Chapter 332: Chaos descends.
Despite lunch being eaten clean, Elias made no effort to leave Sienna’s office. She sat at the head of a long table opposite her regular desk, discussing the proposed upgrades to farmland controlled by the fox tribe in the empire after winter. Her voice was steady, detailing irrigation channels, solar plows, and nutrient recycling towers. All technology that promised to triple yields if properly funded.
Elias. lingered beside her chair, massaging her feet with quiet devotion as she work. The gesture was intimate, startlingly domestic in the midst of official discourse.
Lord Laney, the head of the Fox Agricultural Bureau, a stern fox beast man, cleared his throat loudly, scandalized. "My lady, My lord, such....displays are unbecoming during budget presentations."
Beside him, treasurer Lim, the beast woman responsible for accounting in the Agricultural Bureau fumbled her calculator, ears twitching in embarrassment. "Errr....we are speaking of sums exceeding 40 million beast coins for solar plows alone."
At the far end of the table, the architect for the project, overseeing the design of hydro-domes, stared openly, his tail twitching. "Lord Elias, I cannot calculate structural costs while you knead your wife’s toes!"
Elias raised his brows. "Then stop looking at them. I am beginning to get jealous."
The three representatives blinked in shock and gasped.
Sienna ignored their protests, her tone sharp as she pressed on. "The upgrades will require 120 million beast coins in total. That includes solar plows, hydro-domes, irrigation channels, and nutrient towers. Nothing else should be added to the list because that’s where the budget ends. Elias and I are not dipping into our personal funds to fill any holes."
The three representatives suddenly had the same disappointed expression.
Lim leaned forward, "What if you add..."
"No." Sienna said sharply. "If we add something to your budget then I must add something to everyone’s budget. If you want more money, earn it. Sell some products, host an agricultural fashion show. Open a farmer’s market for your bureau."
Elias’s hands moved with deliberate care, and each time someone tried to make a plea for the budget to be increased, the rhythm of his touch broke Sienna’s composure.
Lord Laney finally sputtered. "Are you doing this deliberately Elias?"
Elias pretended not to hear the man, but yes, he was deliberate. He was afraid Sienna would be bullied or sweet talked into giving away her savings. These three were good at that. Every year, they asked for some new technology and promised big results and then came up with excuses when some of the promises were not delivered.
He underestimated Sienna. She was not like his mother, who liked to please people. She stuck to her no like a dictator clinging to power. When the meeting finally adjourned, he rose smoothly, his expression unreadable.
But before they could talk, aunt Linera entered the office, dragging a figure behind her. It was Harley Lawrence, bound, wrists tied with a cord, his eyes wild. Icona and Bonnie followed them slowly. Icona was clutching a piece of paper, tears streaming down her face.
Linera spoke quickly, her voice hard. "He tried to grab my gun and run off to kill Nat Delaney. As it turns out, the good family friend was not so good. He has been taking advantage of Bonnie for years. She has even endured three abortions and somehow, nobody noticed. The Lawrence’s used to take vacations every year, two weeks each time. Nat used those opportunities to schedule the hospital appointments, giving her time to heal before her parents returned. The first trip to a seedy hospital near an old amusement park happened when she was sixteen. I coaxed this out of Bonnie with some candy and a few secrets of my own. Wayo is already on route to that hospital as we speak."
The room froze. Icona sobbed, clutching the report. Harley strained against his bonds, shouting incoherently. "I will kill him! He will not live another day!" His claws extended, his tail lashing with fury. Blood dripped his tongue as he bit himself.
Elias slammed his fist on the table. "What a deranged, sick pervert. He deserves nothing but death."
Sienna’s own rage burned hotter than fire. Her hand trembled as she slammed the physical report onto the table. "I had a bad feeling when he said he had been studying the law on marrying someone with a disability for ten years. He preyed in her innocence, destroyed her body, and locked our laws. This is worse than I imagined." She turned to Elias. "I want him arrested. He will face tribal justice, and I will see him torn apart!"
Bonnie was playing a game on her phone, smiling like a fool. In Sienna’s opinion, her mind retardation was probably even higher.
"We don’t know when the abuse started, unfortunately." Linera sighed.
Before anyone could respond, Mija sprang forward. Her hands tightened around Icona’s hair, yanking her head back. She screamed, venom in her voice. "How could you leave your mentally retarded daughter alone with a grown man? With a monster? He had been taking advantage of her for years. Aren’t you the one that gives her baths? How could it escape your notice? How could you be so blind?"
"Nat hired and paid two caretakers that took care of Bonnie’s bathing, dressing and feeding. I thought he was just being a good uncle to Bonnie, I didn’t know it was because he had something to hide." Icona wailed, tears streaming down her face.
"So fucking what if there were caretakers? You are her mother, you should have checked and made sure she was safe." Mija screamed.
Bonnie was also crying now, frightened by Mija.
Harley cursed, Linera yelled at Mija to let go.
Elias was roaring into his phone, demanding that Nat Delaney be produced within one hour. Lord Laney and his people, who had lingered at the doorway in hopes of coaxing Sienna recoiled, scandalized by the tale and the chaos.
Sienna rose, her fury radiating like a storm. "Mija, that is enough!" she shouted, her voice shaking the room. "This office will not descend into madness."
But the office was already unraveling. Mija refused to release Icona, shrieking accusations. Harley strained against his bonds, spitting threats.
Linera had the guards take Bonnie outside for a moment and she tried to restore order, but the chaos surged like a tide. Chairs toppled, voices clashed. Her guards were pretending to stop Mija, and yet their efforts were like brushing air against stone--so light it left no mark.
It seemed to Sienna that they all agreed with Mija, laying blame at Icona’s feet. The hospital report lay crumpled on the floor, its damning words ignored in the storm of grief and rage.