The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

42 Council Hall.

~Tamia~

I leaned into Sylvester in the Limo, and he held me tight. Linda was in Theodore's arms, and we rode in silence.

I wondered why Vino would allow Larry to bring their exes there. Was he trying to ruin our relationship? Then again, I also knew that the council members bullied him, so he must not have had a say. The man needed to grow a pair, or people would keep walking all over him.

We arrived at the Volkov estate, and Sylvester and I went straight to our bedroom.

Although we had showered at Vino's mansion, I needed to wash the place off my body. I entered the shower and turned on the water.

Sylvester joined me, already naked.

"How are you feeling?" He finally asked, and I nodded.

"I am sorry I acted the way I did.." He started, and I pulled him closer to my body. I looked up so I could see his eyes.

"You didn't do anything wrong. I am impressed by your self-control. You are lord, you could have arrested them, and no one would question you." I said and rested my head against his chest.

"I am proud of you," I said, and he wrapped his arms around me and exhaled. I felt sorry for him that his brother would work against him like this.

We left the shower and got dressed. He wanted to go to his office immediately, and I knew it was because of the seal and his signature.

"Sylvester, may I bring up a suggestion?" I told him on his way out, and he nodded.

"I do not know who is doing this to you, but the person either lives in this estate or has people in this estate. I suggest you have a special ink made for your signature." I said, and he smiled at me, but I wasn't done talking yet.

So I walked up to him and placed my hand on his chest.

"I know I am yet to be luna, and I do not know the laws of the north, but I will like you to allow me to help you look into the matter secretly. I might find out things," I requested, hoping he would agree.

I remembered how I used to help Leo with investigations in the east. Although nothing serious like this happened, I knew how it was done.

"Of course, Luna," he said and bent to kiss me on the lips. Then he folded his hands and raised his eyebrow.

"Let's say you were to do this, where will you begin?" he asked, and I giggled.

"Follow the trail of the so-called tax increment document from who delivered it to where they received it, all the way back to its origin. If I could trace it back to its source, we would find the culprit or the accomplice. We might have to go to the west undercover to get the complete picture. I also feel it was dishonest for Alpha Brighton not to tell you about the attack himself. We should look into that, too," I said and sighed.

"I have a long list," I told him, and he looked at me in awe.

"Wow, Tamia," he said, sounding genuinely impressed.

"Would you mind working with me, Marcel and Theodore on this?" He asked, and I smiled at him.

"I will think about it," I said, and he smiled and gently brushed my cheek with his hands.

"Try and get some rest," he told me and walked away.

I wasn't planning to rest. I was planning to make sure he had no opposition during the hearing at the council hall the next day, so as soon as he left, I searched for Stephanie.

I stood at her door and knocked.

"It's open," I heard her voice, and I walked in.

She was relaxing on a couch with a glass of wine in her hand. She looked in my direction and smiled.

"I was wondering when you would come to see me, Tamia," She said and motioned me to join her on the couch. She tried to pour me a glass of wine, but I declined. It was a bit too early to drink.

"How was the party?" She asked, and I nodded.

"It was fine until Dominic decided to embarrass Sylvester this morning," I said, and she frowned at me.

I looked at her with a straight face.

"Who is Larry to Dominic?" I asked her, and she frowned at me.

"Why are you asking me this?" She said, and I sighed.

"Because I do not understand why Dominic will always help Larry work against Sylvester. Today he accused Sylvester of something unscrupulous in the eyes of all the elites," I said, and she was stunned.

"He accused Sylvester of increasing taxes for poor people, and sending soldiers to attack people that couldn't pay. Who does that to his blood? Does he not know that the entire Volkov family will lose the Lordship if Sylvester falls?" I asked her, and she was still stunned.

"Dominic is your son, and Sylvester told me he is here because of you. I can overlook many things but not when it would hurt my mate's reputation. I do not like playing dirty, but you need to call your son to order. I won't take it easy if I find out he is setting Sylvester up," I said.

Her eyes showed fear. Stephanie was a woman like me, and she knew what women were capable of. I did not need to be Luna to do damage. Tears were streaming down her face, and she hugged me.

"I appreciate your love for Sylvester. I promise to talk some sense into Dominic, but please don't write him off, Tamia. I know you will be luna soon; I do not want him to be in your bad books," She said and broke the hug.

"Dominic was his father's favourite, and Larry was one of Maurice's good friends. They are just mad that Sylvester did not get justice for Maurice. Even I am mad about it," She explained, and I shook my head.

"It gives him no right to do what he did this morning. On no account should he side with an outsider against his brother. Sylvester has been summoned for questioning by the council tomorrow. I want you to stop Dominic from attending and complicating matters for Sylvester. Do you think you can do that?" I asked her, and she nodded. Wiping away her tears.

"Thank you," I said with a straight face.

"Now, will you drink that wine?" She asked, and I smiled at her and shook my head.

I did not feel like drinking, and I explained it to her.

She told me a few things about her life with her husband, and I was horrified to learn of the abuse he subjected her to.

The most baffling thing about it was that she didn't see it that way, so I held my peace and did not say anything about it.

