Chapter 704: Dayo Hears of the Threath

Dayo had spent most of the morning reviewing the final stages of the ML Label acquisition when a new report arrived at his office. The takeover was nearly complete, and most of the major decisions had already been settled. His team was handling the remaining paperwork, reviewing outstanding agreements, and preparing the next phase of the transition under JD Records. The work required his attention, but it no longer carried the same uncertainty as it had when the acquisition first began.

He was checking a financial summary when his private notification appeared on the screen. The message came through the monitoring network that had been keeping track of Michael Erickson and Silas Vane since their transfer to the VIP prison. Dayo opened the report expecting another update about their conditions or their remaining contacts, but the first few lines made him stop reading the figures in front of him.

Michael and Silas had attempted to reach people outside the prison through an intermediary. Their conversation suggested that they were looking for someone who could help them establish contact with associates from their former network. The report also noted that their discussion had included retaliation against Dayo, although no specific attack had been arranged or confirmed.

Dayo read the information twice, paying closer attention to the details of the conversation. Michael had asked the intermediary to find out who remained willing to listen to them, while Silas had insisted that they should avoid careless communication and learn what was possible before making any decisions. Neither man had openly committed to a particular plan, but their intentions were clear enough to concern him.

The mention of his family was what held his attention longest. He remembered Jennifer’s kidnapping, the uncertainty that had followed, and the moment he had finally brought his daughter back to safety. Even after the rescue, he had needed time to accept how close he had come to losing her. Luna had also suffered through the experience, and their relationship had been left with wounds that could not be repaired simply by promising that everything would be different.

Dayo closed the report and remained at his desk for several minutes. He had believed that Michael and Silas would eventually understand the position they were in. Both men had been convicted, both had received life sentences, and their former businesses were being taken out of their control. He had given the legal process room to work because he wanted the conflict to end without becoming the kind of person who answered every injury with another one.

That decision had not been easy. There had been moments when he had wanted to deal with Michael and Silas himself, especially after learning what they had done to Jennifer. Luna had stopped him from crossing a line he might never have been able to return from, and he had listened because he knew she was right. He had chosen evidence, investigations, and the courts instead of allowing his anger to decide their fate.

Now, after only about a week in prison, the two men were already trying to reach dangerous people who might help them strike back.

Dayo reopened the report and checked the source information. The monitoring team had not claimed that an attack was imminent, and he was not going to treat suspicion as proof of a completed plan. Still, he knew enough about Michael and Silas to understand that they would not be looking for outside help unless they believed there was something left to gain. Their combined losses had exceeded twenty billion dollars, and the transfer of ML Label to JD Records had taken away another part of the empire they once controlled.

He could almost hear Michael complaining about the label, insisting that Dayo had stolen what he had spent years building. Silas would be less concerned with the public humiliation and more worried about the loss of influence. Neither man was likely to accept that their former lives were gone, and Dayo had underestimated how far they might be willing to go to change that.

His first instinct was to call Felix. They had worked together through the investigation, the court proceedings, and the acquisition, and Felix had earned his trust. He would know how to respond to a report like this. He would probably recommend reviewing the family’s security arrangements, preserving the information, and ensuring that the appropriate authorities were made aware of any credible threat.

Dayo left his phone on the desk without making the call. He knew Felix would take the matter seriously, but he also knew that his friend would want to understand what he intended to do next. Dayo was not ready to discuss that part with anyone.

He would make sure his family was protected. He would not ignore the possibility that Michael and Silas could use their remaining contacts to cause harm, and he would not allow the report to sit unnoticed while he concentrated on business. However, he had begun to consider a different response, one that would not require him to approach either prisoner directly.

Michael and Silas still believed their old network could help them. They were reaching out because they thought someone might be willing to protect them, carry messages for them, or act against Dayo on their behalf. If those same people began to suspect that the two prisoners were preparing to cooperate with the authorities, their willingness to help could change.

Dayo sat back and considered the possibility. He did not need to invent a crime or manufacture evidence against anyone. Michael and Silas had worked with dangerous people, and the information already collected about their activities included material that could expose serious wrongdoing. If the right people began to believe that the prisoners were looking for a deal, they might start questioning whether their former allies could be trusted.

He understood that a rumour would not automatically turn everyone against them. Some people would dismiss it, others would demand proof, and a few might remain loyal because they had too much to lose if the prisoners were abandoned. But suspicion could be enough to make people hesitate, especially when their own freedom was at stake.

Dayo did not want to send a message directly to Michael or Silas. That would alert them to his concerns and give them an opportunity to change their behaviour before the situation became clearer. He also did not want to make a public accusation that could be traced back to him. The rumour had to spread through people who already belonged to the circles Michael and Silas knew, so that it would seem to have emerged from the network itself.

He opened a separate file containing verified information about criminal associates connected to their former operations. Some of the material was already with investigators, while other records were still being reviewed through the proper channels. Dayo did not alter the documents or add claims that they could not support. He wanted the information to remain genuine because the danger came from what it could reveal, not from making the evidence appear worse than it was.

The report had mentioned an intermediary who was still willing to listen to Michael. Dayo marked that detail for his team and reviewed the known connections around the man. He did not ask anyone to threaten the intermediary or force him to cooperate. Instead, he decided that people with existing access to those circles should begin raising questions about whether Michael and Silas were looking for a way to bargain with the authorities.

Dayo selected the people carefully. He knew that sending the story through someone who had no connection to the prisoners would make it look suspicious. The first conversations needed to come from people who could reasonably have heard about the situation through their own contacts. They would not be instructed to claim that a formal agreement already existed. The message was that Michael and Silas might be considering cooperation in exchange for more favourable treatment or a reduced sentence.

