IN THE CAGE

126. DOCILELY

...NORMAL pov...

...----------------...

"From today on, your job is to become the bodyguard of young Miss Margot." A middle-aged man spoke to a young girl who sauntered behind him. The man's eyes then panned out the window, to another girl who looked like a spring morning, bright and cheerful.

"She is Miss Margot, she is the eldest daughter in this family and is our future leader."

"Leader?" Vera-girl with piercing sharp piercing ear-follow gazing out the window. "I think the main heir of this family is young master Ace." Vera, who had just joined the Hunter family, had no idea about the situation inside the mansion. He found out about Ace only because he needed to find out what kind of family he wanted to serve.

"I see you've done your own research." Felix-the middle-aged man-smiled faintly at Vera's meticulousness in reading the gaffe that was happening there. The awkwardness about why a Margaret Hunter was made a leader when her sister-Ace Hunter was still breathing healthy out there.

"I've only read a little on the internet," Vera doesn't want to sound pretentious, so she immediately replicates Felix.

"Your knowledge is not wrong, it's just that some things have changed."

Vera breezed past one by one glass wall. His eyes scanned toward Margot who was lying casually on a long bench overlooking the pool. The bright yellow floral dress that Margot wore mingled beautifully with the green and blue environment of the pool that surrounded her. Margot was reading, and at that moment, she looked very peaceful.

"What does that mean young master Ace won't be the leader here?"

To Vera's knowledge, Arcelio Hunter is a figure known as the successor of the Hunter family. The image has been spread everywhere, becoming the topic of discussion to the news. The young man was not only brilliant in everything, he was also famous for having a look that could conquer the heart of women. Vera once marveled at Ace's young face in the newspaper, until she realized Ace was the sky and he was the earth. Dirt on earth. The admiration turned into confusion.

"Mr Ace.., decided to withdraw from the successor of the Hunter family."

"Eh?"

"Because you're new here, Vera. I'll give you advice you need to remember. Mr. Ace is not a figure you can lightly allude to his name. At least, in this house, the name is quite taboo. I hope that in the future you'll make no mistake and make Harkin's boss and Hannah's boss mad."

"But, why?" Vera thought the youngest was their son. They look very familiar in photos and news. Vera does not remember seeing Ace as a figure who was ostracized by his own family.

"Discognition is a blessing, Vera. I'd be so happy if you just focus on your work and oh, accessories are forbidden here." After Felix silenced her regarding Ace's matter, Vera no longer asked the middle-aged man anything.

However, a few days after he settled in the mansion, Vera learned one thing. Arcelio Hunter deprives himself of being the main heir in Diamonds and Hunter because an idea he created made Harkin Hunter shudder unhappily.

Then, a few years later, when Harkin and Hannah left this earth, leaving Margot to become a mad and angry figure, Ace Hunter set foot in the mansion again. He came with compulsion, but after some time had passed, under Vera's supervision, the man clearly once began to accept his status.

That very night, the night when Vera returns after escorting Margot at Callum Rashid's birthday party, Vera confronts Ace. Faced with the man who used to be a forbidden figure in this mansion.

"My father's main mistake in bringing him to death was to reject my words, Vera." Ace says with low intonation and quiet.

Vera thought the topic was about her relationship and Anggara being exposed, but. Something more black than anger over rebellion.

Vera - for her entire life - never knew the core of Ace and Harkin's conversation that made Harkin reluctant to make Ace the leader. However, if Harkin's remark-abandonment of Ace leads him to death, it adequately explains why Ace shows no sentiment over Harkin's death. He had definitely imagined that situation would happen.

"Therefore, I hope you will obey my words." continued Ace again.

"I'll always obey you, boss. But" Vera gulped.

"Yes...?"

"May I know what you said to Mr. Harkin until he rejected you?"

Ace was quite stunned by Vera's question. Pretty brave, he thought.

"Why are you interested?"

