Sarah's birthday came during the middle of the second semester, and Daniel came home to Abuja for the weekend to spend time with her and Elizabeth.
He felt the growing need to give her a substantial gift.
After thinking about it for a while, and since she already had a car, a functional business, and top-notch gadgets, he decided to buy her a house.
His Abuja contact quickly sourced a perfect property: a tastefully finished, brand-new three-bedroom duplex in a well-managed and secure estate in Katampe Extension, an area known for its modern infrastructure and growing appeal over the last few years. It wasn't excessively large but felt premium, with quality fittings and its own small compound, along with complete furnishings. The price was N90 million.
Daniel authorized the purchase without involving his mother until the very end. He funded it through MH withdrawals channeled into her personal account via the "Investment Dividend" method he'd used before, ensuring the paper trail originated from her. He only told her once the deal was complete, presenting her with the keys and the title documents already fully processed in her name.
"Daniel. A house?!" Sarah looked at the documents, then at her son, with a mixture of gratitude and concern. "Is It really okay to spend so much money to buy me a house? You need it more than me!"
"Everything is perfect mum," he reassured her with a calm smile. "This is just for you. Your own personal property. You can live there, rent it out for income later, whatever you want. It's yours. And I can buy myself a house anytime I want, but this can't wait."
She hugged him tightly, finally feeling the excitement. "Thank you, my son. May God continue to guide you." Having this separate asset seemed to provide her with a deeper sense of long-term security.
As long as he could provide an increasingly better life for his family, everything would be worth it.
Sarah posted the house all over social media, and Daniel used it as an avenue to wish her a happy birthday on his socials.
By the way his social media accounts were at a booming phase
His Instagram and TikTok accounts, where he posted under his real name has gained significant traction. He mostly posted on tech, and occasional 'trading insights', Finance, and sometimes lifestyle.
He shared aesthetically pleasing clips: working on his MacBook at a cafe, the dashboard view while driving his cars, unboxing new tech gadgets, and short motivational quotes about 'hustle' and digital opportunities'. He avoided overt displays of extreme wealth like the G-Wagon or the AP watch in these public posts of course, for obvious reasons.
His total number of followers across social media platforms had already reached 200,000. He wasn't actively seeking fame, though he did enjoy it but the growing online presence helped normalize his apparent success and gave him some solitude.
Behind the scenes, however, the plan to decommission Rocket Funds was moving forward.
Yes, Daniel was really planning to get rid of it, and for obvious reasons too.
The platform, now with over 5,500 users, felt like a ticking time bomb. Its very success made it conspicuous. While most online chatter was positive user testimonials, Daniel worried about attracting the wrong kind of attention – serious financial journalists, regulators wondering about the source of the payouts, or worse, government organizations investigating him for fraud suspicions.
He finalized the multi-stage shutdown plan with timelines:
- Month 1-2: Gradually decrease the simulated earning rates across all tiers, citing 'market volatility' and 'algorithm adjustments for risk management'. Announce longer withdrawal processing times (i.e., 24-48 hours instead of instant) due to 'increased user volume'.
- Month 3: Announce a 'temporary platform pause' for major 'backend infrastructure upgrades' needed to handle growth. Disable new sign-ups.
- Month 4: Announce that the 'upgrades' require migrating to a completely new platform (which would never actually launch). Offer existing users a final 'loyalty payout' based on their tier and account history – a calculated amount Daniel would fund from the segregated RF fee account and MH withdrawals, designed to appease the majority and minimize backlash.
- Month 5: Shut down the RF app servers and website permanently. Delete the Telegram and WhatsApp groups.
It was a complex and potentially messy process, but necessary. RF had served its purpose brilliantly, catapulting his wealth and enabling the creation of PeDan. Now, it was time to dismantle the scaffolding before it drew unwanted attention to the main structure. People might be incensed, sure, but thankfully he had made it a note to keep his identity confidential except to Ayo, so it wouldn't affect him much.
Phase 1 would begin early next semester.
***
A/N:
Everyone, please bear with me and let's normalize 3 chapters a day /~..~\.
This author wants to avoid burnout!
*Cough.
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