Chapter 692: ....

Dayo was sitting with Felix when his phone rang.

He had been quiet for most of the drive, looking through messages without really reading them. The last few days had been strange in a way he had not expected. Michael was still in custody, Silas was still being held separately, and both investigations were moving forward without Dayo having to push them every hour. For the first time in a while, there was no immediate crisis demanding his attention.

That should have made things easier.

Instead, he kept thinking about Jennifer.

He opened a picture of her on his phone and stared at it for longer than he intended. She was smiling in the photograph, one hand holding a toy while the other was raised toward whoever had taken the picture. Dayo knew exactly how she felt when she was tired, how she became impatient when she wanted something and adults took too long to understand her, and how she sometimes leaned against him without saying anything when she simply wanted to be close.

He missed that.

Felix noticed where his attention had gone but did not interrupt. The car was quiet except for the low sound of the road beneath them. When the phone rang again, Dayo glanced at the screen and saw his mother’s name.

He answered.

"Hello, Mum."

"Where are you?"

"With Felix. We’re just heading back."

Abisola paused for a moment, then asked, "And Jennifer?"

Dayo looked out through the window. "What about her?"

"You haven’t said anything about seeing her. I thought maybe something had changed."

He knew immediately what she meant. His mother had been patient, but patience did not mean she had forgotten. She had seen Jennifer on a video call, she knew what had happened to her, and she wanted to meet her granddaughter properly.

"Nothing has changed yet," Dayo said. "Things are still complicated."

Abisola was quiet for a moment. "Dayo, I understand that. I’m not asking you to fight with anybody. I just want to see the child."

"I know."

"You keep saying you know."

Dayo smiled faintly despite himself. "Because I do know."

"Then do something about it. If you can’t go yourself, at least ask."

The call ended a few minutes later after Abisola reminded him that she was not asking for anything unreasonable. Dayo placed the phone on his leg and remained quiet.

Felix glanced at him from the front.

"Your mother?"

"Yes."

"What did she want?"

"Jennifer."

Felix did not say anything immediately. He knew enough about the situation to understand that the answer was more complicated than the word suggested.

Dayo picked up his phone again. He opened his messages and found Luna’s name.

For several seconds he simply looked at it.

Calling her felt too direct. He did not want the conversation to turn into another argument, and he did not want Luna to think he was using his mother as an excuse to pressure her into letting him see Jennifer. That was not what this was.

His mother wanted to see her granddaughter.

That was all.

He began typing.

"Mum has been asking about Jennifer. She wants to see her. I know things are still complicated between us, so I’m not asking you to bring her to me. If you’re comfortable with it, maybe you can speak to your mother and arrange for them to meet."

He read the message twice before sending it.

There was no immediate response.

Dayo put the phone down and looked ahead again. Felix kept driving without asking what he had written.

A few minutes later, the phone vibrated.

Luna had replied.

"Thanks. I understand. I’ll speak to Mum."

Dayo read the message once.

"That’s it?" Felix asked.

"That’s it."

Felix looked at him briefly. "Are you disappointed?"

"No. I didn’t ask her for anything else."

That was true. Dayo had wanted to say more, but he stopped himself. He wanted to see Jennifer badly enough that every part of him wanted to push. He could have asked Luna when he would be allowed to see his daughter, or reminded her how much he had done to protect her, or explained again that he had never wanted Jennifer involved in any of what happened.

None of that would change how Luna felt.

He put the phone away.

"Let’s leave it there."

Across the city, Luna was still sitting in her parents’ house when her mother’s voice came from the other side of the room.

"Luna."

Luna looked up from her phone. She had been reading Dayo’s message again, not because she was confused about what he meant, but because she was trying to decide what she felt about it.

Her mother stood near the doorway with a cup of tea in one hand.

"What did he say?"

Luna hesitated before answering. "His mother wants to see Jennifer."

Her mother sat down opposite her. "Abisola?"

"Yes."

"I thought she would."

Luna placed the phone beside her. "She has been asking about her."

"And what did you tell Dayo?"

"That I would speak to you."

Her mother studied her daughter for a moment before taking a sip of tea.

"Are you really punishing him like this?"

Luna’s expression changed immediately. "Mum, don’t start."

"I’m not starting anything. I’m asking you."

