All Chapters of Empty Promises, Wasted Years: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

Dad's younger brother, Liam Graham, leaned back in his chair with a smile. "What's gotten into you? Did something set you off, or did you have another fight with your dad?" I told him the flat-out truth. "I just realized it's been five years, and while the cost of living and rent have gone up, my salary hasn't budged an inch. Five years ago, I had two offers in my hand—one for nine grand and another for ten grand. Mom told me to work for you, claiming we're family; you won't shortchange me. "When I first joined, you paid me five grand a month and promised to raise my salary once business picked up. For the last five years, I've helped you close countless major deals, handled business registration and tax affairs, trained the newcomers, and even dealt with debt collectors for you. I've been doing the work of three employees for five grand. Yet, this year, the new hires are making 6,500 dollars the moment they join the factory."His smile faded slightly. "Lucius, how can you compare

During the first month after I resigned, I sent out résumés everywhere, only to be met with dead silence. Later on, I found out that Uncle Liam had dropped a message in the industry group chat. "Lucius had no qualms about turning on his own biological uncle, so you should think twice before you hire him."Since I couldn't find a job, I decided to start my own business. After spending five years at Uncle Liam's factory, I knew every single nook and cranny of this industry. The scraps, defects, and excess inventory generated from production were treated as trash and sold to scrap dealers for just a few cents per pound. However, if I bought those scraps, sorted and reprocessed them, and sold them to secondary manufacturers who needed raw materials... with no middlemen taking a cut, every single step would be pure profit. I only had about 40,000 dollars to my name, which was nowhere near enough to rent a warehouse. Consequently, I found an abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of t

The smile on Uncle Liam's face froze in a heartbeat. His eyes widened, and he goggled at me as though he'd seen a ghost. Resting back in my seat, I twirled a pen in my hand and offered him a slight nod of acknowledgment. "Lucius?" His voice went up an octave. "What are you doing here?"I set the pen down and held his gaze.His expression shifted from shock to livid. He marched up to the desk and barked, "Have you lost your mind? This isn't a seat you can just help yourself to! Get up right now!"He sounded pissed off. "When the CEO gets here and sees you sitting in his chair, he's going to be furious! If you ruin this deal for me, I'll break your legs! Do you have any idea where you are? We're at Lux Materials, a multi-million-dollar company! You—"Uncle Liam took a deep breath before turning and apologizing to Maya. "I'm terribly sorry you have to see this! This is my deadbeat nephew. He's never seen much of the world and has no sense of propriety. I'll get him out of that cha

The following day, several messages popped up in the family group chat. Uncle Oliver: "I heard Lucius' company is doing quite well. Ava said their factory is getting all their materials from Lucius now."Aunt Mia: "Seriously? Lucius is that successful now?"Aunt Ava: "Oh, absolutely. Liam said Lucius' materials are better than what's available outside. The factory is basically relying on him now."I stared at the screen for a good while. A year ago, everyone in this chat was calling me an ungrateful wretch. Now, their tone had completely changed. It was a subtle, seamless transition. It was as if they had never badmouthed me at all, as if this was how things had always been. I didn't say a word in the group chat. After a while, Uncle Oliver mentioned me. "@Lucius are you there? Is your company still hiring? Your cousin just graduated from college and hasn't found a job yet."Staring at his message, I vividly recalled how he had joined Uncle Liam in berating me a year ago.

Dad's voice was a little strained. "I'm not that muddle-headed." I was caught off guard."This matter is your uncle's fault. 400,000 dollars, three months overdue, and he's still bringing up familial ties? That shit won't fly anywhere!" His voice sank lower. "I'll help you demand the money from him."He paused for a moment before cursing, "That shameless bastard! He signed the contract, refused to pay, and still has the nerve to talk about family? Why didn't he think of you as family when he forbade you from paying your respects at the graveyard? Why didn't he think of you as family when he called you an ungrateful wretch in the family group chat?"I parted my lips, but for a moment, I was at a loss for words."Hold on, I'll call him right now," he said firmly. "I'll make him cough up 400,000 dollars, and I won't let him short you a single penny. If he refuses to pay up, I'll go camp out at his factory myself! I want to see him look me in the eye and tell me exactly who it is tha