Chapter 12 - The Fall of Daniel’s Shaky Empire and the Desperate Bank Default
While Ekenna’s star rose into the stratosphere, Daniel’s empire of cards was collapsing into catastrophic ruin.
Daniel had always been a showman rather than a true engineer. His company’s apparent wealth was built entirely on a mountain of predatory bank loans, political favoritism, and reckless corner-cutting on construction materials.
The disaster that started his ultimate downfall occurred at the very Banana Island luxury estate where Daniel had once mocked Ekenna.
Because Daniel had ignored the deep geological bedrock anomaly and used substandard concrete to save money, the foundation of the commercial tower suffered catastrophic structural failure during a seasonal storm. The twenty-story tower developed massive structural shear cracks, tilting four degrees toward the waterfront lagoon.
The State Ministry of Physical Planning immediately condemned the entire project, ordering an emergency demolition.
Lawsuits descended on Daniel like a swarm of hornets.
The wealthy investors who had paid millions of dollars in pre-construction deposits sued his firm for gross negligence and fraud. The banks immediately called in their overdue commercial loans, seizing his company’s bank accounts, heavy equipment, and commercial properties.
To make matters worse, the anti-graft economic crimes commission opened an investigation into Daniel’s fraudulent government procurement contracts.
Every morning, debt collectors and armed bailiffs were stationed outside Daniel’s mansion.
One evening, Chidimma stood in the middle of their luxury living room as private bailiffs carried out their Italian leather sofas, the wide-screen televisions, and even the crystal chandeliers.
"Daniel, what is happening?!" Chidimma screamed, clutching her designer robes in hysterics. "Where is the money? Where is the G-Wagon?!"
"The bank repossessed the G-Wagon this morning!" Daniel roared back, slamming his half-empty bottle of cheap whiskey onto the floor. "The company is bankrupt! We have three days to vacate this house before the court seals it!"
Chidimma collapsed onto the bare floor, staring in absolute horror.
The stable life she had traded her soul for was an illusion. The wealthy man in the tailored safari suit was nothing more than a broke, fraudulent debtor facing years in federal prison.
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And as she sat in the empty, stripped living room, the face of the boy she had dumped in the dust on graduation day flashed in front of her eyes—a boy who was now one of the wealthiest and most revered tycoons on the entire continent.
Greed had blinded her, and now the darkness was total.
