Chapter 26

Mr. Milano struck the table with a little force after reading the decree from Winter. "How could this happen?" Mr. Milano exclaimed. 

"What? What happened?" Mrs. Maria asked, then picked up the paper Mr. Milano had thrown onto the table. 

Mrs. Maria read the paper and then widened her eyes in disbelief. "How is this possible, my husband?" Mrs. Liana asked, her panic matching Mr. Milano's. 

Mr. Milano gazed at his wife and then snorted in frustration. "I don't know either why it turned out like this. We made a mistake marrying Race and Ivy," Mr. Milano said. 

"Well, it's not exactly like that. If we didn't marry our son to Ivy, our ruby stone business would come to a halt. Have you forgotten that Ivy's family helped us distribute the ruby stones to the west?" 

"Yes, yes, yes, you're right," Mr. Milano conceded. 

"So, how can we undo all of this?" Mrs. Maria inquired. Mr. Milano appeared to think and looked at Mrs. Maria with