The whole weekend was a busy one for the police force. They clocked
in extra hours to interrogate the Kyltons, Tanners, Aphaels, the Kyltons’
guards and Greg.N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.
When Greg surrendered the hidden camera footage he made eighteen
years ago when he colluded with the ex-ministers now behind bars and
Tanner, they found that Greg never “coerced’ any of them to join him.
From the looks of it, they were all extremely enthusiastic to go behind
the monarchy''s back.
While some policemen interrogated the crooks, others yed the
recordings on the devices Greg imnted all over the Kyltons'' mansion,
transcribing everything for their Highnesses.
The third team of policemen scoured through the database they found
in the Kyltons’ home. In it, they found transactions, names, and most
importantly, locations of suppliers of illegal substances and weaponry.
It didn''t take very long before one of Dalloway’s subordinates
requested permission to investigate these areas, which the Chief
granted after reminding his people to exercise the highest level of
caution
A week after arresting the Kyltons and the others, the police delivered
their report from the interrogation sessions, and the team was back in
Xandar''s office once again. As the monarch, the royal family was
constitutionally permitted to submit a . rmendation to the
Attorney-General''s Chambers and to the courts as to how they wanted
certain criminals to be dealt with. Whether their rmendations
would be followed through depends on the prosecutors and the judges
for the case. In the past, such rmendations were given some
consideration but that wasn''t always the case.
Everyone was there to discuss what the monarch should rmend. It
was easy for most of those they arrested in the Kyltons'' residence,
except for one: Greg.
The Duke''s story to Deputy Chief Laurent was this: A few months after
Xandar ascended the throne, Greg was approached by a Lycan who
called himself Han. Han imed to represent someone anti-
government, and he offered Greg a way to get back at his cousins. Greg
asked for the identity of his employer but Han said that they wanted to
remain anonymous. He then showed Greg his own criminal record to
prove that he wasn''t sent by the govemment. Greg looked him up, and
it turns out he was legit, being an ex smuggler of dangerous
substances. Arrested, indicted and served his sentence.
Blinded by his lust for revenge, Greg epted the offer and rounded
up the ministers and Tanner, and they put the n into action. Greg
imed to have never seen Han again after the first transaction went
through smoothly. He never knew he was working with the Kyltons,
which was believable with the conversation recorded in the Kyltons
dining room. Lord Kylton made it clear during that conversation that
Greg never spoke to him or Lady Kylton in any of his past transactions.
And Dalloway’s men got Greg to describe Han, which he did, and they
found a profile match in their old archive.
Laurent then got him to exin how he ended up in the Kyltons’
residence, so he gave his ount of events on the night Livia came to
his casino. As expected, Laurent asked for the location and ordered an
immediate infiltration of the casino, only to find it empty and deserted
Upon being questioned, the Duke said he had no clue where the
people there had gone. When Lucianne asked Dalloway about Greg''s
demeanor, the Chief said that the Duke exemplified a creature who was
telling the truth.
Despite Greg''s ignorance of working with the Kyltons and of the empty
casino, there was no denying that he hadmitted numerous crimes.
So, the question remains: how should he be punished?
Tate argued, “If it''s true that he sent the rogues to the Jewel Pack, I
don''t see why he shouldn''t be given the highest form of punishment.”
Toby lifted up his copy of the report and said, “Maybe it''s because he
was just the middleman who made the call? I mean, ording to this,
Sasha Cummings was the one who came up with the idea. The Duke
merely h —
"Does it matter?!" Zelena shouted from across the table.
“It does, actually.” Lucianne’s cool voice caught everyone''s attention.
She was on Xandar’sp with his arms secured around her abdomen,
pressing her back to his chest because the King was finding it very
difficult to remain calm while they discussed the contents of the report.
He read it the previous night, and lost his temper twice before Lucianne
decided that it was better for her to b e in his embrace as she stroked
his hand while they read the document together.
Lucianne exined, “If Greg didn’te up with the idea and merely
did what Sasha got him to do, then he was only an aplice. Sasha
was the perpetrator.”
Tate argued again, “If he hadn''t made the call, she wouldn''t have been
able to send those bast*rds to the Jewel Pack, Lucy!”
“Are you sure about that, Tate?” Lucianne asked, which got everyone
thinking before the Queen added, “I''m definitely not. Sasha was mad.
