The old woman from yesterday, Emma, was looking at him sternly. He remembered her name.
“I’d like to walk around the house.”
“Not allowed,” the housekeeper said curtly and slammed the door in his face.
Alex’s mouth fell open in disbelief. Was he in prison?
A few minutes later, the door opened again, and Michael walked in, cheerful and energetic.
“How did you sleep in your new room?” He ruffled Alex’s hair. “Come on, wash up, get dressed, and let’s go.”
“Go where?” the boy asked, surprised.
His stomach growled with hunger. He was used to having breakfast, but it seemed they weren’t planning on feeding him.
“We have some errands to run,” Michael smirked. “We’ll stop by the clinic, have a doctor check you out, and then we’ll go to a cafe.”
“Why a clinic?”
“I need to know my son is healthy. What if you get sick, and I don’t know how to help you?”
“I feel fine.”
“Where did you usually go for check-ups?”
“The local clinic.”
“The local clinic,” Michael chuckled again. “We’re going to a proper medical center.”
“I’ve never been to a medical center…” Alex shrugged. “I’ve been to a shopping center, but not a medical one.”
They were back in the big, beautiful car with the driver. Alex kept glancing at his father. A growing sense of unease settled in his small heart. What did this man, his biological father but a stranger, want from him? He seemed completely indifferent to what Alex thought or how he had lived all these years. He hadn’t asked a single question, not even about his mom.
Michael’s phone rang.
“Yes, darling, yes, he’s with me,” he said, glancing at Alex. “Everything’s fine. I’ll call you tonight.”
The boy realized his father was talking to his wife. Where was she? Why wasn’t she at the house? A pang of resentment shot through him. So, his father had another family and hadn’t thought about his mom all these years. That’s what it seemed like.
At the medical center, Alex was immediately surrounded by people in white coats, subjected to tests and examinations. By lunchtime, the boy was dizzy with hunger.
“And that’s it,” Michael said cheerfully, patting the boy on the shoulder. “Good job. Let’s go home.”
The boy timidly said he was hungry, but the man just waved his hand, saying they would eat at home. Back at the house, the boy devoured a piece of meat, drank some juice, barely made it to his room, and collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. And once again, the key turned in the lock.
Then began a series of days, each one the same as the last. Alex was not allowed to leave his room; food was brought directly to him. The old woman and a young maid with mischievous dark eyes were his only company. Alex later realized the maid didn’t understand English; she was from another country. For the first few days, the boy was quiet, but then he started banging on the radiator, demanding his father come and explain why he was being held captive. Soon, his energy waned; he felt sleepy all the time. It took him a while to realize something was being added to his food and drink. When he figured it out, he started secretly pouring everything down the toilet. He had to find a way out of this cage. But how, Alex didn’t know yet.
Meanwhile, in a distant country, Julia and their son, Nick, were waiting for Michael’s return. Nick had been born with a kidney defect. Until he was five, both kidneys functioned, but then one began to fail irreversibly and had to be removed. Two years ago, the second kidney started having problems. The doctors were clear: only a transplant could save the boy. The family had money, and organ transplantation was well-developed in that country, but no one could help Nick. He had a rare blood type and other physiological complications.
One day, a doctor mentioned to the parents that the boy could be saved if he had a sibling. A healthy child could live a full life with one kidney, and for Nick, it would be a lifesaver, the doctor said. That’s when Julia remembered the naive girl Michael had left pregnant. Of course, she had known all along.
“You have to find that girl and pay her!” she had screamed at Michael. “Pay her whatever she asks!”
“Julia, do you realize what you’re saying? Not every woman would agree to that.”
“She was a nobody then, and she’s probably a nobody now. Offer her a sum she can’t refuse. Don’t you see, this is our only chance? And if she doesn’t agree, we’ll just take her kid. Who was it, by the way? A boy or a girl?”
“A boy, I think. A little older than Nick.”
“See? It’s perfect. We can’t waste any more time. Our son is so sick.”
Julia was sobbing. Michael scratched his head, bewildered. This all felt wrong. But on the other hand, everyone would end up alive and happy. He returned to his home country. And there, he hit his first obstacle. Ellie was gone. Her son—and he knew for sure it was his child—had disappeared. He wasn’t in the foster care system. He turned the police and Family Services upside down.
“What kind of chaos are you running here?”
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