"I'm just curious. I'm sorry."

Ace smiled faintly. "No problem," Ace leaned on the bench. His eyes glared at the moon, which was clearly visible from the second-floor balcony window. The open window and bringing the night wind in blew out its black mane.

"I just asked him to get rid of the other three heads of the family and take over their leadership as one. Since living 'peace' side by side will only lead us to destruction."

And Harkin rejected the idea.

Unfortunately, power creates opium and greed. Peace among the four heads that crave dominance and power is an illusion. Harkin's death was a justification for Ace's remarks that Harkin had considered 'brutal and idle thinking'.

Vera sighed.

Harkin may die with the regret that Ace spoke the truth, but is living with the desire to believe in peace a mistake?

Is living to obey Ace the truth when he hangs in the basement of the Caspian family?

If Vera refutes what Ace has ordered? Will he become Harkin? A man who has created hell for his own daughter?

Again, in a cold basement. Accompanied by two bodyguards guarding his cell, Vera was immersed in his thoughts. Wondering, until when will he hang there before Evan Caspian wraths and begins to show his madness. As Ace had predicted. As Ace had commanded.

"I'll probably starve to death before Evan Caspian gets here." Vera muttered to herself. To his body that felt like a wound.

...----------------...

"Still thinking of the prisoner?"

One morning passed without anything really happening. Fawn who is still at home doing his routine by observing the movements outside the room Indira, watching whether the food in and out of the room Indira spent? Does Indira eat regularly? Does Indira eat? That was the main question that came to Fawn's mind.

Then, the second thing that stuck in his mind right now was, as Joseph asked, the prisoner.

"Do you know who it is?" Fawn was worried about the figure. Unlike Indira who gets food intake 3 times a day, the figure who has been locked up 2 days down there does not get anything. Fawn begins to fear that the prisoner is dead before he can identify who is locked up down there.

"I told you, there's no way I know." Joseph sat in the window frame, his eyes glaring at the still-similar-looking forest - still making him an extraordinary delinquent. "The lack of downward movement indicates that Mr. Evan wanted to torture the man with dehydration and starvation. You know, we've had that kind of test, right? Oh. You're the one testing me, to be precise."

"Test and real torture are different, Joe." If the test, you know sooner or later you'll be saved, but the torture. Therefore, expect better death.

"I believe the man will survive. Just chill. He's a bodyguard of the Hunter family. They're monster descendants." Joseph makes jokes.

"Faithless trust only makes you delusional."

"Isn't his background coming from the Hunter family quite a cornerstone?"

"Then, does that mean he'll be immune to torture?"

Joseph thunts. "You don't want to budge at all."

"I'm worried about him, how else?"

"Or her identity didn't help her get out of there either." Joseph's argument made Fawn gulp. If Joseph researched deeper into the reasons why Fawn cared so much about the Hunter family's bodyguards, so curious about her identity, Fawn could be completely cornered.

Fortunately, it was fortunate that Joseph did not demand the topic to the core. "If you want to help, how about telling Mr. Ace about his bodyguard being a prisoner here. He probably doesn't know."

"That's..." Fawn was tempted to call Ace. However, he was afraid of creating unnecessary problems. Not when now every eye has been watching them. What if Evan's man watching Ace sees him visiting Hunter's residence. Fawn can die in the roast along with the bodyguard in the basement.

"Don't do anything stupid" Fawn said, eventually.

"Then, how about we ask Mr. Angga. He probably knows."

That.., ah...

Fawn's smile instantly expanded.

"Joseph, you're smart."

"I know, I know..."

Since Anggara is related to Vera, it does not rule out the possibility of Anggara knowing a thing or two about the bodyguards that disappeared from the Hunter family mansion. Vera probably brought up the topic at her meeting with Angga.

This is good because for some reason, Fawn couldn't contact Vera later. Not only Vera, David, Haru and Carcel could not either. It was as if they were isolating themselves from the outside.

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