Author's Note: I hope everyone is having a beautiful day and had a great weekend! I just got back from a trip in Portland for school and it is absolutely gorgeous there, I definitely see myself going back there just for fun! But anyways, thank you for the favs/follows but please keep the reviews coming! If we can get to 50 reviews that would be awesome :) I love reading and replying to your guy's insights in the story. So keep 'em coming! I had a lot of fun writing these past few chapters because s**t is about to go down!

In this chapter, Max and Jughead are starting to piece together what Hiram's endgame for the Southside, as well as her grandfather's involvement in everything.
Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER! I DO NOT OWN RIVERDALE OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS! I ONLY OWN MAX LOGAN, HER FAMILY, MY STORYLINES, AND ANYTHING YOU DO NOT RECOGNIZE!

...

"Nothing no one does is ever by coincidence...
We're all chess pieces in someone's larger game, even when we don't realize it..."

...

Chapter XX. Where There's Smoke, There's Fire...

Max was in her trailer, doing some tidying up while Rafe was watching some TV. While there was some relief in knowing that they were all safe, Max still had this uneasy feeling in her gut. After learning that Hiram Lodge had bought Sunnyside Trailer Park, Max was starting to think that Jughead was onto something. It felt like everyone in Riverdale were pieces in Hiram's bigger game.

As Max cleaned up a bit, her phone went off. It was a text from Jughead, telling her to come over. "I'm going to Jughead's for a bit, will you be good for a little bit?" Max turned to Rafe.

"Yeah" Rafe reassured her.

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit" Max kissed the top of his head, before grabbing her Serpent jacket. It was a short walk to his trailer. Knocking on his door, Max was met by a sleep deprived Jughead.

"I got your text, what's up?" Max walked in to see a large wall with a boat load of information. On it was a large map, with lines marked, newspaper articles, and pictures of Hiram Lodge and his family. "Exactly how much free time do you have?" Max pointed to the wall.

"You joke now, but all this is going to help me get to the bottom of all this" Jughead breathed out.

"Why does it look like you haven't slept in days?" Max sat on the kitchen counter.

"Maybe cause I haven't..." Jughead went to pour himself a cup of coffee as FP walked in.

"Hey kids..." FP greeted them, before looking up at Jughead's workspace. "What's all this?"

"I'm still trying to figure that out" Max shrugged her shoulders.

"Hopefully, it's the article that saves the town from Hiram Lodge..."

"Jughead..." FP breathed out.

"... if I can fit the pieces together" Jughead poured himself some coffee before walking back to his workspace.

"Boy you need to drop this. He rescued us, he bought the trailer park, he forgave our debts" FP defended Hiram.

"He's the reason we almost lost the trailer park" Max sided with Jughead. "I'm with Jug, what if Hiram Lodge is up to something and we're the casualties?"

"Hiram's slicker than a bottle of snake oil, no doubt. But this is-" FP started before Jughead cut him off. "Dad, dad, please... Hiram Lodge just bought the Riverdale Register."

"What?" Max asked as FP looked on surprised.

"He's trying to silence the sounding voices before he makes his big play" Jughead explained. "He's afraid, he's afraid of this exposure..." Jughead pointed to the information he's been gathering.

"Well, Hiram's pretty allergic to bad press. He seemed pretty rattled about that article you were writing about him" Max walked up to them. "For him, being guilty in the court of public opinion is worse than the court of law..."

"He needs people on his side" Jughead breathed. "For whatever he's planning to work, he needs support..."

...

The next morning, Max, Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs were walking into school. After the news of Sunnyside Trailer Park being under new ownership spread, a lot of the Serpents were able to breath again.

"I can't believe this all over" Toni breathed out relieved.

"Yeah..." Max sighed.

"You good?" Sweet Pea asked, wrapping an arm around her. Sweet Pea had known Max for years, that he knew when something was bothering her.

"I don't know, maybe Jughead might have a point... about Hiram Lodge."

"You know Jones can be a bit nuts sometimes" Fangs put his hands up. "Lodge did us a solid."

"He might be right about this one" Max defended. "Meet up after school?"

"I actually have plans after school" Toni declined.

"You have plans with your little Northside redhead?" Fangs raised an eyebrow.

"You and the Wicked Witch?" Max turned to her best friend, raising an eyebrow. Max has been so caught up all the drama with Jughead, her grandparents, and Sweet Pea, that she had no idea what Toni has been up to.

"Hey, don't talk about her like that" Toni defended Cheryl. "You guys don't know her..."

"Toni, you can't be serious. You and her?" Max chuckled. Max didn't care about Toni's sexual orientation, it was who she chose to be involved with.

"Whatever, I'll see you guys at lunch" Toni rolled her eyes before heading to class.

"What's up with her?" Max asked Fangs and Sweet Pea.

"No idea" Sweet Pea put his hands up. "I'll see you later" Sweet Pea kissed the top of her head as he and Fangs headed to class. As Max walked the halls, she noticed Jughead in their club room. Knocking on the door, Jughead turned his attention to Max.

"Hey, what are you up to?" Max walked in.

"Trying to figure out what Hiram's game is" Jughead looked at the desk full of information he had.

"I think you need to sleep, you're driving yourself nuts over this" Max leaned against the desk as Archie came in.

"Hey, did I catch you guys at a bad time?"

"Nah, what's up?" Jughead asked.

"I need to ask you guys something..."

"Go for it" Max said, surprisingly cordial towards Archie.

"Are you still going after Hiram Lodge?"