"You know what happened."

"I know exactly what happened."

"Then you understand why I don’t want Jennifer moving around unnecessarily."

Her mother leaned back. "I understand that you are angry with Dayo. I understand that he made a serious mistake and that Jennifer was caught in something she should never have been near. But Luna, you cannot use the child to punish her father."

"I’m not punishing him."

"Then what are you doing?"

Luna looked away for a moment. She knew the question was not going to disappear simply because she refused to answer it.

"I’m trying to protect her."

"I know."

"He put her in that situation."

"Yes, he did."

The agreement caught Luna off guard. She had expected an argument, not agreement.

Her mother continued, "I’m not defending what he did. He knows what he did. You know what he did. Everybody who matters knows. But that doesn’t mean you can decide that he should not see his daughter."

Luna’s voice became quieter. "It’s not that simple."

"Nothing about this has been simple."

"He could have kept her away from all of this."

"He should have."

Luna looked back at her mother. "Exactly."

Her mother placed the cup on the table. "And he has spent the time since then trying to fix what he broke. You know that too."

Luna did not answer.

"You told me he was dealing with Michael and Silas. You told me what he did to make sure Jennifer was safe. You told me he went through the proper authorities instead of taking matters into his own hands."

"I know."

"Then you know he is not sitting somewhere pretending nothing happened."

Luna looked down at her hands. "That doesn’t erase it."

"No, it doesn’t."

Her mother paused, giving her time to absorb that.

"You don’t have to forgive him because I’m telling you to. You don’t have to go back to him because he is sorry. If you are not ready for that, then you are not ready. But Jennifer is his daughter, Luna. You cannot take that away from him because you are still hurt."

Luna swallowed and looked toward the window.

The house was quiet. Her father’s voice could be heard faintly from another room, speaking on the phone. Somewhere upstairs, one of the doors opened and closed.

"I just don’t want to make another mistake," Luna said.

Her mother’s voice softened. "Then don’t make the decision because you’re angry. Make it because you believe it is best for Jennifer."

Luna sat with that for several seconds.

She knew her mother was right about one thing. Dayo had made mistakes, terrible ones, and she was still not ready to forget them. She was still not ready to return home. She was still not sure whether the relationship they had before everything happened could ever come back in the same form.

But none of that changed the fact that Jennifer loved her father.

Luna knew it.

Her mother knew it.

Dayo knew it.

"I’ll speak to you later about it," Luna said.

Her mother gave a small nod. "That’s fine. Do what you think is right."

"Thanks, Mum."

Her mother stood and picked up her cup. Before leaving, she stopped at the doorway and looked back at Luna.

"Just don’t confuse making him suffer with protecting your daughter."

Luna did not respond.

Once her mother left, she picked up the phone again and opened Dayo’s message. She read it one more time, then locked the screen without replying.

She was not ready to tell him anything else yet.

Back in the car, Dayo had moved on to another concern.

He looked across at Felix. "What are they saying inside?"

Felix understood immediately. "About the investigations?"

"Yes. Especially Michael."

Felix took a moment before answering. "His hearing is getting close."

Dayo turned toward him. "How close?"

"Close enough that the lawyers are preparing seriously now. The evidence is being organized, the financial records are being reviewed, and the prosecutors are working through what Michael has given them since he started cooperating."

"Is he still cooperating?"

"As far as I know, yes. But that doesn’t mean everything he says is accepted."

Dayo nodded slowly. "Some of it still has to be checked."

"Exactly. He can tell them anything he wants. They still have to prove what is true."

Dayo looked through the window again. "Do you think he’ll get out?"

Felix did not answer immediately.

"I don’t know what the court will do," he said finally. "Neither do you. Michael hasn’t been convicted. The hearing is where they start putting everything in front of the court properly."

Dayo understood.

He had spent weeks watching evidence move through institutions. He had learned that once he handed something over, it stopped belonging to him. Investigators had to examine it. Lawyers would challenge it. Records would be compared. Witnesses could be questioned. The people accused would have the right to defend themselves.

That was the difference between revenge and what he had chosen.

"I heard his lawyers are going to challenge some of the evidence," Dayo said.

"They probably will. That’s their job."

"And the cooperation?"

"It may help him in some areas. It doesn’t erase the allegations."

