IN THE CAGE

143. LAST MESSAGE

...NORMAL pov...

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The situation at Clubs and Spades deteriorated. Although Max has worked hard to repair the damage Ace has created, patching a ship that will sink sooner or later is a free job. Max knows this does not mean he has found a dead end, there is still a solution to rise again. Only, the question is whether he is ready to go for the final solution?

Max's problems are numerous and now he hears again about his son who poisoned Ace Hunter. Regardless of what method Evan used, Max felt that the action would not have a good impact on the situation that had happened now.

Max was tired, but he couldn't give up. He can't let Evan down with him. Not after everything he did to make his only son happy.

"Mr Max..."

A knock appeared at his open door. His secretary was there.

"Someone wants to see you. He's in the lobby right now."

"Who?"

"Margareth Hunter."

Haaa...

"What does that woman want?"

Max squinted his eyes in wonder. Did Margaret come to declare peace? It could have remembered what happened to Ace. Their leader is weakened now, the best solution to survive is to retreat from the infighting.

It would be great if they did declare defeat, but..., why did Max feel such an overwhelming discomfort? Was this because the figure who came to him was Margaret Hunter? A woman who never even actively involved herself in her family's quarrels?

What did Jack Hunter think until he sent his niece into battle? Was he so cowardly that he took cover behind his own nephew's back?

Max taps his index finger at the table before making a decision. "Let him ride."

After making the decision, Max straightened his back. It is now on standby mode, ready to welcome guests carrying the Hunter name behind it.

About ten minutes later, the figure he was waiting for finally came. Margaret Hunter, as people always describe, was a woman who looked like she was at a funeral.

Her black dress was the first thing that caught Maximillian's attention, until later the man realized the existence of 3 bodyguards behind Margaret. Max does not really recognize the two bodyguards Margaret, but he remembers about Vera. The woman Anggara dated.

Seeing that the woman was still loyal behind Margaret, it meant that Anggara failed to tame her. No, from the beginning, it feels a bit awkward if the woman puts her heart on Anggara. Unless it's an order from his master.

"Welcome, Margaret." Max lets Margaret into his study. "It feels very surprising to get a visit from Hunter's side, especially you."

Margaret wasn't a moving pawn in front, she was behind. Stand side by side with Ace and observe the course of the game.

"Well how else? There aren't many Hunters left in our family." Margaret grinned thinly.

"Ah, that makes sense. Now it's just you and Ace. Speaking of Ace, how's it going? I heard the news that she got sick? That's a surprise."

"Aahaha..." Margot laughed blandly for a moment. His pair of obsidian irises stared at Max with ridicule combined with aggravation. "Well, rumors are just rumors. Ace is very healthy. If he's not well, it's impossible for me to be here right now. After all, the one who ordered me here was him."

"Huh.., I'm glad to hear that." Max wasn't quite sure whether Margaret was expressing honesty or just trying to scare him. Said Evan, the poison that Ace drank is very dangerous. Ace even got out of the restaurant in an ambulance. So then...

"So, Margaret...., what can I do for you?"

"Awww, I haven't even sat down yet.., can't we just talk casually while drinking tea?"

Max stunned. He thought Margaret would not be long. It's rare. What's he gonna talk about? "I'm sorry for my insolence.., let's." Max inevitably complies with Margaret and moves from her desk to a gray sofa set against a glass wall. 

"Remind me to soak in the salt water later" said Margaret, a low and puffy voice.

"Good, Boss." Vera responded while poking a thin smile.

After that too, Vera again retreated from Margaret's side and kept a safe distance from her boss.

"Perhaps because I rarely attend parties and rarely meet you, I am not aware of your development at all, Margaret. This is the first time we've talked for so long." Max spoke again.

"I'm not an active person at the party" Margaret responded.

The conversation began to get boring when there was no similarity of topics that could be used as conversation material. Margaret herself was not the type of girl who was happy to start the conversation, especially when the person opposite her was Maximillian. They're better suited to throwing knives than throwing chats.

"Excuse me," Max's secretary came back in with two cups of tea.

He handed a glass in front of Margaret, while another glass to Max.

"Sorry it's been a hassle" Margaret told Max.

"Don't be shy."

Just then, as Max sipped the tea in his glass, he noticed an oddity in the way Margaret looked at him. The girl was waiting for him to take a sip of tea from the glass, as if...

"I didn't expect you to drink it straight," Margaret said, making Max's heart fall into the stomach. The man's eyes widened in shock while the tea that was inside his mouth - not yet depleted - sprinkled out and flooded his chin.

Did Margaret poison him?

Max immediately spat on the tea that was still left in his mouth, the furore of his reaction made the bodyguards and his secretary gather at the door on standby.

"What happened boss?" The secretary came forward and handed me a tissue.

"really? What's going on?" Margaret chuckles. "Are you afraid your secretary poisoned your drink, Mr Max?"

"..." - ".Did Margaret play him? There's no way that woman can poison him here, is there? Huh huh?

Why am I in a panic?

"Don't worry about anything, Maximillian. Looking at the way you look at me, you suspect I poisoned you." Margaret crossed her legs elegantly. "It would be so easy if I wanted to do that, to be honest. But, I have a Hunter name that I need to keep in mind his reputation."

"..."

"Unlike someone, we are not cowards who will use poison as a method of elimination. If we want to get rid of the enemy, we'd be happier when they come into our laps and turn themselves in." Margaret glanced at David and asked the bodyguard to hand over an envelope to Max.

"That's a special message from Ace. My job is to deliver the letter to you directly. I hope you read the contents carefully and thoroughly, as this will be the last day our Hunter refrains."

With the declaration coming out of his red lips, Margaret stood up from there. There was nothing else for Margaret to wait there, nothing to talk about anyway. Margaret wanted only one thing, which was to go home and burn the dress she wore to meet Max today.

"Do you think I'll just let you come home after putting your foot in here?"

"Don't do anything in vain, Max." Margaret stopped at the door. "If I were you, I'd rather read the contents of the letter than hurt me."

"You Hunters are indeed very arrogant!"

"I'll gladly take your words as a compliment."

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