Big bang.

“The good thing about shocking is that it clears the brain of preconceptions for a moment, and in that moment the work has a chance to cut through all the habits and learnt behavior of the viewer and make a fresh impact, before all the conditioning crowds in again.”

—Viv Albertine.

Maverick.

"What do you mean by it can't be tracked?" Maverick asked, slamming his palms on the desk as he rose to his full height.

"We-we tried to track down the number, but it doesn't seem to be registered sir."

He stepped out of the confines of the recliner and the desk, moving to stand directly in front of the man who had also stood up from the chair he was sitting on.

Habib Lawani was a private investigator who had been working for him for quite a while. A short man, dark in complexion and quite chubby. His beards were full and long, covering his entire chin and extending to his chest. What he lacked in height, he made up for with intelligence. Though he was a man who could be easily intimidated, seeing as his beady eyes were darting from side to side as he stood in the presence of Maverick.

A thin layer of sweat had coated his forehead and he dabbed it with his handkerchief over and over again as Maverick towered above him.

"So... You mean to tell me that, that woman called my sister with an unregistered number? Tell me, Habib..." Folding his arms on his chest, he leaned back on the desk, "your job entails uncovering such suspicious calls and activities, right?"

Why exactly was this case such a hard nut to crack?

"Y-yes, sir. That's why I'm asking if you can just give me some more time maybe--"

"Bullshit! Time?" He scoffed, "who says I have time to spare? I gave you two jobs, none of which I've received a positive result. Give me just one good reason why I should let you keep working for me."

In all honesty, it was just his anger that was speaking. Maverick had no intention of firing the man because he knew how competent he was. But for the fact that he wanted to get Leticia at all costs, he just couldn't find it in himself to have patience.

The man bowed his head, still dabbing his sweat. He shifted from one foot to another. The sounds were already irritating Maverick.

"You know what? Just go."

"S-sir I--"

"Get out." The tone came with an air of finality that could not be disregarded. With a hasty bow, the man scurried out of the office.

Maverick groaned, plopping on the office couch. He ran his fingers through his hair, placing his head in his hands.

Sighing, he sat up and leaned back on the chair. When will it end?

Thinking back to the phone call she made to Michelle, he could not deny the fact that he almost felt pity for her. Her voice sounded raw and he was very close to being swayed, then he remembered that she had every trick in the book. That was enough to set him back on track.

At least he was certain that she was alive. In the past few weeks, deep down inside he hoped she was safe no matter how disgruntled he was.

Such an idiot. The woman had burrowed a deep, deep hole into his heart.

He stood up from the couch, adjusting the sleeves of his striped dress shirt with steady strides towards his recliner.

Switching his computer back on, he resumed the drawing of the estate models he had been working on earlier. The sudden ringing of the desk office phone diverted his attention.

He grabbed the phone and placed it on his ear, using his shoulder to hold it in place.

"Hello sir, you have a visitor. She has no appointment--"

"Let the person in."

Shortly after, he heard a knock to which he grunted a reply. Maverick shifted his gaze to see who came in.

A middle aged lady walked in. The type of head gear sitting on her head, and the length and colour of her gown coupled with a long wooden brown rosary could only indicate one thing. She was a nun.

Behind the nun was a little boy who looked to be about two years of age. He fisted the side of the nun's skirt as though he would be blown away if he let go, peeking around with his nose scrunched up.

He could make out the curly hair of the boy, and his exceptionally light complexion.

But then, why was a nun in his office with a little child?

"Good day sir," the woman greeted.

"Good day sister. Pardon my manners, please take a seat." He rose from the recliner and went to join them on the couch. Taking the couch opposite them, he rested one of his elbows on his knees, drawing foreword to ruffle the little boy's head. He looked quite familiar though.

"Good d-day sir," the boy repeated, fiddling with his chubby little fingers.

Maverick gave the boy a reassuring smile before shifting his attention to the nun.

"How may I help you please?"

"Thank you for sparing some time for us, I really appreciate it."

He nodded.

"So... I'm, I'm here sir because I have something to tell you," she started.

Furrowing his brows, Maverick leaned back on the couch, interested in hearing what she had to tell him.

"Uhm... I... I don't know where to start from, sir, it's complicated." She was avoiding all forms of eye contact with him. Did he look that intimidating?

"Well, start from anywhere," he said with a smile.

The lady took a deep breath, rubbing her palms on her skirt.

"Okay. The-the little boy is your son, sir."

A moment of confused silence.

Oh well... That was certainly not what he expected. The highest he had imagined was that she was probably going to ask for help with an orphanage or something along that line. But this? What was that?

"I don't quite understand what you're implying, sister." He folded his arms, waiting for a credible explanation because as far as he could remember, he had never had sex with anyone else except Leticia in the past few years, and he wasn't someone that drank alcohol, so he couldn't be accused of doing anything in a drunken state.

The nun made the sign of the cross with her rosary before resuming her speech.

"Almost two years ago, a lady called my little orphanage... She wanted to bring a child over. I told her that we didn't have enough resources to take care of any other kids for now, then she offered to give me some money."

Maverick continued to stare at the woman, wondering what in the world she was on about. How exactly did all these have to do with him? Seeing that she had paused, gauging his reaction, he maintained a straight face, nodding for her to continue the story. Who knows? It might turn out to be a nice script for a movie.

"I turned it down, but she started to cry, she said that she couldn't bear to have the baby because of the father, and she didn't want to take more drastic action. Confused, I told her to calm down and speak to me in a way that I could understand. Then she--"

"Hey brother!" Michelle ambled in, humming to a tune he could not name.

She plopped on the couch with a huge smile which disappeared as she saw their facial expressions.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I didn't know he was in a meeting," she apologized to the nun.

The lady nodded with a small smile. She seemed relieved with Michelle's presence.