I returned to the bedroom in the evening and found Sylvester on the bed staring at the ceiling. He sat up and smiled, but his smile could not fool me. I knew he was troubled. All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.

I went to him, and he pulled me close for a kiss.

"I can feel your anxiety, Sylvester. You need to tell me the real implications of tomorrow's questioning." I told him, and he sighed.

He placed his hands in mine and smiled at me.

"If I fail tomorrow, Dominic will get what he wants, and I will be asked to step down. Marcel and Theodore are willing to step down with me." He said and sighed.

"I do not want it to come to that, but I do not know what they have. If people are plotting against me, then I do not know the angle they will pick," he said, and I rubbed his back.

"You need to be calm, Sylvester," I said and squeezed his hand gently.

"You are innocent in this, and we will find the culprit," I told him, and he nodded.

We left for the council hall in the morning. Marcel and Theodore were in their jeeps, and we joined them in ours. We left the estate in convoy.

Sylvester was a lot calmer after we made love in the shower. I hoped Stephanie kept her promise and did not allow Dominic to come for the hearing; it would leave Larry on his own without support.

Only Dominic could challenge Sylvester; with him out of the way, the questioning would be straightforward. The good part was it could only be done once.

We arrived at the council and were taken to the box where we sat the last time, and it seemed everyone was waiting for us to arrive.

"Welcome, Lord Volkov; we are honoured to have you grace us with your presence," A woman said, standing up.

I looked at Larry, and he was quiet. I looked at Dominic's Box, and it was empty. I was glad he did not come.

"With all due respect, your eminence, this is just a hearing; there is no need to bring your fiance. When she is luna, she can partake in these meetings," The woman said with a straight face.

"Pamela Reeves, my Luna is with me based on my request, and she will also be observing and asking questions based on my request. It will be in your best interest to treat her with the appropriate respect. Bear in mind that I won't be changing my mind where she is concerned. So this council might as well get used to treating her as the Lady of the north, and my Luna," he said calmly, and she nodded.

"It has come to our attention that you ordered soldiers to attack the Brighton Pack in the western borders because they could not pay up. You know these people are farmers and can't afford the development tax. Yet, you ordered an attack on them," She said, lifting a paper that I was sure had Sylvester's signature on it.

"Your attack forced them to seek refuge with Bane," She said and sat down.

Sylvester wanted to respond, but I stopped him. Instead, I stood up, pissed off by what the council was trying to do.

"I would like to ask some questions before Lord Volkov answers your accusations," I said, and they murmured.

"Let her speak," Vino said, and I smiled at him.

"Thank you, council leader," I said, appreciating Vino.

"I was of the notion this was a question and answer situation, not a judgemental situation," I said, and they murmured.

"I would prefer you use the word alleged when stating the crimes committed, Councilwoman Pamela," I said, and they were silent.

"First off, I want to ask this council if they questioned the officers that led this battle?" I asked, and they were silent.

"Where did the order come from? Who delivered this letter, and where did they get it from? Who gave it to them? Who collected it from the lord directly? Kindly answer these questions, and his eminence would gladly answer yours," I said calmly, and they began to murmur.

"I am not trying to create trouble here. I just want to know that that piece of paper came from my mate. Once you can prove it came from him, then we can proceed. Otherwise, I will ask this council to search for who will benefit from this action, who will want to frame his Lordship and who is likely to succeed," I said and sat down.

"Brilliant, Tamia," I heard Marcel's voice through the mind link.

"Good job," I heard Theodore's voice, and Sylvester squeezed my thigh gently.

"Where is Dominic Volkov?" Larry asked, and no one answered.

"What have you done to your brother?" Larry asked Sylvester in anger.

"I will not overlook your disrespect, old man!" Sylvester warned him, and he calmed down.

"I am beginning to suspect you and Dominic did this. If I find out you had a hand in this, I will end you myself. It is a promise, council man Larry," Sylvester said, and Vino stood up.

"I believe we owe his Lordship an apology for summoning him for a question and answer without doing our research," Vino said and bowed to Sylvester. Clearly, he wasn't in support of summoning Sylvester but had to as required of him by the council.

"I apologise on behalf of the council and promise we won't repeat this mistake. Aid will be sent to Brighton, and he will be informed that you had no hand in this, your eminence," he said, and Sylvester told him it was alright.

As much as I was glad about the turn of events, it was best for us to reach out to Brighton and do the needful. I did not trust the council. Only Vino Lawrence seemed to be on Sylvester's side, and we did not know him well enough.

They discussed other matters that involved Bane building an army to come to the north. People wanted Sylvester to send Marcel or Theodore to lead a charge to neutralise him and Leo.

I knew they included Leo because of me.

I knew they were testing my loyalty because Leo hadn't done anything wrong.

I had to hold my tongue and not speak so they do not claim that I was still loyal to my ex-husband and was only using Sylvester.

The emphasis on attacking Leo was so much that Theodore and Marcel caught on and had to shut them up.

One thing we all knew was that Leo was a very peaceful man and would never do anything to hurt or attack anyone. At the end of the hearing, I concluded that we needed to investigate the council thoroughly.