Chapter 177: The Purge: The Mayor’s Dilemma 2
The Mayor sat frozen, the weight of the news crashing over him like a tidal wave. His mouth hung open, breath shallow as he gripped the dining table, knuckles white. Hook and Ruffus, equally stunned, stared at each other, eyes wide, as if the world had tilted beneath them.
Inside Mayor Aderte’s mind, a storm raged. If the magistrate had been captured and was now facing trial, then how long before his own sins came to light? The secrets they had shared, the crimes they had committed hand-in-hand—extortion, abuse, betrayal of the very people he was sworn to serve—it was all unraveling.
If the people were called as witnesses, wouldn’t the townsfolk speak against him for the many atrocities he committed against them? They did not say anything before because he used terror to reign, but now with someone from the capital...
He swallowed hard. He had always prided himself on being clever, shrewd. How else could he have held onto his position for so many years amid whispers and unrest? But now, the walls were closing in.
He acted swiftly.
"Pack at once," he told his three eldest daughters, voice low but urgent. He turned to the nannies. "Take the boys and their mothers. Whatever you can carry, essentials only, and your valuables at hand. You’re going to Zura, your aunt is there."
He didn’t wait for their questions.
Turning to his loyal captain of the guard, he said, "Marcial, I’m entrusting them to you. Take half a dozen men. No one must follow you. Use the hidden path by the orchard, the one that leads past the cemetery. You know where the boats are kept—use them to cross the river Praya. I’ll join you in two or three days."
Marcial nodded and exited the dining room to make arrangements for the children’s escape.