The lawyer immediately perked up. "He didn't. You are not mentioned anywhere in the document."
David became visibly shaken as he heard those words as he slowly got up to leave. He looked like he was about to cry as he started for the door. Rachel rolled her hips with every step as she followed. I caught myself looking and forced my eyes to the table.
Part of me felt bad for David, but then again, he’d always been awful. But I was determined to be a nicer man than my father, so I was still going to give him a chance to be better. But that chance was going to come another day, and I would have to keep my guard up with Rachel. I couldn’t afford to slip back into old habits. I would have to remind myself she was an employee, nothing more.
The reading took over an hour, and everything was left to me. The company, the house, and all of the assets, everything went one hundred percent to me. At the end of the reading, the lawyer pulled out a package that was wrapped and sealed. “There are specific instructions for you in regard to this package.”
He then opened the letter attached to the box and began to read.
“I, Maxwell Williams, being of sound body and mind leave this package and the contents thereof to my son, Alec, with specific instructions pertaining to their handling. This package is to be opened in private in the confines of this office. The contents are to remain locked in my desk, which is now yours, when you are in this office, and they are to be kept on your persons at all times when you are not. The contents of this package are not to be shared with anyone, and they are for your eyes only. You are to also leave this room unchanged in every way. You are not to remodel or change the furniture, for it has been in this family for generations, and are a part of the proud Williams family legacy. The keys to this office and the desk are in this package, and you are to keep the keys on your person at all times as well.”
The lawyer handed me the package. “Again, I am very sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” I took the package from the lawyer’s hands and looked it over.
“You have an hour before we have the ceremony of the signing of the company over to you. I will be in the ballroom whenever you are ready.”
He stood and left the room.
Paul stood as well and buttoned his coat. “Hey buddy, I am going to head over there as well. Why don’t you open your package and take a moment for yourself? I have a feeling it’s going to be a media circus once we get in there.”
“Thanks, I’ll see you in a little bit.”
I grasped the package and went to sit at what was now my desk. A metal band secured the brown paper wrapping. The family’s crest was imprinted on the wax seal that held my father’s last secrets. It was a bit much, even for my father. Really, Dad? Brown paper and sealing wax?
Then I saw it as I removed the brown paper. A metal box secured by biometric technology. That was more like the man I knew.
On the top of the container was a handprint scanner for a person’s right hand, so I placed my hand on it. The scanner did its job and I heard a voice. “Hello. Please say your name.”
“Alec Williams.”
There were several clicks as the container unlocked and opened. I looked inside and saw a large red and black leather-bound notebook, a flash drive, an envelope, and keys attached to a gold ring. There were too many keys on it to just be for the desk, but I would worry about that later. Maybe there was an answer for it in the journal.
There was too much there to review before I had to go to the signing, but I grabbed the envelope. I opened it and read the first line of the letter.
Alec, you were always a disappointment to me.
Chapter Six
The Man Wrapped in Darkness
The Spirit Realm
I USED TO BE HUMAN.
I sat in my cocoon of darkness and watched as it slowly churned around me. My thoughts journeyed to how I came to be in that state. I once was a man made of flesh and bone. I had a wife and two young boys. They were my reason for living. I couldn’t remember what I did before them. I enjoyed waking up early and making them breakfast each day, and I cherished all the time I got to spend with them. I loved each one of them so much, I didn’t mind going without so they could have the things they wanted and needed.
As I thought about them, my darkness formed the images of my sweet family in front of me, for it responded to my every thought. I reached out to touch their faces in a loving caress, but my hand passed through them and their images faded away. Tears filled my eyes and slowly cascaded down my face, which often happened when I would let my mind dwell upon them.
I had a brother once as well, but that was a tumultuous relationship, and I’m pretty sure he tried several times to kill me as a child.
“I hope they eat you alive in that town so you can see there’s no god that’s going to come down and save you,” he said to me the last time I saw him.
I never understood why he hated me so, but it had become irrelevant. He had been dead for a long time, stabbed to death over a game of poker. I always figured my brother’s temper and inability to control his mouth would get him into trouble, so I wasn’t caught off guard when I heard it had cost him his life. To be honest, I was surprised it hadn’t happened sooner.
The only time he’d shown me the slightest bit of kindness was when he needed me to protect him or give him money to cover his losses. He was right about one thing, though. No god came to save my family and me on that fateful night.
They were everything to me. They were my purpose for existence, or so I’d thought. It wasn’t until everything was taken away from me that I realized that my purpose was always to become The Man Wrapped in Darkness. I could have chosen any path while I was among the living, but all roads led to the day they were cruelly and unjustly ripped away from me. My fate had been a malicious and unjust one, and I would never forget the name of the man who killed my family and me.
Frederick Williams.
