Chapter72Paige's Hospitality
By the time Paige returned to the South Garden estate, the hall was a cacophony with Margaret and Xena in a heated argument.
Paige stood at the entrance, listening as Margaret addressed Pearl with a sneer. "This is Northwind, a place governed by law. Are you aware of that? Your actions constitute illegal imprisonment. I can sue you all."
Xena chimed in, "Exactly, you're unlawfully detaining us. Do you want Paige to go back to prison?"
Pearl, in contrast to Margaret and Xena, appeared much calmer. "If you think you've got a case, then by all means, go ahead and try. No need for harsh words here—after all, I'm just an assistant, acting on orders."
Margaret and Xena's punches seemed to hit nothing but air, and Pearl's composure only made their bluster seem even more pitiful.
Margaret grabbed Xena. "Let's go, Xena. I want to see who dares to touch us today."
The pair tried to leave but halted abruptly upon seeing Paige, who had already returned, standing there.
Margaret and Xena froze. Especially Xena, seemed startled, instinctively ducking behind her bodyguard.
Paige's smile was ice cold. "Thinking of leaving? Fine, hand over the antidote, and I'll let you go. Otherwise, don't think for a second it'll be easy to walk out of here."
Margaret stepped in front of Xena, shielding her, clearly signaling to Paige to direct her wrath at her.
"The antidote has already been stolen," Margaret asserted. "Aren't you aware? You were at the scene; what's there left to understand? I no longer have it, and if you refuse to let us leave, that's illegal detention."
"Illegal detention? Really? Aren’t you my grandma, and isn't she, my sister? This is my new home. I'm having a housewarming party today, and I wanted to celebrate with my grandma and sister. Is that too much to ask for, huh?"
Paige's words were straightforward, but her tone and expression carried an unmistakable threat.
Margaret fumed, "Who's your grandma? Paige, you're nothing but an illegitimate child born to your mother who shamelessly married my son."
Paige chuckled, "Oh, is that so? A bastard, and yet your son loved me enough to give me the Sackler name. It seems that the mother you've always looked down upon held a significant place in his heart."
Margaret was furious. She loathed the sight of Paige. If it weren't for her previous plans to use Paige, thinking she could control her, Margaret wouldn't have considered having Paige work behind the scenes for the Sackler family.
But it turned out that even if Paige agreed to work for the Sacklers at one point, her subsequent actions made it clear she was playing both sides.
"Grandma, we need to get out of here. We can't stay," Xena said, as if she was seeing Paige in a new light. On Paige's turf, the sense of unease Xena felt alone with her was unsettling.
The thought of what Paige might do to her sent a shiver through Xena.
Margaret patted Xena's hand, consoling her, "Don't worry, she wouldn't dare do anything to us."
Then she turned to Paige, "You're not without your resources now. If the Carnegie family found out about your actions, you couldn't handle the consequences. The Carnegies typically prefer marrying into wealth and status, but we could still work together."
Paige raised her voice, "Work together? How? Would you continue to manipulate me? I'm not interested in what you're saying. The only thing I'm interested in is my mother's antidote. Where the hell did you send it?"
Margaret insisted, "It was stolen, and that has nothing to do with me. If you hadn't kidnapped Xena, forcing me to rush, I could have retrieved it myself to give to you. Perhaps then it wouldn't have been lost."
"Cut the crap, what good does it do to spout nonsense? My mom was fine. Even if she had fallen down the stairs and hit her head, she wasn't beyond recovery. It was you. You paid a pretty penny for someone to concoct this poison to harm her."
Margaret did not argue; she was indeed responsible.
To Margaret, Paige was like a ticking time bomb; no one knew when she might explode. It was for the sake of the Sackler Corporation and the Sackler family that Margaret had spared her mother's life.
"The poison and antidote were both commissioned by me from a laboratory abroad, tailor-made for your mother. I admit that, and I see no reason to deny it. But I didn't steal the antidote.
“You're married into the Carnegie family, and as much as I may dislike you, I must show some respect for them. Would I openly snatch the antidote intended for your mother and make enemies with the Carnegie family?"
Despite Margaret's smooth talk, Paige didn't believe even a word of it.
After so many betrayals, was Paige expected to trust now? Impossible!
"If you truly don't want to be at odds with the Carnegie family, then relax and be my guest here. When you remember even a sliver of a clue, let me know. Then I might consider letting you go home."
Paige gave Julian the signal.
Things were not looking good for Margaret and Xena.
With a gesture from Julian, his men moved in, grabbing Margaret and Xena to take them away.
Xena screamed in terror, "Paige, what are you doing? You said we were guests. Is this any way to treat your guests?"
Margaret repeated her stance, "We had nothing to do with the theft of the antidote. Believe it or not, that's the truth."
Paige remained unmoved; her mood had plummeted rock bottom.
After taking a seat on the couch, she immediately lit up a cigarette.
Quietly, Pearl reminded her, "Xanthe, you've already had half a pack this afternoon. You're going to stink of smoke when you get home."
Holding the cigarette between her fingers, Paige turned to Pearl and exhaled a ring of smoke, "Do you know who I married?"
Pearl shook her head, "Without your order, we cannot pry into your husband and marriage."
The access wasn't beyond their reach. It was simply that their clearance ended there. From the moment Paige was assigned to lead, their allegiance had to be solely to Paige.
With calmness, Paige declared, "Raymond is my husband. Yes, the ‘Raymond’ of Hawke Corporation. The very same Raymond who's related to Louis, the current CEO of Hawke Corporation!"
