The night over Lagos felt heavier than usual.
Inside TechWave headquarters the chaos had not slowed.
Phones rang nonstop.
Employees ran between floors.
Engineers shouted instructions over the constant alarms.
On the giant monitor inside the server room the damage kept growing.
DATA LOSS: 43%
Every few seconds the number climbed higher.
Daevyd stood in front of the screen, jaw tight, arms crossed.
Around him the engineers worked desperately.
One of them turned.
"Sir, we managed to isolate one backup cluster."
"How long before we restore the system?"
The engineer hesitated.
"If the deletion script keeps running… maybe never."
The words hung in the air.
Daevyd closed his eyes briefly.
Then he spoke calmly.
"Keep working."
Across the city in Lekki, Shemmy stood on the balcony staring at the lagoon.
Her phone was still in her hand.
The call with Daevyd had ended minutes ago, but his voice still echoed in her head.
Tunde just declared war on TechWave.
Ruth walked out behind her carrying two cups of tea.
"You look like someone just told you the world is ending."
Shemmy accepted the cup slowly.
"It might be."
Ruth sighed.
"Talk."
Shemmy turned toward her.
"Tunde is crashing TechWave."
Ruth's eyes widened.
"What?"
"He triggered a system wipe. Millions of users. Investors panicking."
Ruth leaned on the balcony rail.
"That man is insane."
"He wants to buy the company after it collapses."
Ruth shook her head.
"Corporate vultures."
Shemmy stared at the dark water below.
"If TechWave falls… Daevyd loses everything."
Ruth studied her face.
"You're worried about the company."
"I'm worried about him."
Back inside TechWave headquarters, Adrian stood in the hallway outside the server room.
He watched the engineers running past him.
The chaos was louder now.
He had imagined sabotage before.
Quiet sabotage.
Strategic sabotage.
Not this.
His phone buzzed again.
Tunde.
Adrian hesitated before answering.
"What now?"
Tunde's voice sounded relaxed.
"Is the panic as beautiful as I imagined?"
"You're destroying the company."
"I'm rebuilding it."
"You said we were weakening Daevyd."
"And we are."
Adrian rubbed his forehead.
"This is too far."
Tunde laughed softly.
"You already crossed the line the moment you helped me."
Adrian didn't respond.
Then Tunde added something that made his stomach tighten.
"Oh, and one more thing."
"What?"
"Your job isn't finished yet."
Adrian frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Phase four."
Adrian's voice dropped.
"You said there were only three phases."
Tunde chuckled.
"Plans evolve."
"What do you want now?"
A pause.
Then Tunde said quietly,
"I want Shemmy Esther."
Adrian froze.
"What?"
"Bring her to me."
"That wasn't part of the deal."
"It is now."
Adrian's pulse started racing.
"You're insane."
"Maybe."
"But she's the only leverage left that will break Daevyd completely."
Adrian hung up the phone slowly.
For the first time since betraying TechWave…
He realized something terrible.
Tunde wasn't just ruthless.
He was dangerous.
Inside the server room Daevyd's phone buzzed again.
Shemmy.
He stepped outside to answer.
"Hey."
"How bad is it?" she asked quietly.
Daevyd leaned against the wall.
"Half the system is gone."
Silence filled the line.
Then she said softly,
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"This started because of me."
"No."
"It started because Tunde can't control what he doesn't own."
Shemmy sighed.
"I hate that you're fighting this alone."
"I'm not alone."
"You are tonight."
Daevyd looked back through the glass wall at the frantic engineers.
"Maybe."
"But tomorrow that changes."
"What do you mean?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead he asked,
"Where are you right now?"
"Home."
"Stay there."
"Why?"
"Just trust me."
An hour later the TechWave board members gathered inside the conference room.
Their faces were tense.
Phones lit up the table with nonstop notifications.
One of them spoke.
"The platform collapse is trending globally."
Another added,
"If this continues investors will pull everything."
The chairman looked at Daevyd.
"You said you could fix this."
"I will."
"How?"
Daevyd placed a small flash drive on the table.
"Offline backup."
The room went silent.
"That's impossible," one board member said.
"We checked every backup cluster."
Daevyd shook his head.
"You checked the company backups."
He tapped the flash drive.
"I keep my own."
The chairman leaned forward.
"You mean the system can be restored?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Eight hours."
Relief slowly spread across the room.
But then the chairman asked something else.
"And Tunde?"
Daevyd's eyes darkened.
"I'll deal with him."
Meanwhile across Lagos Island, inside a private penthouse office, Tunde watched the crashing TechWave numbers on a large screen.
Graphs falling.
News alerts exploding.
Exactly as planned.
He poured himself another drink.
Then his phone buzzed.
Adrian.
He answered immediately.
"Yes?"
Adrian's voice sounded tense.
"I'm out."
Tunde frowned.
"What?"
"This wasn't the deal."
"You don't get to leave now."
"Yes I do."
Tunde's smile faded.
"You're forgetting something."
"What?"
"I still have everything that proves you helped me."
Adrian went silent.
Tunde leaned back in his chair.
"You're already in this game."
"And the only way out…"
"…is finishing it."
The call ended.
Tunde looked back at the TechWave collapse.
Then opened another file on his laptop.
It contained surveillance photos.
Of Shemmy.
Walking outside her studio.
Leaving the Lekki apartment.
Meeting with Ruth.
He zoomed in slowly on one image.
Then smiled.
Because the next move was already set.
And this time…
The target wasn't TechWave.
It was her.