth quite a bit of money, and Collins had been eyeing it like a prize ever since the funeral.

Liam stood up and walked to his door, pressing his ear against it to listen more carefully to what was being said. His uncle’s voice boomed through the house with the confidence of someone who believed he had already won, while his grandmother’s sharp tone cut through his mother’s protests like a knife through butter. There was another voice too, one Liam didn’t recognize, and he assumed it must be the buyer Collins had mentioned bringing over to finalize the sale of their home.

The sheer audacity of it all made Liam’s blood boil, and he clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms. His father had worked himself to the bone to buy this house for his family, sacrificing his health and happiness to give them a place to call their own, and now Collins wanted to take it away and leave them with nothing. It wasn’t just about the money or the property, though those things mattered too, but about erasing the last trace of his father’s legacy and spitting on everything he had worked for.

Liam knew he couldn’t hide in his room forever, even though part of him wanted to pretend this wasn’t happening and hope it would all go away on its own. His mother needed him, and even if he couldn’t actually stop Collins from selling the house, he could at least stand by her side and show her she wasn’t alone in this fight. He grabbed a wrinkled shirt from the floor and pulled it on over his head before opening his door and stepping out into the hallway.

The scene that greeted him in the living room was even worse than he had imagined, with his mother sitting on the couch crying while Collins stood over her like some kind of victorious conqueror. His grandmother sat in the armchair by the window with her arms crossed and a satisfied smirk on her wrinkled face, clearly enjoying watching her daughter in law suffer. A middle aged man in an expensive suit stood near the door with an impatient expression, tapping his foot and checking his watch every few seconds as if this family drama was nothing more than an inconvenience delaying his business transaction.

Collins turned when he heard Liam’s footsteps and his face split into a cruel grin that made Liam want to punch him right in his smug mouth. The resemblance between Collins and Liam’s father was superficial at best, limited to their similar height and build, because where his father had been kind and gentle, Collins was mean spirited and selfish. It was hard to believe they had been brothers at all, let alone that they had grown up in the same house and shared the same parents.

“You can’t do this Collins,” Alice said again, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her face and her hands trembled in her lap. “This house belonged to my husband and it’s all we have left of him.”

Collins scoffed and waved his hand dismissively as if her words meant nothing to him at all. “Shut up Alice,” he said with venom dripping from every syllable. “This house belonged to my brother and now that he’s dead it belongs to the family, which means I get to decide what happens to it. As for where you’ll sleep after today, I honestly don’t care one bit.”

“Mom please,” Alice turned to Mrs. Parker with desperation written all over her face, reaching out toward the older woman with both hands extended. “Please don’t let him do this to us. We have nowhere else to go and Liam is still in school.”

“Don’t you dare call me mom,” Mrs. Parker snapped viciously, pulling away from Alice as if her touch was contaminated and her face twisted with disgust. The old woman had never liked Alice, had never thought she was good enough for her precious son, and now that he was gone she saw no reason to pretend anymore.

The man in the suit cleared his throat loudly and spoke up with obvious irritation coloring his tone. “What’s all this drama Collins? I thought this deal was already settled and we were just here to sign the papers. I have other appointments today and I can’t waste my entire morning on family squabbles.”

“Just hold on Mr. Gordon,” Collins said quickly, trying to placate the businessman while shooting daggers at Alice with his eyes. “We need to get rid of these illegal occupants first and then we can proceed with the transaction.”

“Well be quick about it,” Gordon demanded, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall with an expression that said his patience was wearing dangerously thin.

Liam felt something snap inside him as he listened to them talk about his mother and himself as if they were nothing more than trash to be thrown out, and before he could stop himself the words came bursting out of his mouth. “Go away you thieves!” he shouted, stepping fully into the living room and drawing everyone’s attention to him.

Collins turned to face him with a sneer spreading across his face and his eyes glittering with malicious amusement. “Look who’s here,” he said mockingly. “The little boy thinks he can stop us from doing what needs to be done.”

“You can’t sell this,” Liam insisted, standing his ground even though his legs felt like they might give out beneath him at any moment. “It’s my dad’s house and you all need to leave right now before I call the police.”

Collins threw his head back and laughed, a harsh sound that echoed through the room and made Liam’s ears ring. “You want to fight me boy?” he asked, taking a step closer and towering over Liam with his superior height and build. “Go ahead and try. I’d love to teach you a lesson about respecting your elders.”

Mrs. Parker joined in the laughter, her cackle high pitched and cruel as she looked at her grandson with contempt. “The child thinks he’s a man now,” she said to Collins as if Liam wasn’t even there. “Someone should teach him his place before he gets himself into real trouble.”

Liam stood there trembling with a combination of fear and fury, knowing he was completely outmatched but unable to back down now that he had committed to this confrontation. His mother was crying harder now, begging him to stop before he got hurt, but he couldn’t just stand by and watch them steal everything his father had worked for without at least trying to fight back.

The tension in the room reached a breaking point as Collins took another step forward.