The Hidden Identity

"You should have some more... Dad" Maxwell said to his father who laid helplessly on the old foamless couch.

"Max.. I am tired.. I can't eat anymore" Justine said to his son looking very weak.

"But you've barely eaten anything since last night... You need to eat this so that you can have some drugs" Maxwell replied. He could see the visible pains in his father's eyes as he forced the small bite of potato down his throat.

"Yeah dad... Have some more..." Maxwell cheered putting another portion of the meal into his father's mouth.

His dad had been diagnosed of kidney failure some years ago but recently the illness took a worse turn and his family moved from being poor to wretched.

They could not take him to the hospital for proper medication because the bills were too expensive for them.

His mother took a cleaning job while he was given the full time job of watching over his sick father.

Maxwell had lived almost all his life hoping for better days to come but each day seemed to close into a more worse and terrible dawn.

His parents were aging fast and often times, he'd resented himself for not coming to them at their early age.

Sometimes, he wished he could switch places with his dad and ease him of the pains be felt but all of it remained what they were... thoughts and wishes.

He had just help his father lay on his back to the couch after feeding him with the last meal available in the house.

He sat down on the sofa arm and fixed his gaze on a rough page of the magazine, reading the same article for the umpteenth time.

He heard a loud sound like that of a reckless driver trying to pull the break on a car, he stood up and walked towards the window to have a view of what it was.

"What is that sound?" His father asked in a very weak tone "I don't know dad... It seems like we have visitors" He replied closing the window cutton and heading to the door.

There was a heavy bang on the door as he approached and he hesitated to open it in fear of who it could be.

"Who is there?" he asked in a very sharp and clear tone but to his surprised there was another heavy kick on the door and the knob pulled out immediately making the old wooden door break open.

Over five men walked into the house wearing black suits. The guy who lead them in had a short gun on his right hand and his look was very scary.

Maxwell stood at the same spot behind the broken door in shock and fright but they seemed not to have seen him.

The men all walked towards his sick father and one of them drew the wooden table that was at the edge of the couch closer to where his father laid and sat directly opposite to his father .

"It's been a while, Justine" He said scanning him from his head to his toe.

"Who are you?" Justine asked almost like a whisper.

"I'm not here to make introductions, Justine... Wilson sent me and you know what that means" he said in a very authoritative manner hitting his fingers lightly on the wooden table.

The expression he had while speaking to Justine sent shivers down Maxwell's vein.

Somehow, he new that whoever these men were, they weren't going to be nice to him and his dad at all.

He watched as the first guy who had a gun dragged his father up from the chair yelling at him with his red eyes sending signals of danger...

"I don't have his money" Justine said looking helpless as he could not move or struggle to free himself due to the illness that was gradually paralysing his whole body.

"Then you will have to surrender something worth the amount... What do you have? " The armed guy asked I'm fury.

"I don't have anything and I am ill" Justine said, his voice revealing the frustration and pain that he felt.

The guy cracked his gun and pointed it at Justine "I will blow off your fucking brain if you don't bring out something" He thundered, his loud voice almost shaking the whole building and Maxwell feared that he would shoot his father.

"We do not have any money" Maxwell said walking out from the corner where he stood watching them harass his sick father.

"You can search the entire building if you want... He is telling the truth" He said further,hoping it will change their minds and make them leave

"And you are.. ?" The armed guy asked turning to Maxwell with an unpleasant gaze moving up from his head to his toe.

"He is my son please, he has nothing to do with this..." Justine lamented from the chair begging them to let Maxwell be.

"You have a son... How come we didn't know" The guy said walking towards Maxwell who just stood there staring at them.

The confusion he felt had intensified at this moment and he wished someone could explain to me what was going on there.

"Please leave him alone... He has nothing to do with this" He heard his father beg further but the man kept coming closer to him and he felt the man touch his face with the gun.

"Your father has no money... Right?" The guy asked saying each words slowly which made Maxwell shiver in fear.

"Yes.. He couldn't even afford a proper medication" Maxwell said moving is gaze away from the man's face to avoid their eyes meeting.

The armed guy stood very close to Maxwell and he could feel the hot breath coming out of his nostrils.

The musky smell of cigarettes and alcohol exuding heavily from his body almost made Maxwell pass out.

"Take the man away" The armed guy commanded, not moving his gaze away from Maxwell.

Two of the other men walked over to where Justine laid and tried to carry him up but they couldn't do it easily.

