Chapter 330: I am the judge.
While others were digging for information, Sienna had her breakfast, played with her cubs for a few minutes and finally resumed work. By the time she made it from the day care, her office was crowded again. Lawyers with their tablets, books and cases. Aides, the court clerk, Mija, Icona and Bonnie and two new faces: Harley Lawrence and Nat Delaney.
Harley was tall but smaller than her looked in pictures. He had lost some weight it seemed because his broad shoulders had vanished along with his once proud demeanor. Nat was a fox beat man, tall too, but stooped, with fur that had dulled if his pale brown fox ears were anything to go by.
Nat’s eyes were sharp, calculating, and his clothes were rich but worn at the edges, as though wealth had once flowed freely but now clung stubbornly. His gaze was fixed on Harley, his eyes carrying a warning.
Sienna studied him with distaste. "This is the man you would give your daughter to?" She asked Harley, her voice cold. "He looks older than you!"
Harley shifted uncomfortably.
Sienna spread out the lawyers and investigators findings across her desk. A transparent tab shimmered in the air, displaying reports, financial records and testimonies. She scrolled through them with a flick of her fingers. There was a report on Harley from the previous year. His supermarket chain had been the pride of his family until the scandal of expired food on shelves was discovered. There was a national uproar, fines, and boycotts. Branches had been closed, the business had started struggling, debts mounted, and desperation drove Harley to borrow money from Nat.
"Harley," she said, her tone sharp, "you borrowed heavily from Nat Delaney to recover your supermarket chain. The repayment date has already passed and you have only paid half of your debt. Instead of stabilizing your business, you gambled part of the money in stocks that crashed. And now, Nat demands your daughter as payment."
Icona gasped. She looked at her husband in horror. "That’s why you are trying to marry my daughter off to a man whose fur is falling out!"
The office buzzed with outrage. The lawyers muttered among themselves, some shaking their heads.
Sienna’s eyes blazed. "This is not a marriage. This is barter. You are trading your daughter for debt relief."
Harley’s ears flattened. "No, matriarch, no. It’s not how it looks. The empire’s fines nearly ruined my business. Nat offered salvation. He has the money and means to take care of my daughter. All I wish is for Bonnie not to starve while I stabilize our financial situation. I invested in the company which built the Linus 300. In two years, I will be wealthier than ever. If Bonnie is maltreated, I will bring her back myself."
Nat Delaney stepped forward, his smile thin. "Lady Sienna, you misunderstand. Bonnie herself wishes to marry me. She has said so. She clings to me. This is not coercion--it is affection."
Sienna’s eyes narrowed. "Affection? Or manipulation? She has the mind of a child. She sees you as play, not as a husband. What sixty something year old man would leave all the beautiful age appropriate, mentally sane women in the empire and marry Bonnie?"
As if summoned by her question, Bonnie rose and ran to Nat. "Uncle Nat," she said brightly, her voice innocent. "You didn’t come yesterday. You promised me sweets and stories."
Nat stroked her hair, turning to Sienna triumphantly. "You see? She chooses me. This is proof that she will be happy with me."
Suddenly aunt Linera swooped him, separating Bonnie from Nat. She didn’t just separate them, she took Bonnie out of the office, to the day care.
Icona was in tears, her voice breaking. "She calls you uncle. She doesn’t understand your sick desires. She is not just mentally thirteen, her personality is childlike. She doesn’t know what marriage means!"
"I will teach her slowly." Nat replied. He smiled like a snake charmer. "Icona, you know me. We have been friends for over thirty years. You can trust Bonnie with me."
Icona growled, revealing her claws. "I am no friend of yours. If I had known the kind of man you are, I never would have let you into my house."
Sienna slammed her shoe on the table, silencing the room. "Enough! I have the answer I was seeking. This is exploitation disguised as affection. Harley, you have disgraced your family by offering your daughter as payment for your debt. Nat, you have twisted a child’s trust into a contract. This office will not permit it."
She turned to the lawyers. "Prepare the documents. I am ready to declare Bonnie Lawrence a ward of the tribe. Her autonomy shall be protected until her comprehension is proven. No marriage shall proceed."
Icona burst into tears, "Thank you."
Nat bellowed in anger. "You cannot do this. I did my research ten years ago, and I have been keeping myself updated on any changes, I know all the laws. I will take this to the highest court if I have to. The empire recognizes the Consent of the Heart Doctrine. As long as Bonnie wants to marry me, you cannot stop us from being together."
"I can always kill you and put an end to this." Sienna replied is a deadly, but soft voice. "Ten years ago Bonnie was only fifteen."
Gasps went around. Nat took a few steps back. The court clerk’s fingers hovered and her neck stretched. She was unsure if the threat made by Sienna was something she should put on record.
Sienna continued boldly, "To allow this marriage would be to sanction exploitation. Yes, the law is not clear-cut on marriages and disabled individuals and our societies, but from what I have seen, judgement is up to the judge. Right now, I am the judge and I am making the judgement. Even if you go to court, I am sure my ruling will stand." She leaned forward and smirked at Nat. "And by the way, by the time your case is heard, Bonnie will have been made a ward of the tribe already.
I will still have a say in everything that happens in her life. So, fuck your Consent of the Heart bull shit. It doesn’t work here. If her mind is that of a child, she is a child and I will protect the child as I am legally required to. In fact, Bonnie will not be returning to her father’s custody. She will be moved to a safe place where she will be cared for and protected from predators like you, Nat. Now the get the fuck out of my office before I make good on my threat to kill you."