CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"I'm sorry Mr Robertson, the latest we are able to grant you the loan will be in 2 weeks." The banker apologized.

"Is there any way I can get the money faster? I have some stuff I would like to pay for." Liam urged.

"I've talked with my people and the earliest the money will be in your bank account is 14 days. I'm sorry." The banker apologized.

Liam leaned back on the armchair he was sitting on. He could not believe his brother-in-law could do something so stupid.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Liam shouted.

"I don't know what I was thinking okay!" Zeke ruffled his hair in frustration. "I was desperate, I wasn't thinking! Look I know I messed up! But if you were me, you would've done the same thing for Devon!"

"If I were you, I would have told all of us about the situation. We would've been able to find ways to help you!" Liam reprimanded.

"I know I know! I'm trying to find ways to fix it!" Zeke grabbed Liam's wrist. "Li, you gotta help me! I'm running out of time!"

"Why did I even agree to help him in the first place?" Liam Robertson groaned.

"Mr Kiriakis, these are the information we've gathered so far." The minion placed a thick pile of documents onto the coffee table.

Sonny Kiriakis reached for the first document and opened it up.

"We have gotten all the details of Ezekiel Barrino aka. Zeke Barrino. His age, height, occupation, his favourite hobbies, security codes, bank accounts…" The minion went on to explain.

"Thank God I didn't listen to Dad!" Sonny smirked. "Will Horton, this time, you can't get out of this!"

"Since when was Devon allergic to raspberries?" Tamela Barrino asked worriedly.

"Well, a few months, I made this raspberry juice and he drank some. After that, he had rashes all over. Cried the whole night long." Liam answered.

"Phew, it's a good thing I asked you about that. That means raspberry cake is off that list!" Tamela stated. "Maybe I will try to bake something with banana and chocolate! Everyone love chocolate right?"

"Yes, I think it will be better. Devon eats about anything and everything these days, we have to be extra careful." Liam reminded. "By the way, I want you to check this out." Liam took out the clothes from the shopping bag on the table.

"Ooh! Those are cute!" Tamela exclaimed. "Where did you get those?"

"I got it from the mall! I saw this really adorable overall and it had a 30% discount! I had to buy it!" Liam laughed.

"I'm sure Devon will be the handsomest stud at the party!" Tamela nodded her head.

"Now that I think about it, I'm glad that I'm still able to decide what he should or shouldn't wear. When he becomes a teenager, I have no idea if I would be able to stand his fashion choices!" Liam cringed.

"Just you wait, in a few years you will finally understand the actual struggles of parenting!" Tamela warned.

"Can we ask God to just let our boy be a child forever?" Liam asked rhetorically.

"Li, you is crazy!" Tamela giggled.

Sonny Kiriakis spend the whole night reading through the various pile of documents. With a highlighter in his hand and a mug of coffee on his table, he spent the past week screening every little detail he managed to find.

"Sonny, you've been reading through the same documents for days. Don't you think it's time for you to put it to a rest?" Justin Kiriakis rolled his eyes.

Sonny ignored Justin completely.

Justin sat beside Sonny on the couch and turned on the TV.

Two hours later, Sonny finally completed compiling all the documents he needed.

After clearing up the coffee table, he smirked to himself.

He turned on the laptop and saw the blonde singing his son to sleep. Sonny's eyes were now fixed on the infant sleeping soundly.

"It's showtime." Sonny Kiriakis grinned.

"I guess I can loan you 10 grand." Alfonso Rodriquez decided.

"Thank you Al! Thank you so much!" Liam showed his appreciation. "I promise I will pay you back as soon as I can!"

"No problem Li! I'm more worried about why you need this sum of money!" The Liam Alfonso knew was never this secretive with him.

"I really do want to tell you. But it is not in my position to tell." Liam said regrettably. "I promise I will tell you really soon!" He put down the phone.

"Hey Li!" Zeke Barrino entered the apartment. "A few of my homies have agreed to lend me some cash."

"Who are these homies of yours?" Liam questioned.

"I managed to borrow about two grand from Raheem and another 10 grand from Chip." Zeke replied.

"Chip? Wait a minute, Chip?" Liam raised his eyebrows. "You mean that high school friend of yours who sells crack on the side?"

Zeke looked away.

"Zeke, I told you! We can't borrow money from them!" Liam raised his voice.

"I'm sorry Li. Desperate times comes for desperate measures! The church is doing their auditing in five days if I don't…"

"I'm sorry to interrupt this… animated discussion." The two heard a voice from the entrance of their apartment.

Liam turned his head and rolled his eyes when he saw the brunette.

"Jackson Kiriakis, what the hell are you doing here?" Liam barked. "Haven't you left New York already?"

"I decided to pop by." Sonny shrugged his shoulders casually.

"Look stalker, I ain't got time for your bullshit today. I have 99 problems and you won't be one of them, please leave." Liam pleaded.

"Problems?" The brunette raised his eyebrow. "I'm not here to cause any problems, I'm here to provide solutions."

Liam rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Jackson Kiriakis, I really do not have time for your crap today." Liam headed towards the entrance, showing Sonny out. "Please leave."

"If I walk out that door, right now, I will go straight to Pastor Ernest Barrino and tell him that his son, the church's accounts manager stole $30,000 from the church's bank account." Sonny announced.

Liam and Zeke went completely pale. Their hearts sank.