I can still feel the pain from the day I died. Every punch and kick I was dealt at the hands of my attackers, but the most distinctive one was the gunshot wound to my head that ended my life on earth and thrust me into the spiritual one.
On that day, I had come home to find my wife and boys seated on the couch in the dimly lit living room. All I could see were their legs because of the lack of light, and before I had a chance to ask why it was so dark, I was struck in the face with the butt of a gun and then again in my stomach. I fell to the floor, dazed and winded. Then Frederick’s goons mercilessly rained down blows upon me before standing me up and letting Frederick have a go at me.
My fists clenched at the thought of what Frederick and his men did to my family and me. As my anger grew, streaks of blue lightning emanated from my being, cut through my darkness, and struck the ground around me. The pain and the humiliation I suffered at his hands only fueled my purpose. It made me sharper and steeled my resolve for what I was created to do, but the worst part of the memory came next.
I relived it often and wanted the ending to be different. I hoped I could do something to somehow change the outcome and save my family, even if I had to exchange my life so they could have theirs. But reality was a harsh mistress, and no matter how many times I relived what happened, there was nothing I could change.
I knew the events of that day had been etched in annals of time, and no matter how hard I fought, or how powerful I’d become, I would always be powerless when it came to that day.
After Frederick had worked me over pretty good, he pulled out his gun and pointed it at my family.
“If you want to save them, you have to answer my question correctly.”
I begged for their lives and cried for mercy.
“What is the question?”
“Your pleading is meaningless, so think long and hard before you answer. All your lives depend on it.
The question was pointless, and my answer didn’t matter. He shot my family in front of me anyway.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
I didn’t breathe after I heard those three shots.
All I could see were the feet of my family, which Frederick did by design.
The blackened silhouettes of my wife and children hadn’t moved, and never tried to cry out. It registered in my mind like a sick puzzle falling into place.
They were dead before I got there.
I died at that moment, with or without a bullet to my own brain. My heart and my life were destroyed in three pulls of a trigger, and I began to understand the depths of my failures.
His men let me go, and I fell to my knees in shock. I was weak, and I couldn’t save my family, but I was destined to suffer more before my time on the earth was finished.
I began to weep for them.
Frederick burst out in victorious laughter. “We got him good, didn’t we boys?” He yanked my head back with a handful of hair until I met his gaze. “We came in here guns a-blazin’. We thought we’d already shot you there sittin’ on the couch.”
I scrambled backward out of his grasp.
“We had to think pretty fast and set this whole thing up.” He laughed again. “And you walked right into it.”
He motioned for his guys to pull me to my feet and put a bullet in my head.
Afterward, he burned my house with my family and me in it to destroy all evidence of his wrongdoing as well as send a message to everyone in the town not to cross him.
No one ever did after that.
Chapter Seven
The Man Wrapped in Darkness
The Spirit Realm
THE NIGHT MY FAMILY and I died, I became The Man Wrapped in Darkness.
My mission was to dispense justice to the Williams family.
I obviously went after Frederick first.
He was an old man then, well into his eighties. I approached him in my new form to ask him a question.
At first, I appeared to him in his dreams by showing up randomly to make him aware of my existence. I turned a lovely dream of him having his way with a beautiful young lady into a terrifying hellscape. I couldn’t control the fact he found me to be terrifying, and just before I could grab him, I would cause him to wake up. After I had my fun, I stopped letting him wake up until I had asked him my question.
I showed up in his dreams every night after telling him that I was coming soon for my answer. I even manifested myself in the natural world at the moment his eyes opened to instill in him what he dreamt was really happening. I also informed him he was running out of time. Finally, the day had come for him to give me his answer to my question.
His answer, of course, was wrong, and he begged and pleaded for mercy, but in the end, he was shown none. His own words ended his life that night, but my work didn’t stop there. Frederick had a son who was just like him, so my work continued. My pursuit of the Williams family was at the behest of my master, and I received tremendous pleasure in fulfilling his will.
“You are my great and dreaded champion,” my master said to me.
I would do anything for the one who keeps me wrapped in his darkness.
Chapter Eight
Alec Williams
Williams Industries Headquarters
Williams Point, New York
THE NEXT MORNING, I was at the office before anyone arrived. The sun hadn’t even risen, and I was getting my hands wrapped around my new role. Upon signing the documents to transfer the company into my name, I had the IT department remove my father’s name from the computer system and input mine in its place. I didn’t want anyone to try and use my deceased father’s credentials to breach the system. It was also my way of sticking it to my father.
As the morning progressed, more people began to filter into the building. Everyone wore their Sunday best, just in case I happened to come by their department. It was going to be an extraordinary day—but especially for David Willenski—because that was the day Paul would take over his role as second in command.
