Chapter 691

A few days had passed since Dayo had sat across from Michael.

The meeting had ended exactly the way he wanted it to. Michael had finally understood that the man he once considered insignificant was now sitting outside the reach of every favor, threat, and private arrangement he had spent years building. Dayo had left the police station without raising his voice, without touching him, and without giving Michael anything he could use to claim that Dayo had come there looking for revenge.

Since then, life had continued moving around him.

There were still calls to answer, meetings to attend, schedules to manage, and people at JD Records asking for decisions that could not wait simply because Dayo’s mind was somewhere else. He dealt with all of it, but whenever the noise stopped, his thoughts went back to Jennifer.

That afternoon, he was sitting alone in his living room with his phone in his hand. The screen showed a picture of his daughter that Abishola had sent him earlier reminding him of the of visit he promised her. In the picture Jennifer was sitting on the floor, looking away from the camera with the serious expression she sometimes wore when she was concentrating on something only she understood.

Dayo stared at the picture for a long time.

He missed her.

He wanted to pick her up, hold her against his chest, hear her voice without a phone between them, and simply sit beside her without worrying about who might be watching. There were moments when he almost called Luna without thinking, only to stop himself before the call could begin.

He knew why.

Until Michael and Silas were dealt with properly, Luna was not willing to bring Jennifer back into his home and into his life. She had made that clear. Dayo could understand her decision even though it hurt.

His phone vibrated.

Dayo glanced at the screen and saw an unfamiliar number.

He answered. "Hello?"

"Mr. Dayo?" The voice was professional. "This is David Whitmore."

Dayo smiled while resting his back. "Yes, Mr Whitmore."

"I wanted to let you know that your request has been approved. The arrangements have been made, and you can come in."

Dayo was quiet for a moment.

"Everything is settled?"

"Yes. You will be allowed to meet him under supervision. Nothing outside the approved conditions will be permitted."

"I understand."

Whitmore paused before continuing. "There is something else I wanted to discuss with you before you arrive."

Dayo already knew what it was likely to be. "Go ahead."

"You were very clear in your request that you wanted this handled properly. I appreciate that. I also appreciate that you have not spoken publicly about the custody issue involving Mr. Vane."

Dayo looked down at Jennifer’s picture again. "I told you I wouldn’t."

"I know. I’m simply making sure we’re still clear."

"We are."

Whitmore seemed satisfied. "Good. Then come when you’re ready."

The call ended.

Dayo placed the phone on the table and looked once more at Jennifer’s picture before locking the screen. He stayed there for another minute, then stood.

He knew this was the last meeting he needed to have before he could start thinking seriously about seeing his daughter again.

The IRS facility was quieter than the police station had been.

There were fewer people moving through the building, fewer voices in the corridors, and a stricter sense of procedure in every step. Dayo was checked in, his identity confirmed, and after a short wait, he was escorted to a private office where David Whitmore was waiting.

Whitmore stood when Dayo entered.

"Mr. Dayo."

"Mr. Whitmore."

They shook hands briefly before taking their seats.

Whitmore opened a folder but did not immediately look down at it. "I read what you sent. Most of it was useful. Some of it raised questions we are still working through."

"That’s expected."

"You understand that I can’t tell you what the investigation has established."

"I didn’t come for that."

Whitmore studied him for a moment. "Then what did you come for?"

"I wanted to make sure you were willing to do your job without interference."

Whitmore leaned back slightly. "We are."

"Good."

The older man folded his hands on the desk. "You have been unusually careful about how you’ve handled this."

"I’ve made mistakes."

"I’m not talking about your personal life. I’m talking about the evidence."

Dayo did not answer.

Whitmore continued, "You could have taken some of this to the media. You didn’t. You could have released information that would have caused a public scandal before we had time to verify anything. You didn’t do that either."

Dayo looked at him calmly. "I wanted the evidence to matter more than the story."

Whitmore nodded slowly although not fully believing Dayo. "That was the right decision."

For a moment, neither man spoke. The room remained quiet except for the faint sound of activity beyond the closed door.

"There is one thing I don’t understand," Whitmore said eventually. "You were very persistent about Mr. Vane."

Dayo’s expression did not change.

"You supplied evidence concerning several people, several transactions, several structures. But you were particularly determined that we look at him carefully. I don’t need to know everything, but I’d like to understand why."

Dayo leaned back in his chair.

"I have told you all you need to know."

Whitmore waited.

Dayo did not elaborate.

The answer was enough to tell Whitmore that he was not going to get the rest.

After a few seconds, the IRS official accepted it. "Fair enough."

Dayo stood.

Whitmore remained seated. "One more thing."

Dayo stopped.

"I expect you to keep your word about what happened inside custody."

Dayo looked back at him. "You don’t have anything to worry about."

Whitmore’s shoulders relaxed slightly. "Thank you."

