Chapter 381: Mercer murderer.
The shot rang out, deafening. Perhaps, if it had been a simple ordinary gun shot, not accompanied by mental strength, Simon could have been saved. But the Mercer matriarch was determined to kill the man that had brought her shame and ruin.
She added mental strength to force the speed of the bullet, while firing three more shots. One caught Simon in the middle of his chest. He collapsed, blood pooling beneath him. Screams erupted as three other family members fell, wounded by the three stray bullets.
Chaos consumed the hall. Enforcers and guards surged forward, relatives shrieked, and Sienna stood rooted, her mind racing. Her personal guards were already flanking her, weapons raised in the direction of the Mercer matriarch.
Meanwhile, the Mercer matriarch’s face was twisted with madness, her gun still smoking. One of the enforcers wrestled her to the ground, her sudden shrieks echoing like a banshee’s curse.
Sienna suddenly stepped onto the table, and screamed. "Stop shouting, all of you. I need order in here. Everyone that is trying to push past the enforcers at the door, stop it right now. The shooter has been apprehended."
Her words steadied some, but others spat curses. An uncle whose wife had been shot was demanding vengeance. A fox beast woman lunged at the matriarch but enforcers held her back. A teenage girl wailed over her wounded brother.
An enforcer walked to Sienna and whispered something to her that made her face fall.
Sienna raised her hand, commanding silence. "Simon Soliz is dead. The matriarch of your Mercer family will face trial for murder. Your Mercer family will not dissolve into blood feuds in front of me. If you wish to tear each other apart, do it outside these walls. But here--here, you will respect my office."
She stepped down from the table, and Mija slipped to her side, whispering urgently. "Si, tell the enforcers to open the doors. The wounded need to go to a hospital. And press is outside, the news of the Mercers descending on your office has been spreading for a while. Everyone knows about their affairs. The widows are open, the sound of the gunshots has probably reached their ears already."
Sienna’s jaw tightened. The press would feast on this scandal, spreading it across the networks before night fell. The noble Mercer family’s shame would be immortalized. Whether they kept their nobility after this, was something she doubted.
She turned to the enforcers. "Take the wounded to the medical wing. If anyone has very very serious injuries, fly them to a hospital. Take Simon’s body and the Mercer matriarch along with you. I am sure half of the press will follow you to get the scoop."
The doors were opened under careful guidance of the enforcers and her instructions were followed. Some of the Mercers surged like ants, desperate to follow their queen. But Sienna forced the enforcers to close the doors again.
"Why aren’t you letting us out?"
"We have to go with our wounded relatives."
"What are you doing?"
"We came with our lawyers, and we can sue you for forceful restriction."
Angry voices rose until she raised her hand, to silence them. "I am not planning on keeping you here longer than I have to. But I am also not planning to keep the office open during holidays just to fix problems that could be fixed today. Evey couple that intends to divorce will do so today. If you don’t do it, I will not welcome you back once the winter holiday ends. I cannot take the risk that another person from your family will commit murder right in front of me."
"Now!" Dricella Mercer pushed her way forward. "Simon’s blood has not even been wiped away!"
Sienna’s voice was sharp as she responded, "I am afraid that there will be more blood if I don’t eliminate some of your problems today. Your husband looks ready to kill you."
Vic Scavo sneered at his wife. She hissed at him in response.
Sienna said coldly, "See what I mean? We are settling things today. And hear me clearly, there will be no screaming battles, no brawls, no theatrics. Anyone who raises their voice in violence or disrupts this hearing will be imprisoned all through the winter holiday. If you cannot agree on custody or division of assets, you will go to court and settle it there. I will not waste my time or that of my people on endless quarrels unless the matter is sensitive enough to warrant my hand."
Her aides, Mija, the guards, lawyers and court clerk moved quickly, setting up tables, placing down papers that were missing signatures, and Sienna’s seals.
Enforcers lined the walls, their presence a silent threat against rebellion.
"Let’s begin." Sienna commanded.
One by one, couples stepped forward. Vic Scavo was the first, and he was impatient. "I will sign the divorce papers. Custody and property will be forwarded to court." He signed without any urging.
Dricella scoffed and she signed. "Make sure that the reason for divorce indicates clearly that he is a cheating asshole with a bastard child."
Before they could fight, enforcers escorted them out. As long as they fought out of Sienna’s presence, it was okay.
Sienna signed and stamped the papers and Mika took them to the table of the lawyer next to hers.
Bastian and Sidora did not even go to Sienna. They went straight to one of the office lawyers, spoke for about a minute. Their lawyer explained custody agreements, which they agreed on and signed.
At the same time, Sienna was handling Reynard and Honoria. Even though they both signed, they disagreed on property division. Reynard wanted his wife to leave with nothing, not even the clothes on her back!
Enforcers sent them out before they could start and argument. Their issues could be saved for a judge.
Davis and Angela were the last of the original four couples that had come to her seeking to divorce. Like Bastian, they didn’t bother Sienna. An officer lawyer handled their case with ease. They also agreed to handle custody and property division in court.
Sienna sighed in relief. At least that was taken care of. If these four had done this in her office, things would not have escalated to this point. Simon would be alive.
"Must we do this at a crime scene?" Mija whispered to her, gesturing to the enforcers that were questioning the Mercers that had been standing closest to their matriarch when she shot. Others were scanning the spot were Simon fell.
Sienna sighed. "If I don’t do this now, I am afraid one of them kill each other in the next hall we move to. Now that I know they are capable of murder, I am not taking chances. Even if someone does something stupid at home, the whole world should at least know that I tried to help."
She would never forget the case of Happy and Betty. A lot of people had been condemned by the public for everything that led to such a devastating end. But not her. People had praised Sienna for helping as much as she could.
So, if Vic killed Dricella, at least nobody would claim that it was because she denied the volatile couple a divorce. And Sienna was worried about those two. The kind of hatred burning in their eyes would not die easily.
"Anyone else?" Sienna looked around and asked, loudly. "It is my last day of office before a long holiday and my last time handling Mercer divorces."
Two fox beast women stepped forward. One started the tale of infidelity but Sienna raised her hand and stopped her. "I am not indulging in gossip today. I want the short version and proof. I want ’I love him or her’ or ’I can’t stand him or her’ anymore. Anybody that is in an ’I am confused state’ should not step up, only those who cannot live with their partners anymore. I want all the couples who want to separate because of infidelity but don’t agree on custody and asset splitting to step up first. Those whose files we will be sending to court."
Those women and their husbands proceeded to go forward. Six more couples joined them and all signed divorce papers.
After dealing with them, Sienna raised her voice. "Now, I want those who are willing to divorce and split assets and custody equally to come next."
Only two couples did that. They signed, shame burning their faces like it had done the others.
Sienna cleared her throat. "Now those who want to divorce, divide assets equally and give full custody to the mothers or fathers but maintain visitation rights."
Three couples went through with this. In all their cases, custody went to the mothers.
She broke down the groups into more categories. The hours dragged on. Sienna’s aides worked tirelessly, drafting agreements, stamping seals, guiding trembling hands to signatures.
There were twenty nine couples all together that chose to divorce. The final couple, an elderly one went last. They didn’t quarrel or make a fuss. There were no children to fight over, or assets to divide. Just memories of fifty three years together to forget.
It was the only couple Sienna seemed hesitant to split apart.