Chapter 68: The Snake in the Hall
Chidozie Kalu sipped espresso from a bone-white mug as he stood on the 17th-floor balcony of Omnitech Innovations. His eyes tracked the street below, seemingly relaxed, but his mind ran through schedules, numbers, and contingency plans.
He had just come from a meeting with one of the new department heads — an awakened from Côte d'Ivoire with sensory manipulation abilities. The quiet takeover was progressing perfectly. Maya remained distracted with operations. The board barely asked questions anymore. With Philip gone, Omnitech had become fertile ground.
Soon, Chidozie thought, it'll all be mine. Legally. Quietly.
Then came the tremor.
Barely perceptible. Just a flicker through the building's mana barrier — but Chidozie felt it. An echo. A signature he hadn't sensed in years.
He stiffened.
One of the awakened janitors nearby — a mana-sensitive from Morocco — paused too. Their eyes met across the corridor. He'd felt it too.
Chidozie turned, walked back into the executive floor, and went straight for his private office. He shut the door, locked it, then activated a small crystal embedded in his desk lamp.
A shimmering grid appeared in the air — a real-time aura sweep of the building.
Red dots for awakened. Blue for normals. Gold for executives.
Then, near the east wing — a pulse of violet. Not red. Not gold. Not anything he'd seen before.
He zoomed in.
The signature was cloaked. Dampened. But still powerful. Familiar.
"No," he muttered. "No way."
He tapped a few more commands, pulling up security logs. A fake name checked in an hour ago. Cleared by the front desk. Escorted by an intern. The signature had moved to the financial review room — then to Maya's office.
Chidozie's eyes widened.
Philip.
He staggered back into his chair.
The ghost had returned.
All his plans—slow manipulation, gradual replacement, board influence—could crumble in weeks if Philip reclaimed control. Chidozie rubbed his jaw. He had underestimated Maya's loyalty. He should have replaced her last year. But he needed her visible — the public face. The distraction. Too late now.
He paced.
Does Maya know the truth about the awakened staff? Probably not. She would've fired him already if she did.
He activated a secure channel and sent a silent signal — an encoded glyph used only for emergencies.
It pulsed once, and across Lagos, five separate phones received it. The "inner circle" of awakened employees he'd personally vetted.
The message was simple:
Code Ember. Initiate Watch Protocol. The Founder is back.
He closed the channel and sat down slowly, staring at the wall.
This isn't just business anymore.
Chidozie straightened his suit and fixed his tie.
He would play along. Smile. Pretend to welcome Philip back. But inside, he'd begin moving pieces. Quietly. Surgically.
Because if Philip was truly back… there could only be one king at Omnitech.
And Chidozie had no intention of kneeling.