Chapter 672 - 10 Million

The voice on the phone repeated the instruction, making sure Dayo understood the deadline and the consequences if he failed to follow it.

"You have ten million dollars. You will transfer it through the wallet we gave you. Do not try to contact the police. Do not try to track us through the payment. Once the transfer is confirmed, you will receive further instructions."

Dayo sat at the dining table with the phone pressed to his ear, staring at the empty chair across from him. The house was still being searched by security personnel, but nobody was moving quickly anymore. They had already checked the rooms twice. Jennifer was gone, and everyone in the house knew it.

"I need proof that she’s alive," Dayo said.

There was a pause on the other end.

"You’ll get it."

"I want it before I transfer anything."

The man took a moment before answering. "You’ll get a recent video. After that, you make the payment."

Dayo agreed.

The call ended.

For several seconds, he remained where he was. The first call had left him barely able to think. This time was different. He was still afraid, but his mind had started working again.

They wanted ten million dollars.

That was a lot of money, even for him. He could afford it, but that was not what mattered. The important thing was that they had made a demand instead of killing Jennifer or disappearing with her without contact.

They needed something from him.

Dayo looked toward Felix, who was standing beside the dining room window with his laptop open.

"They want the money first," Dayo said.

Felix closed the laptop halfway. "Did they say how?"

"They sent a wallet address. They’ll send proof that Jennifer is alive before I transfer it."

Felix moved closer. "Let me see the instructions."

Dayo handed him the phone. Felix read through the message carefully, then copied the wallet address into his own system.

"Cryptocurrency," Felix said quietly. "That gives us something to watch, at least."

"Can you trace it?"

"Maybe. I wouldn’t count on it." Felix returned the phone. "If these people know what they’re doing, the wallet may be new. They could move the money through several addresses before anyone gets close to the final destination."

Dayo already knew that.

"Try anyway."

"I will."

Dayo reached for his own phone and called the financial team he trusted with his personal assets. He didn’t need to explain the entire situation over the phone. He simply told them he needed ten million dollars made available immediately and gave them the instructions for the transfer.

There was some hesitation on the other end when the amount was mentioned, but nobody questioned whether he could afford it. His personal wealth was large enough that ten million dollars could be moved without putting JD Records or any of his companies in danger.

The problem was not finding the money.

The problem was getting Jennifer back.

Felix stayed beside him while the financial team prepared the transfer. His attention moved between the wallet information, the security footage and the timeline he had started building.

"There’s something I want to check," Felix said after a while.

Dayo looked at him.

"The vehicle."

"The delivery vehicle?"

"Yes. We know it was part of the setup. I want the plate number, the route and every camera that might have caught it before it reached your street."

"We already know the plate might be false."

"I know. I’m checking anyway."

Dayo gave him a brief nod. "Do it."

Felix turned back to the laptop.

A notification came through on Dayo’s phone.

The kidnappers had sent the proof.

He opened the video.

Jennifer was asleep.

The image was dark, but her face was clear enough. She was lying on a bed under a small blanket, breathing normally. The camera moved slightly, showing enough of the room to prove that the video had been recorded recently.

Dayo watched it twice.

He didn’t see any obvious injuries.

That was all he needed.

He sent the confirmation that he had received it.

The next message contained the final payment instructions.

Felix looked over as Dayo opened them.

"They want you to transfer the full amount at once."

"I expected that."

"There’s no reason for them to split it."

Dayo entered the amount.

Ten million dollars.

He stopped for a moment before confirming.

Money could be replaced.

Jennifer could not.

He completed the transfer.

The screen changed.

The payment had been sent.

Felix immediately began watching the transaction.

"Give me the transaction hash," he said.

Dayo forwarded it.

Felix entered it into the monitoring system and began following the movement of the funds.

"First confirmation is coming through," he said. "Let’s wait."

Dayo stood behind him.

Neither man spoke for several seconds.

Another confirmation appeared.

Felix leaned closer to the screen. "It’s confirmed."

Dayo picked up the phone and sent the transaction confirmation to the intermediary.

The reply came almost immediately.

Payment received.

Dayo read the message and called the number.

The intermediary answered.

"Where is my daughter?"

"You’ll receive the next instruction."

"I’ve paid you."

"We know."

"Then tell me where she is."

"Your daughter is safe. Follow the instructions and she stays safe."

The call ended.

Dayo lowered the phone.

Felix looked at him from behind the laptop.

"They’re not releasing her."

"I know."

The answer came quietly.

That was the part that bothered Dayo most.

The money had been the first demand. He had completed it. If the kidnapping had really been about money, the next step should have been the release.

Instead, they had kept Jennifer and moved on to another instruction.

Dayo walked back toward the table and sat down.

"They want something else."

Felix closed the transaction screen and opened the timeline again. "That’s what I was thinking."

Dayo rubbed his forehead once, then looked toward the security team gathered in the next room.

"Keep working on the vehicle. Keep checking the cameras. Look at the payment too."

Felix glanced at him. "The payment may take time."

"I know."

"If they move it quickly, we may only get fragments."

"Then get the fragments."

Felix gave him a serious look. "I will."

Dayo picked up the phone again.

He was calmer now.

That did not mean he was less afraid. It meant he had accepted that panic would not bring Jennifer back. The kidnappers had already shown that they could control the situation when he reacted emotionally. He needed to stop giving them that advantage.

His special forces training had taught him to separate fear from action.