She was infuriated and...insane. If Greg hadn''t helped her, I doubt she''d
just abort her n and leave me unharmed. She would find someone
else to get the job done. And from whatever the bartender
eavesdropped through the door on the night Greg and Sasha had a
drink together, it seems he was trying to get her to pull the brakes.
But...” Lucianne sighed as she continued,”
There''s also the fact that he made it possible for Wu Bi Corp to exist
and flourish; for former ministers and the head of the National Audit
Department to siphon government funds; and he confessed to...
sterilizing the Duchess.”
Thatst item did not sit well with any of them. On the previous night,
Christian growled so loudly that the kids had to be hiddened while
Annie tried to calm her husband. He was ready to storm to the police
station and tear Greg apart but Annie pulled him back, begging him to
not do anything rash. His eyes had been onyx since then, and he was
anything but cheerful during the meeting.
With Annie on hisp, Christian then said in a low voice, “Sterilized with
the same poison that was then used on you, my Queen, because of
what he shared with the now dead Cummings.”
“I didn''t know that was Sasha''s pitch, Christian. I assumed it was Kelissa
who came up with the idea to render me infertile. I didn''t kill Sasha
because of that. And I kept Kelissa alive despite thinking she''d done it.”
Lucianne rified.
Christian then said in despair, “I know that. It''s just... how can you even
think of forgiving Greg after everything he did? He put the idea into her
head, and she used it against you. My Queen, you wanted children.”
Xandar''s breathing got heavy, too. His grip around his mate tightened
as he buried his nose in her hair. Lucianne tried her best to not be
swayed by his bubbling inferno or her own loss, and said, “It''s not a
question of forgiveness right now, at least not yet. Forgiveness is
personal. In our professional capacity in the service of the Kingdom, we
have to...find a bnced solution.”
Everyone''s hard looks showed discontent and dissatisfaction by the fact
that they would not be able to go all out on the other Duke. Xandar
then said, “Baby, listen. I get that you want to go a little easier on Greg
but let''s face it, we have every reason tomit him t o the highest
degree of punishment.”
She locked eyes with her mate and said sternly, “Only if you ignored
what he had been doing for us in recent weeks, Xandar. Have you
forgotten that he was the very reason the justice system had ample
evidence to put those ministers behind bars?”
“He STARTED the corruption, sweetheart.” Xandar noted ferociously, his
voice getting louder.
Lucianne challenged her mate with equally fierce eyes and tone, “And
he ENDED it, my King. Are you saying that doesn’t matter? A t all?”
Silence ensued and she continued, “You very well know we were hitting
a dead end with the corrupt ministers. The audits Ellia gave us were
flimsy because they were in hard copies, hidden for almost two
decades. It wasn''t possible to authenticate those. The court was ready
to throw it out as suspicious evidence. Even if we got Ellia and the
others to testify, there was a chance that the sentencing wouldn''t be as
heavy as it now is. Greg''s evidence came in a chip, and it was
authenticated with ease. The strength o f the evidence he handed over
put those people he colluded with behind bars. Now, he’s even given
himself up.”
Xandar argued, “If I remember correctly, we arrested him, Lucy. He
couldn''t run.”
Lucianne’s eyebrows raised as she questioned him, “Do you really
believe that? Do you really think he couldn''t get out of anywhere i f he
wanted to? How do you exin his impable disappearance for the
past couple of weeks? And if he wanted to run, why didn''t he do just
that right after sending us the location of the Kyltons'' residence? Why
did he wait for us to get there to bring him back with us?”
Xandar averted his eyes and breathed in anger because he wasn''t able
to answer her. No one could answer Lucianne, or argue against her. She
turned to face everyone and said, “We only have him now because he is
giving himself up. I don''t know why he’s doing it but if there isn''t a
bnced indictment for Greg, then every other criminal lurking in the
dark corners of the Kingdom would never see the point in leaving their
ways anding to us. We CAN''T have that. We can''t disregard the
help that a criminal has given to the government and the monarchy.
Omitting to take their contribution into ount amounts to a form of
punishment that is greater than torture, greater than any punishment
that can be imposed by thew.”
“What''s that? What can be greater than torture or death?” Juan asked
the question running through everyone’s minds.