billion book
Chapter 194
The next three weeks passed in a blur, with the Kyltons’, Aphaels’, Tanner's and Greg's lawyers trying their best to save their clients. Some of the arguments and rebuttals got so ridiculous that the judges held their heads like they were getting a migraine.
One day before the verdict was scheduled to be delivered, every pack leader and Gamma boarded flights to the Kingdom and stayed over in hotels before making their way to court the next day. When the wolves saw each other in court, they embraced and chatted. The noise died down when the accused persons were brought into the courtroom. Almost everyone scowled at the Kyltons, Aphaels and Tanners, emitting low growls as they walked past with police escorts to be seated in the area designated for them. When Greg was brought in, however, no werewolf or Lycan made a sound.
They had been following the news, and were well aware of the magnitude of his contribution to the present case. Most of them were conflicted in what they thought of him. They hated him for helping the rogue corporation at its inception but they respected him for turning against the crooks and giving himself up to the authorities.
Those who still blamed him for the lives lost from rogue attacks chose to keep their comments to themselves since Lucianne emphasized that the losses would have continued, or even exacerbated, had the Duke not done what he did in recent weeks.
Dalloway's task force managed to track down and arrest two of the rogues’ suppliers. Any silver, Oleander, serums and poisons found were seized and sent to the labs to be neutralized. The last supplier managed to clean out the hideout and flee before the task force arrived, so trackers were brought into the task force to help continue the search. 1 In the course of four weeks, the wolves caught and handed over about fifty runaway rogues, and killed another forty who tried to escape custody. These were caught not because they tried to attack packs but because they had to run through certain packs in the course of their escape, resulting in their capture. When questioned about where the rest were, every rogue said that they didn't know because after coming out from the submarine, they dispersed, running in all directions since they weren't sure which was the safest route to survival anymore. Without the shelter, supplies and support from the corporation, the rogues were more vulnerable than ever. Since there was no longer any aid for the ruthless creatures, no pack reported any attacks in the past few weeks for the first time in so long. Tate and Toby were leading an expedition to hunt down the rest of the rogues in wolf territory, while Phelton and Langford were doing the same in Lycan territory. No wolf could deny that their packs were only safe now because of what Greg did in recent weeks, yet they still couldn't let go of the fact that he was one who made all those years of attacks possible.
Conflicted. That was the only way to describe how most of them felt. Two minutes after the accused persons were brought in, five judges entered the courtroom and everyone stood to exchange bows with them. After everyone was seated, Judge Cook began, “Good morning to everyone present. This case, as everyone knows, has
taken weeks to come to its end. And after much deliberation, we have come to the verdicts of the accused persons.”
The courtroom was so full that many had to stand. Many more were outside the courtroom, relying on their hearing to keep up with what was going on inside. Fortunately, Judge Cook was considerate enough to read out the judgment louder than he normally would. “The facts of this case are unheard of, and what the accused persons have done is unacceptable not just in the eyes of the law but also in the eyes of any decent creature.”
“The evidence mounted against the accused persons have been authenticated, thus are irrefutable. Such evidence not only included voice recordings but also hard drives seized by the police force, which shows the grand scheme of Wu Bi Corporation, a company founded and established by the distinguished Kylton family, aimed to siphon funds from the government AND the monarchy before seeking to... demand that the King take their daughter's hand in marriage.”
Low growls filled the room, from werewolves to Lycans. Xandar's eyes turned onyx in an instant when he growled as subtly as he could with the rest. For once, the judges didn’t shush the attendees. Lucianne’s thumb stroked Xandar's hand, and she looked at him with a soft gaze in hopes of calming him down. He pecked a kiss on her temple as the lilac shades returned. 1
Judge Cook's voice continued to ring loud and strong in the courtroom, “Building a corruption scheme is one thing. Building it to challenge the monarchy amounts to treason at its highest degree, and treason justifies a punishment of death or eternal torture.”
Judge Cook cleared his throat and continued, “On with the sentencing we shall start with the perpetrators, the Kyltons. It is the unanimous decision of this court that the assets owned by the Lord, Lady and the heiress of the Kylton family be seized and sold to recover double of the amount stolen from the government over the years. The family shall each be subjected to solitary confinement for life, and only brought out for the daily whipping of ten strokes, and an electrocution for thirty minutes three times a week. The judiciary concurs with the monarchy’s request to install speakers in their confinement units, playing audiotapes of radio stations which reported on wolf pack massacres in the past. We thank our cousin species for digging up their archives and making copies for us.”
Xandar was the first to suggest installing the speakers and playing those tapes, crediting his mate for the idea she gave him after Sasha hurt them both on the training ground. Lucianne immediately clarified that she never intended to execute such an
inhumane thing but it didn't stop everyone at the meeting from getting onboard with her brutal idea. Christian, Juan, Tate, Toby and Zelena were the most enthusiastic when it came to pushing for this to be in the recommendation.
Lucianne didn't fully agree with putting that in at first, and was only swayed because everyone else supported this form of punishment, from her mate to the second-in-command to her brother and friends. Even Phelton, who normally didn't advise her on what to do, urged her to support the motion, reminding her that many of her kind were lost because of the Kylton family. When Lucianne recalled the friends she lost, along with the children who were killed in the process, it wasn't very difficult to get on their side.
“For the first accomplice, Livia Aphael, solitary confinement for life, brought out only for the daily whipping of five strokes. Her parents, Dax and Cornelia Aphael, for being wilfully blind to the crimes being committed under the same roof and for speaking against the Queen, imprisonment for forty years and a fine of two hundred thousand dollars each.”
“The second accomplice, Helena Tanner, solitary confinement for life, brought out only for the daily whipping of seven strokes and an electrocution of thirty minutes three times a week for obstruction of justice when she disobeyed the Duke's order to surrender herself to the police; for attempting to murder a child with Oleander which ended up hurting Her Royal Highness instead; for blackmailing her employees to commit treason and assist in her crimes, and for participating in the corruption scheme. Her assets shall also be seized and sold for the government to recover twice the amount that was stolen.”
“As for her husband, Vincent Tanner, who remained wilfully blind to his wife's crimes despite having felt the anguish when his wife was battered by the Duke when he demanded she turned herself over to the authorities, one whip a day for an imprisonment period of fifty years and a fine of three hundred thousand dollars. As requested by his counsel, Vincent Tanner shall be anesthetized when Helena Tanner is being whipped and electrocuted so as to ensure that he bears only his own punishment. Helena Tanner shall NOT be given anesthesia when Vincent Tanner is being whipped.”
“Rico and Ridalpho Tanner, for being wilfully blind to the crimes being committed under the same roof in the period of time they were in the Kyltons' residence, imprisonment for forty years and a fine of one hundred thousand dollars each.” “Finally, the Duke, Greg Claw.”