One of them let go of Justine and walked over to the armed guy, he whispered something into his ear and took a few steps backwards.

"Take the boy then" The armed guy commanded again, gesturing at them to take Maxwell.

Maxwell struggled to free himself while the hefty men carried him out of the house, one of them hit him on his head and he lost consciousness immediately.

Justine who was unable to move could not do anything in the situation. He begged them to let Maxwell go and take him instead but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

Justine try to move but fell forcefully off the chair, he whined in pains call out his sons name "Max... Max.. Let him go".

Maxwell woke up and found himself tied to a metal sit.

The previous event seemed like a dream to him, now he was wondering how he ended up in here being tied hands and legs to a sit in a dark room with no trace of light.

He tried to look around him more closely but the darkness in the room was too gross and he couldn't see anything.

"Hello..." He called out loudly "Anybody there?..." He screamed but the echoes of his voice filled the room and he realized that wherever he was must be big and empty.

He struggled to untie himself from the chair but the ropes were tightly trussed up with his hands and led secured in it.

His struggling body kept moving the chair slowly making cracking sounds that echoed in the room.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching him and he was thankful that at least a person was around him.

The dark room was brightened with a light that shown only around him making a perfect circle on the floor.

He looked up when he realized that the footstep had stopped but all he could see was a silhouette standing in the dark few steps away from the light circle.

He tried to look closer but the image stood still not showing any sign of movement.

"Who are you..?" Maxwell asked in complete fear and perplexity.

He watched the image stepping out of the dark and finally a man on blue suit and a hat stood before him in the light circle where he was kept.

"I am Wilson... The man your father owes a hundred thousand dollars."The man said holding a wrap of cigarettes which he put into his mouth consecutively, exhaling a large amount of smoke from his mouth and nostrils at the same time.

" How can my dad owe you a hundred thousand dollars?..He has never had such money before" Maxwell said expressing his confusion as to how his father could owe a person such huge amount of money.

"He took a loan with a percentage interest...slowly the interest accumulated and the amount he borrowed has been completed doubled " Wilson narrated walking to and fro in front of Maxwell.

"I still don't believe you sir... My father has never said anything about taking a loan or owing a person before" Maxwell defended raising his voice to show his confidence and assurance.

"Oh well... If you still doubt me, then you should see this" Wilson said snapping his fingers in a way and a guy walked in holding an IPad, he pressed something on the screen a video of Justine and Hannah pleading to be spared some more time to refund the loan began to play.

Maxwell watched how his father explained that the loan was used to get him a foreign medical help when he was critical ill as a child.

He did not realize the tears that was flowing down his chin until the video ended and reality hit him.

"Your father worked as a driver in my firm, The loan was taken to save your life..." Wilson said in a rather cold manner and Maxwell stared at him not sure of the kind of person he was.

"You gave him the money with a percentage interest despite knowing that he was unable to pay back" Maxwell said in a mix tone of anger and pity for his father.

"Would it have been better that I watch his son die?" Wilson said with a smirk on his face.

He was no gentle man at all and Maxwell could see the mockery in his eyes.

"What good is it now... Paying such amount of money is like a death sentence to my family" Maxwell fired back. This was the climax of his sufferings ad he wished that death had taken him back then as a child.

"Well.. I've got good new for you" Wilson said in a rather exciting manner making Maxwell more confuse.

"Excuse me?" Maxwell asked, his heart beating faster while he waited to hear what the man had to say.

Wilson gestured to the guy who stood some steps away to untie Maxwell from the chair after which he ordered him to leave.

"Yeah... I have good news" Wilson said again, he put the cigarette rap that was now almost burnt out on the floor and stepped on it.

"I don't understand sir.." Maxwell muttered, the shivers in his body could be heard on his voice. His mind raced from one thought to another wondering what could be a good news in such awkward situation.

"What is your name?" Wilson asked lightning another rap of cigarette, his red eyes staring at Maxwell intensely.

"Maxwell..." Maxwell said in total timidity.

The situation had made him very helpless and for the few minutes he was there, he knew that his life was at the mercy of the man who stood before him.

Even if he dies, no one except his parents will remember that he ever existed, that was how his life had been.

He was worried about what kind of news coming from a man who his father was indebted to could be.

What if he's asked to hurt his parents?

"Will you kill me?" He asked not staring at the man's face.

"Yes, I will...if that's what you want" Wilson replied in a cold tone, he commanded the guy who stood some steps away from them in the dark to come over pointing to Maxwell.