"Hmm… on second thought," Sonny's thumb was now at his chin. "maybe I could go to the police and report Zeke Barrino for embezzlement. Which one do you prefer?"

Zeke's hands were now trembling while Liam could only stare in shock at Sonny.

"You must be thinking that that I'm making empty statements." Sonny took out some documents from his trenchcoat and tossed it on the dining table. "These are the church accounts over the past year and boy, the discrepancies are huge!"

Liam shot a glare.

"Why are you glaring at me?" Sonny placed his hand on his chest. "The reason I've brought you here today is to save you from this catastrophe."

"Well, that's kinda hard of believe, considering that you haven't offered any solutions yet." Liam snorted.

"I have a cheque of 30 grand in right now." Sonny took a small piece of paper out from his jeans pocket.

Zeke's face lit up.

Noticing Zeke's reaction, Sonny smiled. "Don't believe me? You can see it for yourself!"

Zeke took the cheque and skimmed through the details. "Look Li, it really is a cheque for 30 grand!" He showed Liam the cheque.

Liam gave another hard stare. "What the hell is he up to", he wondered.

"Of course, if I give you cheque, you have a price to pay." Sonny stated.

"I knew it!" Liam muttered under his breath.

"If you think I will go back to Salem with you, you can kick rocks!" Liam told him bluntly.

"Oh babe!" Sonny placed a hand on Liam's shoulder. "I'm done with asking you to return to Salem. I have something better to ask of you."

Liam pushed Sonny's hand aside. "What do you want then?"

"As for that, you will find out soon." Sonny adjusted his trenchcoat, turned around and proceeded to the entrance. "Oh one more thing, if you don't do what I say, I can assure you this cheque will bounce." He warned before leaving the apartment.

"Li, 30 grand has fallen onto our hands!" Zeke repeated.

"Zeke, don't be stupid!" Liam glared. "We don't even know what he wants us to do yet!"

"I mean, he's not asking you to go leave New York with him. He's probably given up of getting back with you right?" Zeke said.

Liam smacked his head.

"You idiot! You have no idea what his family is capable of!" Liam chided.

"Li, the magician is about to leave soon!" Emoni Barrino notified. "You need to pay him!"

"Okay, I will be right there in a sec!" Liam said as he took the tray of muffins out of the oven.

Liam's apartment was filled with children running around, a few teenagers sitting by the TV playing Wii while adults were sitting around chatting away with paper plates filled with food on their hands.

Liam Robertson wasn't able to sleep in the entire night. On top of helping Zeke borrowing money, he had to set up decorations for Devon's birthday party. Feeling stressed was an understatement.

"Li! Li!" He quickly snapped out of his daze. "You seemed lost in your thoughts boy. Is anything the matter?"

"Just a little exhausted. I'm fine Tamela!" Liam smiled.

"You've been in the kitchen for quite a while now. Take a break! We'll be cutting the cake soon!" Tamela advised. "I'll take it from here!"

"Thanks Tamela." Liam smiled before leaving the kitchen.

Sonny Kiriakis stared at his laptop intently. He noticed everyone gathering together singing the birthday song.

"Happy birthday to you!" Everyone applauded when the song ended.

Sonny saw Liam and Devon cutting the cake together.

"Happy belated birthday, D! Daddy loves you!" Liam gave a peck on Devon's cheek and everyone applauded once more.

Sonny smiled a little when he saw that. "He's always been a great father. Oh wait a minute!" Sonny snapped out of his thoughts, "What was I thinking? He's not a great father! He abandoned Arianna!" He glared at the screen once more. "It's showtime!" He stood up and put on his coat before leaving the suite.

"Thank you for coming!" Liam showed the last guest out of his home.

"It has been a long ass day!" Emoni groaned.

"Tell me about it!" Liam stretched his arms. "Now we have to clean up!" Just then the doorbell rang.

"Don't tell me Raheem forgotten his coat again, he's such a klutz!" Liam shook his head as he proceeded towards the door.

Liam opened the door and saw Sonny Kiriakis standing in front him. His heart started pounding.

"Don't mind if I stop by." Sonny walked passed Liam and into the apartment.

"Jackson Kiriakis, this isn't a very good time." Liam implored. "Can you please…"

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Tamela Barrino stomped into the living room.

"Awww… is that any way for a pastor's wife to treat a guest?" Sonny asked sarcastically, "Whatever happened to Christian love?"

"You aren't welcomed here so just leave!" Tamela pointed towards the entrance.

"I come here with no harm. I just want to give the birthday boy a present!" Sonny chuckled.

Liam raised his eyebrow, "What do you mean?" he asked.

Sonny Kiriakis handed the file he was holding to the blonde.

"Here, this is my present to your son!" Sonny grinned.

Liam snatched the file and he opened it up. His eyes widened when he saw the heading on the top of the page. In complete appalment, he took a step back and dropped the file onto the ground.

With his jaw dropped, Liam stared at Sonny.

"Li, what's the matter?" Tamela picked up the file on the ground and read the first page.

CONSENT TO ADOPTION

I, Liam Robertson is giving consent to Jackson S. Kiriakis, granting him parental rights and giving him custody of Devon Robertson.

"What kind of bullshit is this?!" It was the first time Tamela swore in years.

Eyes fixated on Sonny, Liam's hands were trembling.

"That's right, I'm giving your son a new Daddy!" Sonny smirked.

A/N: Ok that's it for now! I wonder who saw that coming!

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