Yours, Until Needed
Chapter 89: Councilor Roa

Chapter 89: Councilor Roa

We found ourselves in a situation so unusual that even Lucian found it questionable.

As I got back from a fun shopping day with Lily, I received a rare call from Alyssa.

I didn’t think much of it until I heard her frantic voice.

"Boss! Sorry for calling like this, but we have a problem!"

"What is it?" I haven’t heard anything yet, but I felt the acid rising to my throat.

"Our Building Permit application for Loretta was denied." Alyssa sounded almost hysterical while her words rang in my ears.

Denied a Building Permit? What’s so wrong with our project that it got an outright denial?

"Did they say why?" I had to brace myself against the wall closest to our main door.

"That’s the bigger problem, boss. Those bastards weren’t willing to tell me. They tried sounding technical, but even an idiot would know he was just pulling that from his ass!" She sounded positively pissed.

We discovered this when we hired Alyssa. She was normally mousy and meek, but tick her off, and she transforms into this monster. And her shy and gentle way of speaking suddenly gets replaced by a middle-aged gangster.

"Have they sent a Denial Notice?" I asked Alyssa, who could be heard stomping around. It sounded like she kept pacing with so much anger that her little physique could create sounds audible through the phone.

"Yes, boss, at first I thought they wanted bribes for it, but then we received a formal notice."

Hmmm...What would prompt the Mayor’s office to deny such a project?

I started to think about possible explanations when Alyssa sighed.

"Boss, actually, I am familiar with the Mayor of Loretta." She sounded hesitant, pushing the words out as if in pain.

"You know him?"

"Unfortunately."

"He used to be an in-law. That monster used to be married to my older cousin."

Alyssa did not mask her disdain. It was rather apparent that she hated the current Mayor. But I’m not one to force an employee to divulge personal secrets. She can decide what she’s comfortable with.

"Hey, don’t force yourself to talk about something like this. Kindly inform Rina about this while I consult around for the next best option. I’ll see you tomorrow."

It was already rather late, past office hours, and there was no use in panicking at this hour. I also had to hear this because my desire to fly over there to rip them a new one was strong.

The next best thing was to ask an expert. So, I decided to disturb my husband.

"Lucian, I have a problem."

He looked up from his computer, urging me to continue.

"Remember that Building Permit application you submitted? They denied it today."

He squinted at the news, his eye practically twitching. Lucian had been involved in that particular application, and this guy would not be able to tolerate such failure.

Lucian didn’t waste time. He just dialed for Oliver. "Look into the accounts of the Mayor of Loretta. Monitor that guy’s movements. He’s likely blocking the permit himself."

I had the same assumption because up until the last step, all of it had gone through as usual. It was even expedited. Then suddenly, we’re handed a denial. Horseshit.

"Lucian, please tell Oliver to check for mistresses or underhanded dealings." I chimed in.

If my guess was correct, Alyssa’s anger may be related to something disgusting.

__

Just as expected, the Earth had been riddled with scum. And somehow, they would always survive the longest, just like Mayor Joseph Roa.

The guy could serve as the poster boy for bad politicians. When Alyssa started telling us about him and her older cousin, she looked ready to kill.

Her older cousin, Ara, was said to be a bit too naive. She was heavily sheltered and unprepared for the world’s true evils.

She met Joseph Roa when he was campaigning for Town Councilor. He was giving a speech at her school, and somehow, she caught his attention.

Alyssa described the start of her cousin’s whirlwind romance. But honestly, none of that sounded like a whirlwind. It was more of a tornado.

"He got Ara by love-bombing her, and my poor naive cousin thought the sun shone from his ass." Alyssa kept on taking deep breaths as she continued her story.

Everyone told her to go slowly and to get to know the guy first, but Ara was brainwashed. Joseph kept telling her that her family just wanted to break them up, to keep her there. And the gullible Ara believed it.

He told her that maybe she could elope with him. Ara thought it was genuine. And Joseph kept telling her that he would have enough power to protect their relationship once he won the elections.

Their family have long been residents of the place and were relatively well-off. Soon, they would all realize what Joseph was after.

He kept insinuating that he needed funds for his campaign and that this would make a huge difference in her family’s acceptance of their relationship.

So Ara decided to give him all her allowance and savings secretly. Their family had no idea because Ara had always been frugal. She rarely bought anything and barely went out until she met Joseph.

By the time they noticed, it had already been too late.

"We learned about what was happening when my aunt received a letter from the school regarding her tuition fee payment."

"That’s when we learned that she’s been diverting her school funds to support him when she ran out of personal belongings to sell."

Alyssa kept on clenching and unclenching her fists, and I was torn about wanting to stop her from proceeding because this may be too much for her to recall.

But she kept on going and told us about the time they pulled Ara away from Joseph, only for his uncle to receive lewd photos of Ara.

"He threatened to expose the photos and videos to the public if they didn’t allow Ara to marry him. Joseph told Ara that he did this for her own good. He needed to have something over her parents so that they could get married."

Rina looked at me, and even I was reminded of how Jasper wanted to do the same thing but was insistent I marry Nicholas.

That was a harrowing ordeal. Jasper fabricated the photos, so I would’ve eventually found a way out. But Ara’s were real because she had no concept of self-preservation and didn’t consider people’s ill will.

"We wanted to go to the authorities to report him for blackmailing, but he’s got Ara all wound around his finger. She threatened to harm herself if we stopped her."

Alyssa told us how they ended up married. At first, Joseph indulged her, making her think it was the right decision.

This prompted her to entrust him with the assets under her name, including her inheritance from our grandparents and insurance claims. And he sucked her dry.

All hell broke loose when she had nothing more to give. This even included the inheritance left by her parents, who perished a year after her marriage.

"Honestly, I even had doubts about their deaths. How could they die from their car overturning due to overspeeding when my uncle drove slower than a turtle?"

I couldn’t help but shudder as I listened to Alyssa. Joseph made Jasper sound like child’s play, and that’s saying something!