Dayo gave him a small nod. "Just do your job properly."

"We will."

"Then that’s all I need."

Whitmore watched him leave the office.

He did not know who the anonymous source really was or he knew and didn’t want to admit.

He only knew that whoever had supplied the information had understood the network far better than most people ever could. That fact bothered him enough to make a note to himself that he would eventually want to know more.

For now, though, the investigation came first.

Dayo was escorted through another corridor and toward the meeting area.

Inside the holding section, Silas Vane had already been told that he had a visitor.

He smiled when he heard it.

"Interesting."

The officer standing outside the room did not respond.

Silas had been told very clearly that he would not be receiving visitors. His lawyers had already complained about the restrictions, and he had spent enough time demanding explanations to know that the rules were being enforced more tightly than he expected.

Yet now someone had come to see him.

He sat in the designated room and looked at the officer with an expression that carried more confidence than the situation deserved.

"I thought you people said I wasn’t receiving visitors."

The officer checked something on the tablet in his hand.

Silas waited.

Nothing came.

He leaned back in his chair. "Who is it?"

The officer opened the door.

Before Silas could complain again, his wrists were secured.

His expression changed immediately.

"Why are you doing that? I’m here for a meeting."

The officer said nothing.

Silas looked down at the restraints, then back at him. "I don’t need to be restrained."

There was still no answer.

The door opened again.

Silas turned toward it, expecting a lawyer, perhaps someone from his business circle, or possibly an official who had decided to negotiate privately.

Then he saw Dayo.

For several seconds, Silas simply stared.

The confidence on his face disappeared so quickly that even he seemed unable to hide it.

"Dayo?"

Dayo walked into the room without rushing. He looked at Silas for a moment before taking the seat opposite him.

Silas remained still.

His mind was already moving.

It could not be him.

There was no reason for Dayo to be here.

Unless...

His eyes moved toward the officer and then back to Dayo.

Dayo saw the realization beginning to form.

"Yes," he said quietly.

Silas’s face hardened. "You."

Dayo settled into his chair. "Me."

Silas leaned forward. "What are you doing here?"

"You already know."

"No, I don’t."

"You do."

Silas stared at him, trying to hold onto the last piece of certainty he had left. "You think you did this?"

Dayo said nothing.

Silas’s voice became sharper. "You think you brought all of this down?"

Dayo looked directly at him. "I supplied the evidence."

The room went quiet.

Silas stared at him.

For a moment, it looked as if he had forgotten what he wanted to say.

Then he laughed once, but there was no humor in it. "You’re lying."

"I’m not."

"You couldn’t have done that."

"I did."

Silas pushed himself back in his chair. "How?"

Dayo watched him carefully. "Does it matter?"

"It matters to me."

"I know."

Silas’s voice rose. "You were nobody when this started."

Dayo did not react.

"You were an artist trying to make a name for yourself. Michael was already established. I was already established. You think you suddenly became powerful enough to do all of this?"

"I didn’t need to become more powerful than you."

Silas stared at him.

"I only needed enough evidence for the right people to start asking questions," Dayo continued. "After that, they could do their jobs."

Silas shook his head. "You don’t understand what you’ve done."

"I understand exactly what I’ve done."

"You’ve attacked a network that took decades to build."

"I know."

"You’ve interfered with businesses you don’t understand."

"I know."

"You’ve touched people you don’t know."

Dayo’s voice remained calm. "And you touched my family."

Silas stopped.

That was the first time the conversation seemed to land somewhere he did not want it to go.

Dayo leaned slightly forward.

"You couldn’t beat me in business. You couldn’t control what I was becoming. You couldn’t get inside my head, so you went after the people around me. You used other people to do your work because you didn’t want your own hands near it."

Silas’s face tightened.

"You used Michael for more than twenty years," Dayo continued. "You kept him close because he was useful. You gave him enough power to do what you wanted and enough fear to make sure he never forgot who was above him."

"Be careful."

"I am."

Silas hit the table with both hands as far as the restraints allowed. "You have no idea what you’re talking about!"

Dayo stayed where he was.

The officer near the door remained silent.

Silas continued shouting, throwing accusations at him, demanding to know who else had been involved and how much information Dayo had given investigators. He demanded lawyers, demanded answers, demanded that the meeting end, and then demanded that it continue when nobody moved to take him away.

Dayo let him exhaust himself.

Eventually, Silas’s voice dropped.

He stared across the table.

"Okay."

Dayo waited.

"Things have gone badly. I accept that." Silas swallowed and tried to steady his voice. "But there is no reason for us to keep doing this."

"We’re not doing anything."

"We can fix it."

"No."

"You haven’t even heard what I’m offering."

"I don’t need to."

Silas stared at him. "Money."

Dayo remained silent.

"I can give you money. A lot of it. More than you could spend in your lifetime."

"No."

