Chapter 669: We have your daughter

Wayne was still staring at Dayo when the room seemed to lose its ordinary shape.

"I didn’t send that message," Wayne said again. "I swear I didn’t."

Dayo looked at the phone on Wayne’s desk, then at Wayne. The message was still there on his own screen. He had read it several times on the drive back, but seeing Wayne standing in front of him made it harder to explain.

"You’re sure?"

Wayne picked up his own phone and checked the screen. "I didn’t even see anything come through. My phone has been here the whole time."

Dayo reached for the chair beside the desk and pulled it out without sitting.

Something was wrong.

His mind went back to the moment he had left the office. He had been on his way home. Luna had called to tell him she was going to the meeting, Bella had called about the emergency with her brother, and Jennifer was supposed to be at home under protection.

Then the message had arrived.

He had turned around.

Dayo stopped moving.

"Jennifer."

Wayne looked at him. "What?"

"Where is Luna?" Asked already knowing the answer.

"She went out, didn’t she?"

Dayo was already reaching for his phone.

He called Luna.

The call rang.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

There was no answer.

He tried again.

Nothing.

A few minutes earlier, he had been irritated that Wayne had pulled him back to the office for what he thought was an emergency. Now the irritation was gone. He could feel something much colder settling in its place.

Fear.

Dayo called Bella.

The call rang as well.

No answer.

He lowered the phone and looked at Wayne.

"I’m going home."

Wayne stepped away from the desk. "Dayo, what are you thinking?"

"I don’t know yet."

That was the truth he did not wait for anyone else.

By the time he reached the parking area, his pace had changed completely. The driver who normally waited for him was already moving toward the car, but Dayo took the keys from him.

"I’ll drive."

The man started to object. "Sir, security is—"

"I said I’ll drive."

He got into the car and pulled away before the rest of the security detail had properly positioned themselves.

The first stretch of road was controlled.

After that, it wasn’t.

Dayo drove faster than he normally would, changing lanes whenever traffic gave him even a small opening. Cars moved across his path, horns sounded behind him, and more than once he had to brake hard when someone pulled out without warning.

He knew he was driving dangerously but he also knew he could not make himself slow down.

His hands stayed fixed on the wheel while he called Felix through the car system.

Felix answered after the second ring.

"Dayo?"

"Wayne’s phone was compromised."

There was a pause on the other end. Felix’s voice changed immediately. "What happened?"

"I got a message from Wayne telling me to come back to the office. Wayne didn’t send it."

"Did he still have his phone?"

"Yes."

"Give me the time you received it."

Dayo told him.

Felix was already typing.

"Don’t call anyone else from the phone if you don’t have to," he said. "I’m checking the account and the device activity now."

"Find out what happened."

"I’ll tell you what I can find. I don’t want to guess."

Dayo accelerated again as he passed a slow-moving truck.

"Felix."

"I know I would be fast."

The line went quiet for several seconds except for the faint sound of Felix working.

Dayo kept his attention on the road. He knew these streets well enough that he did not need to think about every turn. His thoughts were somewhere else.

Jennifer had been asleep when he left.

Luna had been preparing to go to the meeting.

Bella had been with them but had to leave due to emergency.

Everything had been normal.

That was what bothered him most.

Felix came back on the line.

"I’ve got something."

"What?"

"The message was sent from Wayne’s account, but the normal device pattern doesn’t match. Someone got access to the account or the phone connection around the time the message went out."

Dayo tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

"Can you see who did it?"

"No. Not from this. Whoever got in didn’t stay long enough to leave something obvious. They sent the message and stopped."

"So it was deliberate."

"Yes."

Dayo said nothing as this changes everything.

Felix continued, "The timing matters. Whoever did this wanted the message to reach you at that exact point. They knew you were likely to respond to Wayne."

"Meaning they wanted me back at the office."

"That is how it looks."

Dayo stared at the road ahead.

"Keep looking."

"I am."

The call remained connected, but neither man spoke for a while.

Dayo took another turn too quickly and had to correct the car before it drifted toward the edge of the lane. A horn sounded behind him. He ignored it.

His phone showed another missed call attempt to Luna.

Still nothing.

He called again.

The ringing continued until the system ended the call.

"Pick up," he muttered, barely aware that he had spoken.

Nothing came back.

Felix heard him.

"Is Luna with Jennifer?"

"I don’t know."

That answer frightened him more than anything Felix had said.

Dayo pushed the car harder.

When he finally turned onto his street, he knew something was wrong before he reached the house.

The gate was open.

The security position was empty.

Dayo slowed for less than a second before pulling the car inside.

He stopped near the entrance, got out and looked toward the small security building beside the gate.

"Where is he?"

No one answered.

Dayo walked quickly toward the security area and called the guard’s phone.

The sound came from inside.

He stopped.

The phone was ringing on a chair.

The guard was nowhere in sight.

Dayo opened the door and saw the device lying beside a half-finished bottle of water. He picked it up, looked around the small room and immediately moved back toward the house.

His breathing had changed.

He knew the signs even if he wanted to deny.

Years ago, during his military service, he had learned that panic could make a person slower if they allowed it to take control. He had no interest in being calm now, but he forced himself to keep thinking.

He entered the house.

"Jennifer?" he called out even though he knew Jennifer is too young to answer.

There was no answer or any form of noise.

Dayo moved through the downstairs rooms first, calling her name again. The kitchen was empty. The sitting room was empty. Nothing had been disturbed.

He took the stairs two at a time.

Jennifer’s room was at the end of the hallway.

The door was open.

The crib was empty.

For several seconds he simply stood there.

A small blanket lay across one side.

One of Jennifer’s toys was on the floor.

The room looked exactly as it had looked that morning.

Except his daughter was gone.

"No."

He crossed the room quickly and checked the bathroom, the adjoining room, the closet, every place a child could possibly have been moved to. He knew how irrational the search was, but he searched anyway.

Nothing.

Dayo pulled out his phone.

Luna.

Again.

The call rang.

Again, no answer.

He tried once more.

Still nothing.

His hand lowered slowly.

Luna was at the meeting.

Bella was supposed to be with Jennifer but she was called for an emergency.

The guard was missing.

Jennifer was gone.

Then his eyes moved toward the corner of the room.

The camera.

He remembered.

Dayo left the room and went straight to the security monitor system.

The house cameras were connected to the internal security network. He brought up the footage from the front gate and moved the timeline back.

The image showed the driveway.

Nothing happened for several minutes.

Then a delivery vehicle appeared.

Dayo watched it stop outside the gate.

A man in a delivery uniform got out carrying a package.

The guard came into view.

There was nothing unusual about his behavior. He opened the small gate section and approached the delivery man.

Dayo leaned closer to the screen.

The delivery man said something.

The guard looked down at the package.

Then, as he turned slightly, another man came into the camera’s field of view.

The attack happened quickly.

The guard was struck from behind and dropped out of sight.

Two more men entered.

Dayo stared at the screen.

They moved with purpose.

There was no hesitation, no confusion about where they were going.

One stayed near the gate while the others moved toward the house.

The delivery vehicle remained outside for a short time before moving away.

Dayo replayed the footage.

Then he watched it again.

The disguise.

The timing.

The guard being taken out before he could raise an alarm.

The others entering immediately.

This had not been an impulsive break-in.

Someone had planned it as his mind spin

His phone rang he looked at the screen it was an Unknown number.

He almost ignored it. Instead, he answered cause he felt it was odd not many people know this his number.

"Hello?"

There was no greeting from the other side.

A man’s voice came through, calm and unfamiliar.

"We have your daughter."

The call ended.