The Forbidden Room

source

I recall a story that once filled the ears of my neighborhood when I was still very young, living in Port Harcourt City, Rivers State, Nigeria.

The richest man in the street, popularly known as Chief G, brought a boy named Oscar to serve under him; the "G" after the Chief stood for generous due to how generous the Chief was to the people that lived around, and everybody loved the Chief.

Oscar left his parents to live with the chief in search of greener pastures but ended up meeting his doom.

"Oscar" Chief G called early in the morning from his room,
"Chief sir" Oscar responded running towards Chief G's room

Oscar knocked on the door and Chief G replied
"Come in Oscar"
"Good morning Chief Sir" Oscar greeted
"Yeah, good morning to you too, Oscar," Chief G replied.

"I will need you to clean my bedroom every morning, clean every room in it except for this room beside my bed; it's locked, so don't bother opening it," Chief G continued, pointing to a certain room with a metal door.

So many thoughts raced through Oscar's mind as to why the Chief restricted him from cleaning the said room and replied with curiosity saying;
"Yes Chief Sir I will do as you've said, but Sir why don't you want this particular room cleaned up
I don't mind at all Sir"

"Never you go close to that door or let the thought of opening it fill your mind, the day you do leave this house, you may get to work " The Chief replied with a harsh tone"
This frightened Oscar a bit but he was more curious than scared.

"I'm sorry Sir, I'll get to work immediately"
Oscar answered immediately.

Later in the day, Oscar indulged the chef Josh, about what transpired earlier asking if he knew what was in the room;
"Josh, do you know about the room Chief G restricts anyone from going into?"

Oscar asked, expecting an affirmative answer since Josh had been with Chief long before he came, but he was disappointed.

"Hm, my brother I too don't know, you see I was Chief's chef and cleaner too before you came when he gave the instruction I decided to secure my position in this house by avoiding the room"
Josh replied.

"Don't you ever feel curious about what might be in the room?"
Oscar continued.

"You know what they say about curiosity?
It kills the cat; I'd rather mind the business that pays me," Josh replied.

"That's not true even if it is I'll be a cat with nine lives,
I'll find out what's in that room no matter what"
Oscar said with a smirk on his face.

"Don't say I didn't warn you, Oscar," Josh cautioned and left.

Days later the police came to Chief G's house to arrest him for a case of money laundering.
The Chief decided to have a private conversation with the Head of the police. It was obvious they were in cahoots with each other, and Oscar, while cleaning the living room, overheard their conversation.

"Chief G, the usual lies we normally tell the people and members of the council can no longer hold water, they're insisting on an investigation to find out how true the lies we've told them are, at this point, it's only a matter of time before everything is out in the open"
The head of police informed.

"I understand you very well my partner, but that is why I pay you to influence the situation with your office and power. If you weren't capable I wouldn't come to you initially.
Let's just settle this over a few hundred thousand. I can't afford to; in fact, we can't afford to let this go out in the open. Don't forget we go down together if anything happens," Chief G responds.

"Okay then I'll do my very best just as I have always done this will be over soon and the financial part will be very much appreciated"
The head of police said smiling.

Oscar overheard the entire conversation but hid himself, and he also saw the Chief entering the room and coming out with bundles of money. He gave them to the Head of police and he left with them in a small bag.
Oscar seeing this thought to himself;
"So this is how the Chief gets his money, from frustrating the lives of innocent citizens and depriving them of their wealth, this has to be exposed, the Chief must be exposed"

The next day there, Oscar went to clean the Chief's bedroom. As always, he used the opportunity to search for where the Chief brought out so much money, but the Chief almost caught him.

"Where could the chief be hiding this much money? I've searched everywhere, but I can't find anything. Could it be in his secret room?" Oscar thought to himself

Immediately as Oscar tried approaching the forbidden room, the chief who forgot his wallet came back to get it and he saw Oscar.

"What are you looking for in my room Oscar?"
The chief asked

Stuttering and with fear Oscar answered
"I came to clean as usual sir but I couldn't find the key to the toilet"

"Oh, I locked the toilet mistakenly; here, open it up and pass me my wallet on the bed; I'm almost late for my meeting," The chief said, subtracting a key from his bunch.
Oscar noticed the keys and was convinced the key to the forbidden room was there too.

"Sir why so many keys with you" Oscar asked trying to confirm his suspicions

"Every key I hold unlocks every room in this house," The Chief replied, ignorant of Oscar's plans.

"Okay, Chief, that's wise; you should get going, sir. The car is ready," Oscar replied.

Oscar developed a plan to steal the keys from the Chief in his sleep later that night when the Chief came back with the help of Josh the Chef.

"Oscar, if anything threatens my stay in this house, I won't forgive you,o," Josh complained.

"Don't worry everything will be alright so far you are playing your part well, the rest is up to me, I appreciate this just so you know thank you " Oscar responded

"It's alright, my guy; I, too, want the truth out in the open," Josh finalized.

Later that evening, the Chief came back, and Josh added sleeping tablets to his food. He slept for a long time while Oscar thoroughly tried every key the Chief had in the forbidden room till he found the right one, and then he left with it.
In the morning the chief woke up usually and prepared for his day while Oscar was preparing to execute the last part of his plan.

"Good morning, Chief G. It seems you were exhausted from last night; you slept all through," Oscar indulged.

"Good morning to you too, Oscar, and yes, it was stressful yesterday; I'll be leaving for the office now to take care of the house, okay?" The Chief responded.

Oscar had no idea. Chief G always carried a pistol on it for defense, and unluckily, the Chief wasn't out of the premises yet. Oscar succeeded in taking pictures of the money and drugs in the forbidden room and sent it to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the EFCC. Just when he was about to run away, the Chief came through the door, catching him in the act.

In a fight between Oscar and the Chief, Oscar got shot in the belly and died on the spot.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission later apprehended Chief G with the evidence sent by Oscar. He was arrested, and Oscar's body was retrieved from the Chief's bathroom in a pool of blood.

Justice was served but Oscar's life was lost in the process.