"Then companies. Shares. Distribution rights. Whatever you want."

"No."

Silas leaned closer as far as the restraints allowed. "You want control? I’ll give you control. You want access? I’ll give you access. You want a career? I can make sure every major market opens for you."

Dayo’s expression remained unchanged.

Silas’s voice became almost pleading. "Tell me what you want."

Dayo finally answered.

"I want you to sit down and watch."

Silas stared at him.

"That’s it."

"You want me to watch what?"

"Everything."

Dayo’s voice remained quiet, but there was no uncertainty in it. "Your accounts will be reviewed. Your companies will be reviewed. Your transactions will be reviewed. Your connections will be questioned. Anything that belongs to you that can be examined will be examined."

Silas swallowed.

"You don’t have to believe me," Dayo said. "You can wait here and find out."

"I still have people."

"Some of them are already distancing themselves."

Silas looked away for a second.

Dayo continued, "You know what happens when people realize you’re no longer useful. They stop answering. They stop visiting. They stop taking your calls. They suddenly become very busy."

Silas’s face changed.

He knew.

He had already seen it.

For years, people had rushed to him because they needed something. Now the same people were afraid that being too close to him would bring attention to themselves.

Michael’s cooperation had made that worse.

Anyone who tried to stand beside Silas now had to wonder what investigators might find by following them.

Silas looked back at Dayo. "You did this."

"I gave them evidence."

"Same thing."

"No. It isn’t."

Silas shook his head. "You think you are different from me?"

"I know I am."

The answer came without anger.

Silas looked at him for a long moment before speaking again. "What happens to my family?"

Dayo’s expression hardened slightly.

"Nothing."

Silas seemed surprised.

"I’m not going after your family," Dayo said. "I told Michael the same thing."

Silas stared at him.

"You hurt my family," Dayo continued. "I could return that pain. I could spend my time looking for ways to make your daughter suffer because you care about her."

Silas’s entire expression changed.

"Don’t."

"I’m not going to."

"Don’t you dare talk about my daughter."

"I’m not threatening her."

Silas’s voice dropped. "Then don’t mention her."

Dayo looked at him steadily. "I’m mentioning her because I want you to understand the difference between us."

Silas’s breathing became uneven.

"I could do what you did," Dayo said. "I could decide that hurting innocent people is acceptable because I hate the person standing in front of me. I’m not doing that."

Silas stared at the table.

Dayo continued, "Your family is not my target. You are."

Silas slowly raised his head.

"And even then," Dayo said, "I’m not going to personally destroy you. I don’t need to."

The silence returned.

Silas looked older now.

Not because of his age, but because the confidence that had always protected him was gone.

"You can’t take everything from me," he said quietly.

Dayo stood.

Silas looked up at him.

"I don’t have to."

Dayo moved toward the door.

Silas watched him, unable to decide whether to shout again or remain silent.

Before Dayo left, he turned back.

"You spent years making other people watch while you decided what happened to their lives. Now you’re going to learn what that feels like."

Silas said nothing.

Dayo opened the door and walked out.

The door closed behind him.

Silas remained in the chair with his hands restrained in front of him.

For the first time in a very long time, there was nothing he could buy.

There was no call he could make.

No person he could order to solve the problem.

No subordinate he could sacrifice.

No private meeting he could arrange.

All he could do was wait.

Outside, Dayo was escorted back toward the main area of the facility. David Whitmore was waiting near the corridor.

"How did it go?" Whitmore asked.

Dayo stopped beside him. "He tried to negotiate."

Whitmore looked at him carefully. "And?"

"I refused."

The official gave a small nod. "I expected that."

Dayo glanced toward the corridor behind him. "Just follow the evidence."

"We will."

"That’s all."

Whitmore watched him leave.

He still had questions about the man who had supplied the evidence. Those questions could wait. For now, the case mattered more than the person behind it.

Outside the facility, Felix was waiting beside the car.

The moment Dayo approached, Felix opened the door for him before returning to the driver’s seat.

For a few minutes, neither of them spoke.

Eventually, Felix glanced at him through the mirror. "How was he?"

Dayo looked out through the window.

"Angry."

Felix waited.

"Then he tried to make a deal."

That brought a short laugh from Felix. "Of course he did."

Dayo finally looked toward him. "He offered money, companies, connections, everything he thought I might want."

"And you?"

"I told him no."

Felix smiled to himself. "I wish I could have seen his face."

Dayo looked back out of the window.

"He was broken."

The car moved into traffic.

For the first time since Jennifer had been taken, Dayo felt that one of the two men responsible for what happened to his family could no longer reach him.

Michael was finished.

Silas was finished.

Neither of them knew exactly how everything would end, and Dayo did not know either. That part belonged to the police, the IRS, investigators, lawyers, courts, banks, and every institution now examining the evidence.

Dayo had done what he needed to do.

Now he wanted his daughter back.