Reyona's anger rose to a feverish point as she looked at the couple who were nonchalantly repeating the mantra "Our boys are good breeds".
The husband was not as outspoken as the wife, yet, like broken records, one echoed what the other said.
"How can you even take what that troubled child said over what we told you?" The woman, who was oblivious to how close Reyona was to letting her have it, said to the associate commissioner.
"We have always been very diligent in taking care of these children and never has anyone had such a complaint about us before." the woman's voice was rising by the moment. "Our boys are an example of what a good job we do with these kids. Nobody had ever had a complaint about them before. They are good kids. Top of their classes too." With her gaze turned towards Reyona. "How dare…?"
"How dare a child speak about a traumatic experience she had in your home where she was supposed to be protected? How dare she try to protect her brother from your good boys? Well, I can see just how unreasonable you want to be, and I am sure you will soon be asking the judge how he dared to prosecute you and your good boys too."
"What?" the man's eyes widened in surprise as he said "What? You will sue us?"
"How can you sue us?" The woman questioned shrilly as she looked towards Mr. Han. "We did you all a favour, and now we are the ones getting sued? How can you allow this, sir? We have worked with the department for years now."
"I think we should all…"
"No wonder you have grown so comfortable with the money you are getting from the state for caring for those good children that you have forgotten your place." Maxwell barely raised his voice, yet his frosty tone effectively captured everyone's attention.
"Well, guess what? You will be reminded of what your duties are, especially since you think it beneath you to even ask the culprits in question about what happened." he narrowed his eyes as the woman wanted to interrupt him and the latter shut her mouth again. "Seems to me like you were aware of all this all along. And if you dare call my niece a troubled child again, you are going to regret it. "
"Now, now. I think we all need to calm down now. This is a serious issue, and we need to treat it accordingly. Mr and Mrs. Sanstons, I think you need to bring your boys over."
The couple looked at each other before the woman said hurriedly "No, no. How can we humiliate them by asking them such a question? It would only devastate them. They are such good kids and…"
"Just like any serial killer before they are caught," Maxwell said, and the woman turned towards him like she was about to tear into him. Her husband quickly pressed her hand to prevent her from talking.
She looked at him and seemed to get the message as she turned back to Mr Han as she lowered her voice in a reasoning tone. "Sir, I don't think all this is necessary. This might just be a prank on the children's part. You know how these kids can be these days. We have dealt with enough of them to know what they can do. This might just be the girl's way of asking for attention. The way I see it, I think you need to look into how well she is doing in her new…"
"I am sure you are not about to say what I think you want to say, are you?" Maxwell asked in a tone that was enough to cut anyone down to size.
The woman looked away from Mr Han and looked at Maxwell uncomfortably.
The look on his face made her clear her throat as she looked away again.
Maxwell turned to Mr Han. "Will you handle this appropriately, or should we take it from here?"
"President Rohan. This case involved the department as much as it affected you too. We need to find a solution to this, and I am sure the Sanstons will be very cooperative too."
"That looked to you like people who intend to be cooperative?" Maxwell asked frostily. "They might be a case for you, but they are my family. And as long as their parents are not around yet, they are my wards, my responsibility. Which means I get to do what I think is the best for them, whether you and your verified incompetent fools agree with it or not."
"Hey!" the woman yelled in protest, but the husband hushed her in an urgent whisper.
As if he didn't hear anything, Maxwell continued with his frosty gaze on the discomfited Mr. Han. "Did you even listen to those recordings? We had to make a girl relive the nightmare she shouldn't have had in the first place, just because we wanted this conversation to be straightforward. Did you listen to what the boy said as well? Those were taped separately without one of them influencing the other with their words. We could do that to seven and four-year-olds just to make sure you have enough to work with, but they can't deem it fit to bring their seventeen and sixteen-year-olds for questioning. My wife and I are not here to exchange words with insensitive people like that. So, I ask again, what do you want to do about this?"
"We will do our investigation and…"
"When? How?" Reyona asked firmly.
"The process will start immediately, and the boys will be invited…"
"But…"
"Mrs Sanston, please." Mr Han said to stop the woman's protest.
Then he continued "They will bring the boys in for questioning. President Rohan, I am assuring you that if they are found guilty, we…"
"If?" Maxwell asked with his brows raised.
"I mean…erm, President Rohan, I understand your concerns and that recording is very convincing too, but we still need to hear from both sides, sir. I can assure you that due diligence will be done, and the culprits will be punished accordingly."
"My boys did…"
"Helga", her sweaty husband, was the one who cautioned her this time.
She glared at him but managed to keep her mouth shut enough for Han to continue.
"We would do right by the children, sir. That is the main reason for this department. If we can't protect them as we were meant to, that would mean that we have failed. I don't want to fail my country."
Maxwell nodded and he looked at Reyona.
She also nodded slightly.
They both stood up and Maxwell said, "We will leave this to you then. I need feedback within twenty-four hours, or I can't guarantee that I won't do this my way."
"It is a deal, sir." President Han said as he stood up as well. "We will get to the bottom of this, ma'am," he said to Reyona as well.
Without acknowledging the Sanstons, Reyona and Maxwell left the meeting room accompanied by Mr Han.