CHAPTER FIVE

Alexander managed to stay calm as he talked, ‘Hey man, isn’t it rather rude of you to barge into my house and cause a nuisance here? You don’t have courtesy for anything? Is that how you paupers behave?

The mysterious man continues laughing, “Did you just call me a pauper, he said; If not that I am in a good mood, I should have landed a blow on your face. Do you think you can keep all this property to yourself? For your information, I am Nathan Mayors, the rightful heir to these properties and I have come to take everything from you…I mean everything!”.

Alexander becomes furious; “You must be out of your mind! How dare you walk into my house and insult my personality?”, he said angrily.

I was dumbfounded and didn’t know if I should calm Alexander or insult the mysterious man turned Nathan, I forced myself to mutter out some incoherent words, “Ehm Alex…

Nathan cuts in, “you won't say anything in this matter young woman”. His face looks red and burning with some fuse of resentment. “What do you think you want to say? Who gave you the right to put mouth into the ongoing?”, He said to me.

Alexander responded sharply; “hey, That’s enough! Get out of my house now you bloody fool”; He moves closer to Nathan daring him with his full-fledged fist.

I stayed there shaking as Alexander and Nathan began to drag one another.

“Guards come here”, Alexander said as he struggled to catch his breath, “get this bastard out of my house and let it be the last time he will enter this house”, he commanded.

“Don’t touch me”, Nathan said to the guards; “as for you”, he continued as he faced Alexander, “I am coming back for you. I will be your biggest regret from now on. I will leave here today but when next I'm coming here, consider yourself dead, you bloody thief and impersonator”. He flung the door open and jammed it behind him.

I was in a confused state, I didn’t know if this was a dream or reality; Partly, I wanted to be unbothered since we were only pushing through a contract but the other part of me was held bound in whether to believe what just happened or not.

Alexander in his confused state noticed my confusion. He walked back to the dining table, “I am sorry for that mess, Isabel”, he said to me. “I don’t know that man neither am I aware of all he said. I will run an investigation to get to the root of the matter. I am so sorry, could you please go ahead with what you wanted to tell me earlier before the interruption”, he said as he cleared his throat.

“It’s okay” I replied, managing to get back to myself; “Can we just have the conversation another time? I am pressed and my head is heavy right now, I will just go shower and take time alone” I said as I hurriedly left the dining room without waiting for his response.

That must have been the choicest response Alexander looked out for as he did not bother pestering me to stay back either.

.

As I managed to enter my room, I threw myself on the big soft bed with my clothes on; I reflected on everything that happened today, I questioned how and why I would be pregnant for a man I barely knew and the worst of it, even Alexander don’t seem to know what’s wrong. So many questions popped up in my head. Could Alexander be an impostor for real? What happens to our agreement? What’s the effect on the father’s company I’m trying to save?

Alexander was still confused as to what happened, he paced around his room talking to himself; “What is happening really? Is this a ploy to blackmail me or a reality? I have never heard the name Nathan before; he even claimed to be older than me”, he continued soliloquizing. After long thought, he decided to call the family lawyer who was a bosom friend to his late father, he believes beyond legal matters, his father would have confided in him if truly it happened.

“Hello Daddy,” he says in his usual way of referring to him. They exchanged pleasantries and he went straight to the reason for calling. “Sir, please I need to ask you a very important question,” he said. The man asked if he was going to ask on the phone or come to his house. “I will come to the house Sir,” he responded.

He wouldn’t wait till the next day; he dressed hurriedly and left the house. He won’t even have the driver drive him that day.

The barrister’s house was a beauty to behold. The floor was laced with polished tiles, the artwork on the wall was beautifully sculptured. The barrister’s picture was cutely engraved on one side of the living room, leaving a presence of him.

Alexander entered the house like someone had been chasing him. “Good evening” he said with a choking voice.

“Good evening Alexander”, the barrister responded; “I had to cancel my appointment when you said you were coming, Is the matter that serious that you can't wait till tomorrow?” He questioned Alexander.

“Well, it’s somewhat complex Sir, Please I want to ask you a very sincere question and I would like you to answer me in all sincerity”

“That’s not a problem Alex”, the barrister responded, “please go ahead with your question”.

“I know you are my late father’s legal adviser but beyond legal matters, you are also his best friend and I’m sure he will not hide anything from you”.

“That’s very correct”, the barrister replied now maintaining a serious posture facing Alexander and looking him in the eye.

“Okay Sir, Are you aware dad has a child outside? Better still, do you by chance know anybody called Nathan?” Alexander asked.

A thick silence filled the atmosphere.

“How did you know Nathan”, the barrister asked.

“Oh, there is a Nathan after all?” Alexander questioned.

“Don’t push me to a tight corner Alexander, This is a secret only myself and your dad knew all the while so I need you to tell me how you got to know Nathan”.

“Well, I don’t exactly know him, and I haven’t heard of him from anywhere before today. A man came to check me at home and rudely introduced himself as Nathan and that he was coming to collect what’s mine because they are rightly his”, Alexander explains.

“I think it’s high time you knew the truth, your father had an affair with the maid a longtime ago which led to conception, this was against the rule of law as he was legally married so he decided to pay her off but the maid insisted she wasn’t going to abort the pregnancy. Your father cut ties completely with her but ensured her finances were catered for via a designated agency”.

“So, how come I never knew of this, and it never surfaced all along?” Alexander asked.

“Well, that was the wish of your father and I had to agree with it. This one that Nathan is coming out all of a sudden, he must be planning a mischief”, you had better deal with it fast before he gets the hold of you. From what I gathered, he just got back from the facilities and he will stop at nothing to embarrass the family so you had better get ahead of him by doing the needful”, the barrister adviced.

“Alright Sir, I fully understand you”, he responded; “I should be on my way home now, its really very late already”. He gets to his feet and the barrister walks him to the door.

Alexander enters his car and begins to drive back to his house. Lost in thoughts on what to do, he entered into a blast, with a gun pointed at his head, “come down”, a voice said.