Michael stood up and walked toward the large glass window of his office, staring down at the empire he had built over the years—an empire shaped by influence, fear, manipulation, and calculated power.

Normally, the view comforted him.

Today, it didn't.

Because deep down, he knew something with absolute certainty:

Dayo would come for revenge.

And Michael also knew… he deserved it.

The reasons were as clear as daylight.

He made Dayo's life a living hell five years ago—

Not just Dayo's, but the lives of everyone around him.

He sabotaged Dayo's label.

He attacked Dayo's friends.

He blocked opportunities.

He crushed exposure.

He controlled narratives.

Just like during the Global Competition, when he forced Dayo's friend—who was supposed to return to the competition—to mysteriously "back out." That incident alone left Dayo furious, and Michael remembered it clearly.

Not to mention the dozens of times he manipulated media against Dayo—spreading rumors, steering narratives, planting negativity.

Or when he secretly cut down Dayo's album numbers, making sure the industry didn't credit him properly.

Or the time Dayo threatened him, and Michael pretended to back off…

Only to turn around and sabotage him again.

Whenever Dayo's artists were in a position to win an award, Michael moved strings to push the result in a different direction.

He did a lot.

Too much.

So now, as he stood by the glass, he wasn't shocked that Dayo would come back for payback—anyone would. But what really bothered him was how Dayo would strike… and when.

Because this time, Dayo wasn't the same young boy Michael pushed around years ago.

This was a man who disappeared for four years and came back with a net worth of 1.5 billion dollars.

A man who learned silence. A man who learned patience. A man who learned strategy.

Michael knew Dayo was biding his time.

Waiting for the perfect moment to flip the board upside down.

What irritated Michael the most was simple—

It felt like Dayo didn't even take him seriously anymore.

Most of Michael's attempts to create trouble were ignored or deflected as if Dayo didn't even feel them.

Michael clenched his fists.

He knew Dayo was cunning.

He learned that the hard way.

And now, Dayo had money, power, connections—everything he lacked back then.

Michael was in a dilemma.

If he made one rushed move…

If he made one wrong decision…

Dayo would strike instantly. And this time, Michael knew Dayo had the resources to hit hard.

But Michael had something else on his plate—something even more dangerous.

He had been digging up information on the hidden bosses above him, the real puppeteers of the industry.

He was finally close to getting leverage against them.

But with Dayo back in the picture?

One misstep could expose his plans before he was ready.

He couldn't afford that.

He exhaled long and slow, frustration tightening his chest. His mind ran through possibilities, strategies, counterattacks—but nothing felt safe enough to execute.

He needed time.

He needed space.

He needed Dayo distracted.

But every attempt to keep Dayo occupied had failed miserably.

Michael rubbed his temples.

He was stuck.

Really stuck.

As he was lost in thought, he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," Michael said without turning around.

The door opened, and Clara stepped in. "Sir, the meeting you requested has been arranged."

Michael turned away from the glass and nodded. "Alright. Go ahead. I'll join you in a moment."

Clara nodded and left quietly, closing the door behind her.

Michael remained still for another five minutes, trying to force a solution out of thin air.

None came.

He finally accepted what he didn't want to admit—

He couldn't solve this immediately.

He had to wait.

Watch.

Look for an opportunity.

Only then could he make his move he knew he has been allowing himself to get too emotional so he had to shelf fhe emotion and think practical.

After steadying himself, Michael straightened his suit, exhaled sharply, and walked out of the office to attend the meeting.

***

Dayo was sitting on his bed, scrolling through something absentmindedly when his phone buzzed.

It was Coach Richard.

He smiled and immediately picked up.

"Coach, what's up?"

Richard didn't even start with greetings.

"Dayo… how did you get all that information in that book?"

Dayo blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean how. How exactly did you get that amount of detail?" Richard asked, sounding completely overwhelmed. "Dayo, even I, as a coach, cannot just look at athletes and see that level of information. Their strengths, their weaknesses, their limits—Dayo, this isn't normal."

Dayo chuckled lightly. "Well… I wrote it."

Richard paused. "That's impossible."

Dayo laughed again. "Coach, you always see me writing in that book when I'm not competing. What do you think I was writing?"

Richard went silent. Completely silent.

After a few seconds, he finally spoke, sounding defeated.

"I don't even know what to say anymore. Dayo… you're good at music. You're good with people. You're good at swimming. You sing. You write. You perform. And now you're even beating me at coaching? How is that fair?"

Dayo smiled. "Coach, I'm not beating you. I just… see things differently."

"Differently?" Richard repeated. "Dayo, that's an understatement. What you wrote is something national teams build with analytics, scouts, doctors, biomechanic experts, psychologists. And you recorded all of that alone?"

"I guess that's one of my specs," Dayo said casually.

Richard shook his head on the other side of the phone. "I still refuse to believe it. I really don't know whether you're human or not."

Dayo laughed. "Coach, relax. You're still the one doing the work. I just provided information."

Richard exhaled deeply. "Dayo… you changed everything. First, you cleared my name. Then you helped me gain confidence. Now this book… this book gives me an edge no one else in the country has."

Dayo could hear the emotion in his voice.

"Coach, don't make it deep. You're the one who believed in me first, remember?"

Richard paused.

"That's exactly why I don't know how to thank you."

"It's fine, Coach. You don't need to thank me."

"But Dayo…" Richard continued quietly, "if I take this job, I'll have less time to train with you."

Dayo shrugged. "I know. I'll manage. You can't miss an opportunity like this."

Richard swallowed. "I just… I can't believe it's happening. Head Coach of the national swimmimg team? And you were the one who made me believe I could do it. You changed everything for me."

"Coach," Dayo said softly, "you deserve it."

There was a short silence.

Then Richard said, "I'm heading to the facility tomorrow. I need to start preparing. The Olympics are too close to take risks. I have to double-check everything—even the things from the book."

"That's fine," Dayo replied. "Do your thing."

Richard suddenly chuckled. "But still, Dayo… how did you get all this information? This book is too detailed. Even the national federation doesn't have something like this."

Dayo smirked. "I'll tell you next time, Coach."

Richard let out a confused laugh. "You're unbelievable."

Dayo leaned back on his bed and grinned. "I know."

They talked for a while before ending the call.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.