Chapter 6: The Tides of Betrayal

"He’s changed," Dad said. "I don’t recognize him anymore."

He had pleaded for General Caldwell many times, but was rebuked by the mayor, who said that for the sake of my disaster relief in the flood zone, he would not punish my father this time.

It was a thinly veiled threat. The message was clear: stay out of it, or pay the price.

When I entered city hall that day, the mayor didn’t show any dissatisfaction with my father, nor did he mention the matter.

He acted as if nothing had happened, but I could feel the tension beneath the surface.

No one knew what the mayor was really thinking.

It was like trying to read a poker face—impossible to know what cards he was holding.

All I could do was arrange for people to secretly take care of General Caldwell in jail.

I slipped money to the guards, begged old friends for favors. Anything to make his time there a little less hellish.

This matter wasn’t even resolved when trouble broke out on Harrison’s side.

I barely had time to catch my breath before the next disaster hit.

A dancer from the city theater accused Harrison of plotting a coup.

The accusation was ridiculous, but people were quick to believe the worst.

It was pure nonsense.

No one who knew Harrison would believe it, but facts didn’t seem to matter anymore.

Harrison was honest and kind—how could he rebel?

He was the least likely person in the world to start a fight, let alone a rebellion.

The dancer said she had often heard Harrison, when drunk, call the mayor foolish and incompetent, and that he had secretly hidden a ceremonial robe in his quarters.

It sounded rehearsed, like she’d been coached on what to say. Still, the council listened.

The mayor sent people to search and actually found the robe.

It was damning evidence, even if it had been planted. The mayor’s mind was made up.

The mayor’s wife fainted several times upon hearing the news.

She’d always been strong, but this broke her. I heard she was confined to her room, refusing to eat or speak.

But the mayor seemed bewitched, ignoring the woman who had stood by him for years and helped him get elected.

He barely glanced at her, more interested in the accusations than the truth.

He even ordered a search of the mayor’s mansion.

No one was safe—not even his own family.

There, they found a voodoo doll with the mayor’s birthday written on it.

The sight sent a chill through the staff. Superstition ran deep in Silver Hollow, and this was no small offense.

Voodoo was strictly forbidden in the city, let alone using it to harm the mayor.

People whispered about curses and bad luck, crossing themselves as they passed the mayor’s house.

The doll’s head was pierced with needles, as if wishing for his death.

It was a clear message, and the mayor took it personally.

The mayor was furious.

He raged for hours, smashing things in his office. The whole city felt the aftershocks.

His wife was removed and sent away to an abandoned house on the edge of town.

It was exile in all but name. She was given a single servant and left to rot.

Harrison was also removed from office and exiled to Alaska.

The news spread quickly—Silver Hollow’s golden boy, sent to the ends of the earth.

The mayor’s wife, Harrison’s mother, was kind and never mistreated the staff.

People wept for her, leaving flowers at the gate. She’d always been fair, always had a kind word for everyone.

Yet she ended up like this.

It was a warning to the rest of us—no one was untouchable.

All the servants in the mayor’s mansion, except for the old housekeeper who followed her to exile, were fired and run out of town.

They scattered to nearby towns, afraid to even speak her name.