Jennifer made that difficult.

Still, he could do it.

"Felix," he said, "they expected me to pay."

"Probably."

"They knew I could."

Felix looked up from the screen.

Dayo continued, "The amount wasn’t chosen because they thought ten million would destroy me. They chose it because they needed to make me believe the first demand was money."

Felix leaned back slightly. "You think it’s a test."

"I think it’s a first step."

That was as far as Dayo was willing to go.

He didn’t know who was behind the kidnapping. He didn’t know what they wanted beyond the money. He didn’t know where Jennifer was being held.

But the payment had changed one thing.

The people holding his daughter now knew that he was willing to cooperate.

Dayo hoped that would buy Jennifer time.

He also hoped it would give Felix time to find something.

---

Across the city, Michael’s phone rang.

He was sitting in the room he had been given at the police station, waiting for the call. The conversation was brief.

"The payment went through," the intermediary said.

Michael looked at the wall in front of him.

"All of it?"

"All ten million."

"Jennifer?"

"Still alive. We sent him proof before the transfer."

Michael remained quiet for a moment.

"Good. Keep them where they are. Nobody moves her unless I approve it."

"Understood."

"And don’t touch the money yet."

The intermediary hesitated. "What do you want done with it?"

"Nothing. Leave it where it is."

Michael ended the call and immediately looked at the number he had saved for Silas.

He called.

Silas answered after a short delay.

"Did he pay?"

"Ten million."

Silas was quiet for a moment.

Michael could almost hear the satisfaction in the way he spoke next. "So he understands."

"He understands the first demand."

Silas shifted on the other end. "That is enough for now."

Michael looked down at his hands.

"We should move carefully."

"We already decided what the second demand is."

"I know."

"Then why are you saying this?"

"Because the first payment tells us something. He is willing to cooperate when Jennifer is involved. That does not mean he’ll blindly follow everything after this."

Silas considered that.

Michael continued, "We can’t give him too much at once. If the next demand is too specific, he’ll start asking why a kidnapping group wants him to interfere with something unrelated to his daughter."

"Then we explain that it is part of the price."

"That doesn’t explain why we chose that particular target."

Silas didn’t answer immediately.

Michael had expected the silence.

They had already talked about this before the kidnapping. The second demand was the real reason they had gone after Jennifer. The ten million was only meant to keep Dayo looking in the wrong direction for a little longer.

"If he starts connecting it to us," Silas said eventually, "we have a problem."

"Exactly."

"You think he will?"

"I think he will eventually. He’s not stupid."

Silas leaned back in his holding cell, looking toward the door where the officer was waiting outside. "Then we make sure he has other things to think about."

Michael nodded even though Silas could not see him.

"The second demand needs to sound like another condition of the ransom. Nothing more."

"Agreed."

Michael opened the notes they had prepared earlier.

The target was already there.

The instructions were already written.

They only needed to send them.

"Should we do it now?" Silas asked.

Michael looked at the time.

"Not yet."

"Why?"

"Because he has just paid ten million dollars. Give him time to think he’s bought his daughter back."

Silas was silent again.

Michael continued, "Let him wait. Let him expect another call about Jennifer. Then the intermediary contacts him and gives him the next instruction."

"You think the delay matters?"

"It does."

Michael had spent enough years dealing with powerful people to understand how they reacted when something important was taken away from them. Dayo had money, influence, companies and people around him. Jennifer was the one thing that could make all of those things secondary.

That was why the first demand had worked.

But the second demand would tell them much more.

It would show how far Dayo was willing to go.

Silas finally agreed.

"Fine. Stand by."

Michael ended the call.

For several seconds, he remained seated.

The money was no longer important.

The next step was.

---

Back at Dayo’s house, Felix was still working through the footage when another notification appeared on the laptop.

He opened it.

The payment had moved.

"Where?" Dayo asked.

Felix followed the transaction.

"Another wallet."

"Can you identify it?"

"Not yet."

Dayo moved beside him.

Felix tracked the transfer through the available records, then watched it move again.

"They’re moving it."

"How many times?"

"Twice so far."

Dayo studied the screen.

"Keep following it."

"I am."

Outside the house, more security vehicles had arrived. Dayo had already increased protection around the property, but none of it changed the fact that Jennifer was somewhere else.

His phone remained on the table.

Every few minutes, Dayo looked at it.

He was waiting for the next call.

Felix noticed.

"You should sit down."

Dayo looked at him.

"I’m fine."

"I know you’re trying to be."

Dayo didn’t argue.

He sat.

The room stayed quiet while Felix continued working. Nobody knew how long the next instruction would take.

Then Dayo’s phone vibrated.

He looked at the screen.

Unknown number.

For a moment, he didn’t move.

Felix stopped typing.

Dayo picked up the phone and answered.

"Hello?"

The intermediary spoke.

"Your first payment has been confirmed."

Dayo listened carefully.

The man continued.

"Your daughter is still alive. You’ll receive your next instruction shortly."

Dayo’s voice remained controlled.

"When?"

"You’ll know."

The call ended.

Dayo lowered the phone.

Felix looked at him.

"What did he say?"

"They’re preparing the next instruction."

Felix closed the laptop halfway.

Dayo looked toward the hallway where Jennifer’s room remained empty.

He had paid ten million dollars.

It had bought him nothing except time.

And somewhere else, Michael and Silas were already preparing to find out what else he was willing to give.

The first demand was over.

The real one was about to begin.