That distinction mattered. A rumour could spread without anyone being able to prove its central claim, but a direct accusation would invite questions that might expose the source too quickly. Dayo wanted people to wonder whether the story was true, then look at the evidence and decide for themselves that they could no longer afford to ignore it.

He sent the necessary instructions through intermediaries and kept his own name out of the process. He did not explain the entire plan to any one person, and he did not ask them to promise a particular outcome. They were to raise the question discreetly and allow it to travel through the channels already available to them.

Once the messages had been sent, Dayo returned to the acquisition documents. He approved a revised schedule for the remaining ML Label meetings, answered a question from the legal team, and reviewed a list of outstanding contracts. Anyone looking into his day would have seen an executive continuing the work of taking over a company. Nothing in his routine suggested that he had begun a separate plan against the two men serving life sentences in prison.

Felix came into the office later that morning with a folder containing the latest acquisition updates. He found Dayo comparing two versions of an agreement and placed the folder beside his laptop.

"The legal team has cleared most of the outstanding issues," Felix said. "There are still a few contracts that need attention, but they should not hold up the transition. We are further along than we expected to be at this stage."

Dayo checked the summary before setting it aside. "Good. I want the artists and staff to know what is changing and what is staying the same. We have taken over the company, but that does not mean everyone who works there should feel as if their future is uncertain."

"That is already being arranged. The management team is preparing the communication, and the people who need individual meetings will be contacted first."

They continued discussing the acquisition for several minutes. Felix explained that the remaining work was mostly administrative, although some financial matters still needed final confirmation. Dayo asked him to make sure that the transition team did not rush any decisions simply because the larger deal was almost finished.

When the conversation turned to the next few days, Felix mentioned that the security arrangements around Dayo’s family remained in place. Dayo listened carefully and asked for the existing coverage to be reviewed, making sure that the people responsible for his family’s safety had everything they needed. He gave no explanation beyond saying that he wanted the arrangements kept current while the acquisition was being completed.

Felix did not press him. The family had already been through enough, and he understood why Dayo would remain careful after Jennifer’s kidnapping. He gathered the folder and left to continue his own work, unaware that Dayo had received a report about Michael and Silas that morning.

After Felix had gone, Dayo returned to the private file and checked the progress of the information he had set in motion. There was no immediate result, and he had not expected one. People who had once worked with Michael and Silas would not suddenly abandon them because someone raised a question. They would need time to discuss the possibility, check what they knew, and decide whether their own interests were at risk.

The first sign came later that day, when one of the intermediaries reported that the rumour had been mentioned in a conversation with a contact connected to Michael’s former business circle. The contact had not accepted it as fact, but he had asked whether there was any evidence that Michael was preparing to cooperate with investigators. The intermediary had responded by referring to the existence of genuine material involving people from the same network, without claiming that a deal had already been made.

Another report arrived after that. Someone else had heard that Silas was trying to improve his position inside the prison by offering information about people who had helped him. That version was less accurate in its details, but it followed the same general idea and had begun circulating among people who had reasons to fear an investigation.

Dayo read both updates without making any changes to the plan. The reaction was slow, just as he had expected, but the questions were beginning to spread. People who had previously considered Michael and Silas useful contacts were now wondering whether helping them might expose their own activities. Some dismissed the rumour, while others began checking whether their names appeared in any of the information that investigators had received.

By evening, the subject had reached people closer to the prisoners’ remaining network. The first responses were cautious rather than openly hostile. A contact who had been willing to listen to Michael was now asking for more information before agreeing to another conversation. Someone who had previously maintained a line to Silas wanted to know whether the authorities had offered either man a deal. Nobody had publicly declared that the prisoners had betrayed them, but the confidence that had once supported their relationships was beginning to weaken.

Inside the VIP prison, Michael and Silas had not yet heard the full story. Their living conditions remained comfortable, and the powerful inmates who protected them continued to treat them with respect. They still believed that their remaining contacts might help them find a way to recover some influence, even if reclaiming their former assets was no longer realistic.

Silas, however, would soon have reason to question that belief. He had spent years watching people change their loyalties when the balance of power shifted, and he knew that a rumour about cooperation with investigators could do serious damage. If his associates began to suspect that he and Michael were preparing to expose them, even people who believed the story was false might choose to distance themselves until they knew more.

Dayo understood that the same uncertainty could work in his favour. He did not expect every person in their network to turn against them, and he knew that Michael and Silas might eventually discover that the story had been encouraged deliberately. For now, the two men were beginning to face a problem they had not anticipated when they first contacted their intermediary.

The report about their attempt to reach dangerous associates had changed Dayo’s plans. He had given them an opportunity to accept their sentences and stop interfering with his life, but they had chosen to look for another way to reach him. He would not wait for them to make the first move against his family before taking the threat seriously.

As the office grew quieter, Dayo checked the final updates and closed the file. The acquisition of ML Label was nearly complete, his family’s security was being reviewed, and the first questions about Michael and Silas had begun to circulate. He had not confronted either man, and he had not told Felix what he was doing. The plan was still in its early stages, but the people who had once depended on Michael and Silas were starting to wonder whether those men could be trusted.

Dayo returned to the work waiting on his desk, determined to let the uncertainty spread without drawing attention to himself. Michael and Silas had spent years using money and influence to make other people carry out their wishes. Now, for the first time since their imprisonment, they would have to consider whether the people around them were still willing to take their side.