Dayo leaned back in his seat. "What about the kidnapping?"

Felix looked at him. "That part is going to be serious."

Dayo remained quiet.

The thought of Jennifer being taken still changed something inside him whenever it came up. He could talk about the evidence, the investigations, Michael’s cooperation and Silas’s refusal without showing much emotion, but Jennifer was different.

Felix seemed to understand that.

"The hearing won’t be about you," he said. "You need to remember that."

Dayo looked at him.

Felix continued, "You gave them evidence. You gave them information. But once the case reaches court, it’s their process. Don’t go there expecting the judge to see it the way you see it."

"I don’t."

"Good."

"I just want the truth to stay in the room."

Felix looked forward again. "That’s what everyone says they want. The difficult part is proving it."

Dayo smiled faintly. "You always know how to make things sound simple."

"I’m not trying to make it simple."

The car continued through the afternoon traffic. Dayo checked his phone again, but there was still no message from Luna.

He did not send another one.

Instead, he called his mother.

She answered almost immediately.

"Did she say yes?"

"Not yet."

Abisola made a small sound. "And you already asked?"

"I did."

"Good."

"She said she’ll speak to her mother."

"Then leave it."

Dayo smiled. "That’s what I planned to do."

"Don’t sound surprised. I know you."

He leaned back in the seat. "Mum, I just want you to see her."

"I know."

"I miss her."

"I know that too."

Abisola’s voice softened. "Dayo, you will see your daughter. Don’t make every day harder because you are impatient."

He closed his eyes for a moment.

"Okay."

"And when you do see her, don’t start telling her all the things you have been through. She doesn’t need that."

"I wasn’t going to."

"Good. Just hold her."

That sentence stayed with him after the call ended.

Felix glanced at him. "What did she say?"

"She told me to stop trying to control everything."

Felix smiled slightly. "Your mother has been trying to teach you that for years."

Dayo looked at him. "She has."

The rest of the drive passed quietly.

That evening, Luna remained at her parents’ house.

Jennifer was asleep upstairs by the time Luna’s mother came back into the room. She had checked on the child a few minutes earlier and closed the door quietly behind her.

Luna was still sitting in the same place.

Her mother looked at her and did not ask whether she had made a decision.

Instead, she sat beside her.

"She’s asleep."

"I know."

"You should sleep too."

"I will."

Neither woman spoke for a while.

Luna finally picked up her phone and opened the message from Dayo. Her mother noticed but said nothing.

"I don’t know what to do," Luna admitted.

"You don’t have to decide tonight."

"He wants his mother to see Jennifer."

"I know."

"And if I say yes, that doesn’t mean I’m forgiving him."

"No."

"It doesn’t mean I’m coming back."

"No."

Luna looked at her mother. "Then why does it feel like it means something?"

Her mother thought about the question before answering.

"Because it does mean something. It means you are separating Jennifer from the fight between you and Dayo."

Luna looked down at the phone again.

She did not like how much sense that made.

"I still don’t trust him completely."

"You don’t have to."

"I still love him."

Her mother remained quiet.

Luna’s voice became softer. "That’s the problem."

Her mother reached for her hand and held it.

"You don’t have to solve your whole marriage tonight. You only have to decide what is right for your daughter."

Luna sat there for a long time.

Eventually, she opened her messages and began typing to her mother.

She stopped.

Deleted what she had written.

Then she placed the phone face down.

"I’ll think about it."

"That’s enough."

The next morning, Dayo woke to a message from Felix confirming that the court schedule had been finalized.

Michael’s hearing was approaching.

He read the message while sitting at the edge of his bed, then looked toward the empty side of the room.

There were two things he wanted now.

One was already moving beyond his control.

The other was still waiting behind a decision Luna had not yet made.

Dayo put the phone down and sat quietly for a moment.

He had spent months trying to fix things by moving faster than everyone else. Now he was learning that some things could not be forced into place.

The court would handle Michael.

The investigators would handle Silas.

Luna would decide when she was ready.

And Jennifer would still be his daughter whether he saw her that day or not.

For now, Dayo had to let the people around him make their own decisions.

The next battle would happen in a courtroom, where money, influence and fear would have to face evidence in front of people who could not simply be threatened into silence.

Dayo stood and reached for his jacket.

This time, he would watch.