"No..no...please..it's not what I want" Maxwell pleaded pushing himself down from the sit to the floor.

They walked through a long dark corridor that led into a small room filled with bottles and metals.

Maxwell wondered how long he was unconscious to have been brought here without his knowledge.

Wilson opened a door by pressing a pass code the devise placed on the wall.

Maxwell was surprised to see a part of the wall turn open.

"Let's go" Wilson said to him leading to the way through the door space created the wall and Maxwell followed in silence.

They walked through some unfinished buildings and Maxwell was grateful that he could finally see the light of the day although it was almost sunset.

They finally came out to large space outside the building.

There were some black cars pack in front of them and some men on black suits standings beside the doors.

Maxwell recognized some of these men to be the men who had stormed his home and took him away.

He shivered as they walked towards the car, deep down in him he prayed that he would be given a chance to see his parents before he died.

The fact the he was the reason why his father had taken such huge loan pierced his heart with guilt.

"How could he have fallen sick to the extent of making his parents take such loan" He said in his heart, scolding his helpless soul.

He followed Wilson into the back sit of the car and sat in down.

He was uncomfortable sitting so close to a man who he knew could kill him at any seconds with questions.

He looked of the window and realized that the building where he had been was an abandoned construction site.

He could see some abandoned machines parked in different directions.

The car made a reversing turn and in a few seconds they were off on the highway.

He didn't know why they were taking him and he couldn't ask in fear of what their response will be.

He kept his face glued to the window glass while watching the vehicle that drove past theirs and the beautiful buildings that stood tall by the roadside.

His thought went back to his parents and he wondered how his mother would feel after funding out about his kidnap.

He heart wept for his sick father who had suffered so much for him since his childhood.

He remembered when his father would take him around the neighborhood to trim flowers in the rich peoples compound.

That was the job he did before the illness struck him down.

He was a very jovial and hardworking man but the uncertainty of life meet him despite all his good qualities.

Maxwell was lost in his thoughts when the car engine gave an awakening sound and went off.

He looked up and realized the vehicle was parked in front of a mansion.

"Come with me.." Wilson said stepping out of the car from the door at his end.

Maxwell used the door beside him and came out of the car.

He was shocked as to how big the compound was and the building stood very magnificent in it.

There were fleets of cars packed at the left end of the compound and he couldn't count them without being noticed.

He followed the man quietly until the arrived at the front door of the mansion.

Wilson pressed a button on the small remote he held on his left hand and the front door opened.

Maxwell had never in his entire life seen a door open on it's own without being pushed.

He followed the man into the large living room.

It took him a lot of compotion to keep calm at the site of such a dazzling room.

Wilson led the way to his study upstairs and Maxwell followed without a word.

His study was a small room filled with books and magazines.

He had an office table and chairs at a corner in the room where he usually sit to study.

"Sit down..." He commanded Maxwell who quickly obey and took a sit on one of the chairs.

Wilson walked over to the edge of the table and opened a small box, he brought out a rap of cigarette and put it between his lips lightning it up a lighter that was in his jacket pocket.

"Maxwell... That's your name?" He asked in a bold voice after exhaling smoke from his mouth and nose.

"yes, sir.." Maxwell replied sharply.

"Your father owes me money and I have the right to send him to jail forever.." He said, each of his words struck Maxwell like a heavy rod and he feared what the next words will be.

"But... I have a fair deal for you" He said further, taking a deep sip of the cigarette whose odour filled the entire room making it difficult for Maxwell to breathe properly.

"I have a daughter and she'll be twenty-two years old in a few months..."He said and took a sit opposite Maxwell.

"Amelia is the only child I have and due to my health condition, I can't have anymore child which was the reason her mother left me" Wilson explain calmly, raising and lowering the bar of his voice.

"Due to the rough treatment I gave her and her home in the past, she developed a mental anxiety disorder called Androphobia" He said further, putting his hand on the table. "Do you know what that is?" He asked staring at Maxwell.

"The fear of men" Maxwell replied slowly, moving his gaze from him to the other side of the room.

"Yes.... It's been a bother to me because she have never had anything to do with any man before" Wilson said wearing a troubled expression.

"I am aging fast and I need a normal heir to keep up my name.... So, I'll let go of the debt if you marry my daughter and have a child or even children with her for me" He said in a way that sounded to rather like a command

Maxwell sat there in shock and alter bewilderment staring at Wilson on the face without blinking his eyes.