The first item of business on my agenda was to gather all of the job duties David Willenski was responsible for so I could accurately transfer them to Paul. It was a particularly easy task to achieve given my father kept detailed records of all his employees in his private database which I had access to. David would be allowed to stay in the company, and I planned to place him back in the budgeting group that he had become responsible for after the program he supposedly developed. Everything in me wanted to fire him, but maybe under new leadership he would be different. I would make David the manager and Rachel the assistant manager with both under my direct oversight in hopes no one would complain about nepotism. David was also older, and it was likely, he would want to retire soon, especially with my father’s death. Then Rachel could run the department.
I had a day full of meetings to get up to speed on all the various divisions. The next few months were going to be critical for the company’s success, but first I had to deal with David’s reassignment. The best part was that I didn’t even have to schedule a meeting. I knew he would walk into my office before eight, unannounced and uninvited. I’d probably have to apologize to my admin for whatever dismissive thing he’d say to her as he barged in. Then my door opened.
“Well wouldn’t you know, speak of the devil and up he pops.”
David’s smile was half-hearted. “That’s an interesting way of saying good morning, but good morning to you too, and it is truly a good one with you at the helm. How did you sleep last night? Forgive me. I’m sure you are not interested in small talk. You must have so many questions for me. Where would you like to begin?”
Rachel wasn’t far behind him. That day she wore a sea green dress that left little to the imagination, and she had straightened her hair which always made her... Dang it. I was doing it again.
She flashed a smile. “Good morning, Alec.”
“Good morning, Rachel. Good morning, David. Did you bring the list of your job duties I asked for?”
They both took a seat at my desk. David tried his best not to look too eager, and Rachel looked like she was bored, but then again, she always looked that way. Like everyone was beneath her, and we all existed to amuse her.
“Yes, sir, I did, and may I say how reaffirming it is you asked me for this list immediately after your takeover of the company. I know all of our employees are in good hands. Here you go, sir.”
The guy was about to make me physically sick with his constant sucking up. Did it ever stop? I don’t think I’d ever met anyone who was so full of it in all my life, and as I reviewed his list, I saw he’d added extra duties. I’m sure he hoped I didn’t notice so he could take more control over business units and force me out.
Rachel reached across the desk. “I made a list for you as well, Alec.”
I caught a whiff of her mesmerizing perfume as she moved the page in front of me. I chose to ignore it. “Thanks Rachel, but that won’t be necessary. This meeting is to review David’s duties and not yours.”
Her smile went to a frown, and I loved it. She rolled her eyes afterwards when she thought I wasn’t looking.
I flashed a smile at David. “Yes, my employees are in good hands. My hands. You are not in charge here.”
“Yes. Yes. Forgive me, I misspoke. I am fully aware you are our fearless leader, and I want to assist you in any way I can.”
“This is very interesting, David. It appears my father trusted you with many of the duties he was, in fact, responsible for.”
“Well, sir, you see, your father was a very busy man with many irons in the fire, so he left a lot of the day-to-day decisions to me. Your father was a big picture guy, and he kept his focus on things that would benefit the company in the future.”
“Is that so? Well, it says here on your list you were in charge of all of the hiring and firing of employees and numerous other things, but my list here says otherwise.” I held up the list my father had made on him.
“Excuse me? I’m not following you. May I ask who gave you that list? I only ask because you don
’t get as high up in a major corporation such as this without some people becoming jealous and wanting to see your downfall. I don’t know if you are aware of the time an IT person, who use to be employed here, accused me of stealing from him and his friend. Long story short, it was a trumped-up lie and his employment was immediately terminated.”
“That’s quite a story.”
“It is, sir, it is. It’s a shame how some people will go to extreme lengths to try and hurt innocent people, but I’m still here, and I’m doing fine.”
“Now to the question of who gave me this list of your duties. That would be my late father.”
His face went pale and blank, and Rachel stared at the floor.
“You see, my father kept extensive files on all of his employees, even you.”
He smiled. “I’m flattered.”
“Tell me, David, who is lying to me, you or my dad?”
“That must be an old list. Your father had given me more of his duties right before his heart attack. He needed help with everything toward the end.”
“Enough, David. Effective immediately I am placing you back into the budgeting department, and Rachel can be your assistant manager.”
“You can’t do that. I was your father’s second in command for years. I know all about this company. I know how to run it. You need me.”
“First of all, my father gave me access to all the information that I need, as well as the inner workings of the company. I have every department head at my disposal, not to mention numerous resources that can provide me with any information that I might need. Please don’t make this a personal issue. You still have an important role.”
“You have no idea what you’re doing or how to run this company, and it won’t be long before you’re begging me for help.”
“You can go back to the budgeting department, or you can seek employment elsewhere. That goes for you and your daughter.”
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