"That depends. Who's asking? You? Veronica? The arch fiend himself" Jughead leaned back in his seat. Jughead was aware of his friend's connection to the businessman, so he couldn't help but question his loyalties. Jughead had a hard time figuring out if it was his friend talking to him, or Hiram.

"Guys, there's gonna be a special election to replace Josie's mom as Mayor. Hiram Lodge wants my dad to run..." Archie sat down.

"What? Why?" Jughead asked. Archie's father was yet another piece in Hiram's end game.

"Who freaking knows? Guys, I'm with Veronica so that means I'm in with the Lodges. But my dad... I can't let him get any deeper with them."

"So, tell him not to run" Max suggested.

"Veronica would kill me if I did. He did owe the Lodges" Archie explained. "Maybe I could give you guys something. Jughead maybe you could write about it, and that might make my dad hit pause..."

"Okay" Jughead accepted.

"Remember when Hiram Lodge gave Pop Tate that charitable donation to keep the diner open?" Archie asked them.

"Yeah, we were there..." Jughead remembered.

"It was all over the papers too" Max added.

"Except Hiram Lodge didn't give Pops a donation, he bought the diner" Archie revealed.

"What?" Jughead exclaimed.

"For some reason he doesn't want anyone to know about it" Archie added.

"I thought he just wanted to acquire properties on the Southside?" Max questioned.

"Look, I don't know what he's up to" Archie breathed out. "But can you guys do something with that fact? At least enough to make my dad to think twice about this stupid mayor's idea."

"He bought the diner?" Jughead asked again.

"Yes!"

Taking out his map, Jughead circled another piece of property that Hiram Lodge bought. "My god, Hiram is like Dracula. He's snapping up properties from all over Riverdale to expand his empire and feed! If what you're telling me is true... everyone is in danger."

After school, Max was waiting for Sweet Pea and Fangs in front of the school. Aware of Hiram's plans, Max needed answers and she knew exactly where to get them.

"Hey, we got your text. What's up?" Fangs asked.

"You guys up for a field trip?"

"Where we going?" Sweet Pea asked.

"Turns out Hiram is a lot more diabolical than you guys think, I'll tell you guys on the way" Max handed them their helmets as they headed to the heart of the Northside. It was a short drive to the Hart Oil Company.

"Why are we here?" Fangs asked.

"To get some answers..." Max said as they marched inside.

"Excuse me, you can't just barge in here" an employee told the Serpents but they simply ignored her. Arriving at Nathaniel's office, Max barged in to see her grandfather doing some work at his desk.

"Max..." Nathaniel smiled. "What are you doing here? And you brought some friends."

"I'm not here for some quality family time" Max crossed her arms. "I came here for answers..."

"Alright" Nathaniel took off his glasses, folding his hands together as he was willing to cooperate with his granddaughter.

"Do you know Hiram Lodge?" Max asked. The expression: birds of a feather flock together described the affulent and privileged class of Riverdale to a tee. Max knew how the Northside operated. People of similar social statuses often were associated together. Money spoke where words weren't needed.

"Yes, he's one of my business partners" Nathaniel smiled. "I've known him for years, actually helped him start up Lodge Industries." When Hiram was coming up in the business world, he actually interned at Hart Oil Company to learn all the fundamentals on starting a successful business. Nathaniel saw that Hiram had the potential to be a successful businessman. Hiram had a knack for looking outside the box, a trait Nathaniel had. Nathaniel also taught Hiram, that to be the best meant doing whatever it took to succeed.

"You guys work together?" Max raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, we do..." Nathaniel answered Max honestly.

"So you know about the properties he's buying all over Riverdale. You know what he's up to?" Max asked her grandfather, only for him to say silent.

"Max, I can't tell you..."

"Why not?!"

"It's confidentiality between business partners..."

"He bought our school, he bought our trailer park! We have a right to know! He practically stole the Southside from us!" Max put her foot down. Max was tired of the lies and the secrets, all she wanted was the truth.

"Hiram is doing what's best for Riverdale, what's best for everyone" Nathaniel defended his business partner.

"If he's doing what's best for everyone, we have a right to know" Max gestured to herself, Fangs, and Sweet Pea. "Cause believe it or not, we're part of Riverdale. And what he's doing is affecting us..."

"Max please-."

"Save it! If your just gonna politician your way out of this, then don't waste my time. But I swear to god, if something happens to the Serpents and I find out you and Hiram Lodge had something to do with it, we will bury you..." It was clear where Nathaniel's loyalties lied. A war was looming and Max knew where she stood and if winning meant going up against her grandparents, she'll do it.

Author's Note: Well the first punch has been landed. Even though Max has Northside Blood, she was by no means a Northsider. This is a theme that's going to pop up a bit more. Also, for those who have seen the episode know there's a lot of things that are going on, so I broke it up into two parts.
But everything is about to come to a head...
It seems Max is starting to see what Jughead has been preaching. It's clear that Hiram Lodge is puppeteering everyone in Riverdale. What do you guys think of Max and Jughead as a team? I know I wouldn't mess with them hahaha.
Also, there seems to be tension brewing between Max and Toni. I told you guys that there will be drama coming, but I wanted it to be in a way that people wouldn't expect. It's clear that Max isn't thrilled with Toni's budding romance with Cheryl. Thoughts?
Finally, Max is starting to see that her grandfather is mixed up in Hiram's business. Do you think she went to far when she said she would bury him? Also, what do you think Nathaniel's transparency with Max. It's clear he does care about her, but Max isn't having it. Despite the disconnect and the prejudice, there's no changing that Max is Nathaniel's grandchild.
Overall, what do you guys think of the chapter as a whole? Yay? Nay? Any/all feedback is welcome!
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