"Oh, who's this cutie," Michelle gushed, stretching her hands towards the child. His cheeks coloured as she picked him up and smiled at him.

"What's your name cutie?"

"My name is Marcel," he replied.

"Beautiful name for a handsome little boy!"

Maverick watched their exchange in silence, waiting for his sister to realise that she was interrupting further.

"Miss Wagner, you interrupted and are still interrupting a meeting."

"Oh sorry, I'll just..." Trailing off, she stood up holding Marcel on her waist, then she went to sit on his recliner with the child.

Sighing, Maverick shook his head. He just hoped they wouldn't touch his things. He glanced back and saw Michelle whispering in the boy's ear, who in turn was giggling. Dragging his eyes away from the sight, he picked up from where they left off earlier.

"Sister, please carry on."

"Yes sir. The woman told me that her husband was an awful person and that she hated him. She also said that the thought of bearing a child for him was disgusting so she was left with two options: either dump the child in the orphanage or just kill him."

What sort of woman would do such a thing?

"Wow, that woman is wicked. Although, we can't blame her. Who knows what the husband did to merit such hatred?" Michelle chipped in.

That could be true. Maybe the husband had been abusing her or something.

"I felt bad. Asides from the fact that the guilt would be on me if anything happened to the child, I reasoned that we also needed the money she offered," she continued, "so I agreed. Another thing I discovered was that at this time, she was yet to give birth. She planned to make it seem like she had a stillbirth. A dead baby will be given to her, then someone else will deliver her real baby to the orphanage."

All of a sudden, Maverick felt his heart drop. Something did not feel right.

"The plan was successful. And that was how Marcel came into the picture, but I've not heard from her since then."

"Wait. You mean Marcel is that baby?"

She nodded in reply to Michelle's question.

"Who would abandon this beautiful child for God's sake?"

"So..." Raising an eyebrow, he bent forward, clasping his hands together. "How does that have to do with me?" Maverick voiced out the question that he had been wanting to ask.

Clearing her throat, she shifted on her chair.

"The woman in question is your wife. I think her name was Le... Liticia or something, I can't remember --"

The loud laughter that interrupted her remaining statement reverberated in the room. He wheezed and wheezed as though he just heard the joke of the century.

"What do you mean by that?" Michelle had placed the boy down and reached where they were seated.

"I ask again, what's that supposed to mean, sister?"

"I'm sorry, I know that what I did was wrong but I wanted to right my wrongs. That's why I came here today. My conscience kept judging me, I felt that it would be bad for me to keep the child away from the father. Please forgive me, sir, ma. I have brought back your son." She went down on her knees.

"If I get this whole thing, you mean that Leticia gave you this child right?"

She nodded.

"With the story that her husband was making her miserable, and the child was disgusting?"

Another nod.

"Ha!"

Michelle put her hands on the top of her head.

Maverick, on the other hand, whose laughter had died down, was still in a daze. He was trying to comprehend the situation but it seemed unsuccessful. In a less complicated way, this explanation was that because Leticia found him disgusting, she abandoned their baby and covered it up as a stillbirth.

He stood up from the couch, clutching his head in his hands as he walked towards the window blinds. Placing one hand on the wall, he dropped his head, loosening his tie. 

Wrapping his head around the situation was proving more difficult with the passing minutes.

His breath was becoming laboured.

He whipped around to face the kneeling nun. With a sharp glare, he walked back to where she was with slow-paced steps.

"Now tell me, why should I believe this mumbo jumbo? Does my office look like some sort of audition ground? Hmm?" He was controlling his voice, not wanting to lash out at the woman for fear of what his anger could result to.

"I-I'm sorry that I had to bring you this news sir, I'm so sorry," she continued to plead.

The warmth he felt on his bicep made him turn his head. Michelle pleaded with her eyes for him to be calm.

Scoffing, he strode back to his recliner. The little boy was staring at him with watery eyes. He stared back. The longer he stared, the more he realized why the boy looked familiar at first. There was a striking resemblance between himself and the child, the only serious difference being their eye colour. The child had brown eyes.

But then, the resemblance alone was not enough to conclude anything. What if this nun was lying?

"... Mide what do you think?"

He diverted his attention to face his sister.

"What did you say?"

"I suggest we should carry out a paternity test. That way, we'll know the validity of what she's saying."

"Sure."

"Can we keep Marcel?" She asked the sister.

"You can, but I'll have to take him and bring his things."

"There's no need for that. We'll get new ones for him, that's our responsibility now."

"Okay, ma. I want to apologise once again for my actions. I was greedy, and I was wrong. Please forgive me. I pray the Lord touches your heart."

She went to Marcel, pulling him in for a hug. The hug lasted for a while, and when she pulled away, he started to cry.

Michelle took him into her arms, patting his back in a bid to stop him from sobbing. The nun was dabbing her eyes too.

She moved towards the door with a gloomy expression, then she halted her movement.

Turning to face Maverick and Michelle who were watching her, she said, "I know I don't deserve it but please can I ask for a favour?"

"Yes. You can."

"When all the tests and the process is complete, can I be visiting him from time to time?"

Michelle looked at her brother because she knew that she had no right to answer that question.

Sighing, Maverick nodded in reply. The woman thanked them and left the office.

Maverick said nothing as she left. There were so many questions to ask, but he knew that if he voiced out any it would not only remain unanswered, it will lead to many more questions.

What a mess his life had become in less than one month.

Wahala no de finish?

So... Did you see that coming? Cause me I didn't oh😂

That's how Leticia is entering more trouble even in her absence🥺😭

A chapter dedicated to annaliese162 for helping with ideas 😊💞 she's one great writer. Check out her books too, I promise you won't regret it💥

Next chapter updated already updated💃💃>>>>>>>>

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