Music Recommendation: Aftermath- Nathan Barr

James Sullivan arrived at Darthmore's Council in his carriage. The presence of his carriage didn't go unnoticed by the fellow council members, who waited for the werewolf to step out of his carriage and when he did, they were more than eager to greet him.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Sullivan."

"Good afternoon," James politely returned the greetings as if he had been trained to do so, while his eyes were already looking ahead of him. He made his way to where the Council held reports and when he reached the place, the clerk offered him a bow, but didn't bother to stand up.

"Mr. Sullivan, what brings you to the Council? How can I help you?" The clerk who sat behind the desk inquired, giving all his attention to the werewolf.

"I am here to inquire about the proceedings regarding my family's missing butler. It has been nearly a week and we haven't heard anything about the matter. Has the Council slowed down their work?" James stepped forward, and this action intimidated the clerk. "It is easy to replace other servants, but not a good and efficient butler who is willing to dedicate his life to the family he has been serving for years. And this one was a treasure."

"Let me take a look if the case has been moved or if there has been any progress," the clerk replied before standing up and finding the case file.

When another worker at the clerk's room arrived, the clerk asked him, "Mamon, where is the file that concerns Sullivan's missing butler?"

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The assistant stared at the clerk for three seconds before he replied in confusion , "I don't think it was submitted, sire."

James looked at the worker with an expressionless face and said, "Noah Sullivan, the Duke of Woodlock himself came in here and reported the file. Check all the racks in here."

But the assistant shook his head, "Duke Noah did make a visit here, but it had nothing to do with any missing person. It was about speeding the transaction regarding the transfer of ownership of some land in Brokengroves."

James's eyes narrowed slightly, because he didn't know what that was about, and he said, "I would like to take a look at that file. This property of land in Brokengroves."

The main clerk jumped back into the conversation by saying, "Unfortunately, the details of the files cannot be shared with another person except for the owner, Mr. Sullivan."

"I am his uncle. His family."

"Even if that is so, as you know the Council's rules here. We are prohibited from sharing the files that don't belong to others," answered the main clerk.

All this while, Noah had always shared everything he did with James, which was why the older werewolf now had difficulty guessing what Noah was up to. It was very unlike Noah to hide anything from him or his family. And this, in turn, made him question what else was being hidden.

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James said, "I would like you to check the files again. If the report hasn't been made then do it now."

How strange, James thought in his mind. It was because he remembered Noah telling him clearly that he had made the report. And that it was taking time, but he found that Noah had never reported here. What was the boy hiding?

"Of course, sire. Let me take in the details," the main clerk replied, and he began to write, while James gave the description of their family butler.

Once the report was made, James stepped out of the room and walked down the corridor. Making his way to the other room, which collected records and files. If he wasn't able to get his hand on the file, he would get the contents of it in another way.

His footsteps were sharp, and he continued to walk towards the room. On finding a councilman carrying a stack of documents in his arms, who struggled to open the door now. He was more than happy to offer his help, and he said,

"Looks like the newly recruited councilmen are working hard. Let me help you," he said, being benevolent and helpful.

The councilman was indeed new, and he quickly offered a bow to James, "I wouldn't want to impose you with such a work, Mr. Sullivan!"

"Ah, do we know each other?" James asked with a smile and picked the upper half of the documents in his arms.

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The newly recruited councilman shook his head, and when James looked at the door, he quickly said, "Let me open it." He quickly pulled out a key, and while opening the door, he said, "I have heard about you, Mr. Sullivan. You are Duke Noah's uncle, you have contributed remarkable work for the Council and the society."

"You exaggerate, I was only doing something any other common man would," James smiled when the door opened, and the councilman stepped inside first and followed James. "You should ask someone to help you carry it next time."

"Yes, sire!" The new councilman replied with eagerness. The two men placed the two stacks of documents into the rack there, and before the councilman could turn, James pulled out his shoelace.

James said, "Looks like the lace loosened itself. Why don't you go ahead, I am sure you have plenty of work, while I fix my lace and make sure to close the door on my way out?"

The newly appointed councilman didn't see any harm in leaving the reputed man in the room. He bowed before leaving the room with the door shutting behind him, as a person inside the room could open the door without a key while a person outside the room would need a key. And this was something James Sullivan was already aware of.

He made it look like he was tying his shoelace, taking his own sweet time, before finally standing up alone in the room.

James quickly walked through the rows of racks in the room before he came to the reports for this current month. He went through every file until he finally came across Noah's file. Picking it up, he opened it to have a single parchment. The parchment didn't hold details, but it mentioned

Duke Noah Sullivan hereby transfers the property he possesses from Brokengroves to Vincent Moriarty. The land measures from the tower bell to the edge of the town where the local carriage stop pole exists. All the assets will be processed as his statement

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James read the rest of what was written, and his eyebrows furrowed. When did Noah buy the lands in Brokengroves, and why give it to Vincent? Was it to taunt him because Brokengroves held the least value compared to the other lands? Below the parchment was the Council's seal, which meant the transaction had already been made.

Checking the date when it was processed, he noticed it was done recently. He had let Noah know about the Sullivans and the Moriarty family dynamics. Yet, Noah was doing something behind his back.

As minutes passed, James continued to stand there with a blank expression before he placed the file back and left the Council.